Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988; "The Occupied Territories"

The West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the Gaza Strip are areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 War which remain under Israeli occupation. The West Bank and Gaza continue under military government; Israel has unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem; and it has extended its civilian law, jurisdiction, and administration tothe Golan Heights.

The United States considers Israel's occupation to be governed by The Hague Regulations of 1907 and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Israel denies the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the West Bank and Gaza, but states that it observes the convention's humanitarian provisions in those areas. Israel applies Jordanian law in the West Bank and British Mandate law in Gaza, as well as its own military orders which have changed these laws significantly.