Law
Is Gaza occupied?
EXPLAINED FROM SOURCES
The short answer
Under the UN’s position and the international legal framework it applies: yes, Gaza is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel removed its permanent military bases and settlements from inside Gaza in 2005. Because of this, Israel has argued that its occupation of Gaza ended.
The fuller explanation
Under the UN’s position and the international legal framework it applies: yes, Gaza is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Israel removed its permanent military bases and settlements from inside Gaza in 2005. Because of this, Israel has argued that its occupation of Gaza ended.
However, international bodies have pointed to the extensive control Israel continued to exercise over Gaza, including its airspace, territorial waters, most crossings and important aspects of movement and infrastructure.
The situation has changed further since the war beginning in 2023 because Israeli forces have operated extensively inside Gaza.
So simply saying “Israel left Gaza in 2005, therefore Gaza was no longer occupied” leaves out an important part of the legal picture.