January 24, 2025
The Legal Status of Palestine
The situation in Palestine falls outside the frameworks of international law. The West Bank is legally considered occupied territory, and a Palestinian state exists. However, occupation is generally understood to be temporary (e.g., the Allied occupation of Germany and Japan), while this status has persisted since 1967 (for 58 years) with no end in sight—especially given the settlement of so-called colonists.
Gaza is even more unusual, as it has not been occupied since 2007 but functions essentially as an autonomous state with its own army and administration, in a perpetual state of conflict with Israel. Furthermore, while it is nominally part of the State of Palestine, it has effectively severed itself from the West Bank.