Why does Israel rule the West Bank through martial law as opposed to civil law like in Israel proper and the Golan Heights?

Answer 1

Israel has always seen implementing civil law in the Palestinian Territories as implicitly annexing the Palestinian Territories. The implications of annexing the Palestinian Territories would be that Israel would be compelled to grant the Palestinians citizenship in Israel and this would effectively make Israel another Arab State similar to Lebanon. When Israel annexed the Golan Heights to bring it under civil law, citizenship was offered to the Syrian Druze who lived there. However, the Syrian Druze were a small population who did not threaten the Jewish majority of Israel. In order to preserve its primarily Jewish identity, Israel has decided to leave the West Bank under martial law.

Additionally, by leaving the territory consistently under martial law, Israel demonstrates that it evinces a serious intent about the possibility of returning the territory to a Palestinian State. This is because a martial system does not create a strong infrastucture.