The Expulsion of Civilians from Areas which came under Israeli Control in 1967: Some Legal Issues

Abstract

* Professor of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and currently a Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. Special thanks are due to Mr John Dettling, Research Assistant at the Institute, for his help. The author also wishes to express her gratitude to Professor Eugene V. Rostow and Professor Alfred Rubin for their most valuable comments and suggestions. This note will deal with the West Bank, i.e. Judea and Samaria, and with the Gaza strip. The name 'West Bank' may imply a connection with Jordan, and the expression 'Judea and Samaria' ht.s been interpreted as referring to historic claims. Therefore, the neutral expression 'Territories' or 'Administered Territories' will be used. Originally both areas were part of Palestine under the British Mandate, and they were occupied in 1948 by Jordan and Egypt respectively. In 1967 they came under Israeli control as a result of the Six-Day War. The Gaza strip continues to be administered by Israel as an occupied terri tory, despite the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel in 1979. 18 International Legal Materials (1979) 362. The Peace Treaty has not dealt with the status of the Gaza strip (' ... without prejudice to the issue of the status of the Gaza strip' Article ll) which according to the 1978 Camp David Framework for Peace in the Middle East, 17 International Legal Materials (1978) 1466, was to be included in the regime of autonomy which should have been established for the Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza. The continuation of the application of the laws of war and occupation has been sanctioned by Israel's Supreme Court: ' ... [A]s long as the military authority exercises control in the area, the powers granted to it and the restrictions imposed upon it by virtue of the laws of war, remain in effect, subject, of course, to any arrangement agreed upon by the authorized political bodies.' H. Ct. 102/82, 150/82, 593/82, 690/82, 271/83, Tsemel et al. v. Minister of Defense et aI. (1988) 42(2) Piskei-Din 4, at 49. An English translation of the last-mentioned judgment has been published in 29 International Legal Materials (1990) 139.