Some people argue that the entire land in the Palestinian region in the promised land of the Jewish and they may occupy as much of it as they wish. Other people argue that settling in the occupied territories is a violation of the human rights of the Palestinians.
Israeli-occupied territories was created in 1967.
The West Bank is the largest of the three occupied territories provided in this list. The largest Israeli-Occupied territory was the Sinai Peninsula: 1956-1957, 1967-1982.
Yuval Ginbar has written: 'Routine torture' 'Israeli settlement in the occupied territories as a violation of human rights' -- subject(s): Land settlement, Occupied territories, Government policy, Law and legislation, Israel-Arab War, 1967, International status 'Sheer brutality' -- subject(s): Palestinian Arabs, Police questioning, Crimes against, Civil rights, Torture
Within Israel's borders, yes. In the Occupied Territories, no. This does not mean that within Israel all of the groups live harmoniously. There are definitely big questions and issues that Israel's minority communities face, but they address those problems with rallies, unique political parties, and other peaceful mechanisms to hopefully change their situation. In the Occupied Territories, there is a distinction between Israeli Jews, who are subject to Israeli civil law and Palestinian Arabs who are subject to Israeli martial law. These two groups do not live peacefully together.
7,112,359note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
Bethlehem is in the West Bank section of the Israeli Occupied Territorial Area (IOTA), generally known as the "Occupied Territories". As Israel has never formally annexed the territories it is not actually in Israel, and people born there do not have Israeli citizenship. Day to day administration is in the hands of the Palestinian Authority, but the town is occupied by Israeli military forces. Jordan (to which Bethlehem belonged until the 1967 Israeli invasion) has relinquished its own claim to the area, preferring that it should become part of an autonomous Palestinian state. So as at the end of 2008 Bethlehem isn't in a country at all, but is controlled by Israel.
West Bank
Candace Karp has written: 'Missed Opportunities' -- subject(s): Arab-Israeli conflict, Diplomatic history, Foreign relations, International status, Palestinian Arab Refugees 'US policy towards Jerusalem and the Occupied Arab Territories, 1948 and 1967' -- subject(s): Foreign relations, International status, Israel-Arab War, 1967, Occupied territories
Gershom Gorenberg has written: 'The accidental empire' -- subject(s): Colonization, Government policy, Jews, Land settlement, Politics and government 'The unmaking of Israel' -- subject(s): Politics and government, Occupied territories, Government policy, Jews, Religious Zionists, Land settlement, Arab-Israeli conflict, Colonization, Israelis, Political activity, History 'The accidental empire' -- subject(s): Politics and government, Land settlement, Government policy, Jews, Colonization 'The end of days'
Not every Israeli thinks the same way and you can find a wide variety of opinions across the Israeli political and social spectrum. Some Israelis think that the Palestinians are to blame and that the Palestinians as a group and Arabs as a whole cannot imagine the possibility that someone other than them has a right to govern any area in the Southern Levant. There are other Israelis who think that the entire conflict would end if Israel would only retreat from the Occupied Territories in the West Bank and withdraw all of the settlements. Most Israeli opinion, though, is somewhere in the middle, faulting both Palestinian Militants and Israeli Government Intransigence.
Jamil Rabah has written: 'Israeli military orders in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, 1967-1992' -- subject(s): Military policy, Politics and government
The main "event" in the West Bank is that there is a struggle between the Israeli Military Authority, the Israeli civilian settlers, the Palestinian Municipal Government, and the Palestinian civilian population as to how the West Bank will be run and who gets to enforce their will on the remaining three groups.