|
Israel
THE IDF IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
In the course of the
June 1967 War, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem,
the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. As
a result of the 1979 Treaty of Peace Between Egypt and Israel,
the Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egypt. Israel unilaterally
annexed East Jerusalem soon after the June 1967 War, reasserting
this fact in July 1980, and in 1981 it annexed the Golan Heights
(see fig. 16). As of 1988, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with
a combined population of at least 1,400,000 Arabs, remained under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. The 57,000 Jews residing
in settlements in the two territories in 1988 came under the central
government of Israel proper (see figs. 17 and 18).
The primary mission of the military government was to maintain
internal security in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Border
Police, the Shin Bet, the Israel Police, and the IDF all shared
in the task of maintaining order. Immediately upon occupation
of the territories in June 1967, Israel launched an intense pacification
program. Harsh measures were used to suppress local noncooperation
campaigns, strikes, and especially terrorist activities. Local
residents whom Israeli officials deemed subversive were deported,
Arab homes believed to house anti-Israeli activists and their
supporters were destroyed, and dissenters could be placed in administrative
detention for up to six months. These and other repressive measures
derived from the emergency regulations of the British Mandate
period.
Data as of December 1988
|
