he West Bank and the Gaza Strip came under Israeli occupation in
1967. Both territories had been under constant Israeli control since then, until Israel
decided to withdraw its land forces and settlements from the Strip in 2005. Whereas
the occupied status of the West Bank still remains uncontested, the status of Gaza
after the disengagement is less clear. This article addresses the question whether the
Gaza Strip can still be considered to be occupied after the 2005 disengagement. In
order to formulate an answer to this question, the article will first outline the
different elements needed to trigger occupation. It will then show that, even though
the majority argues that the Gaza Strip is still occupied, the effective control test at
the core of the law of occupation is no longer met and hence Gaza is no longer
occupied. Given that Israel nevertheless continues to exercise some degree of
control over Gaza and its population, the absence of occupation does not mean the
absence of accountability. This responsibility is however not founded on the law of
occupation but on general international humanitarian law, potentially complemented
by international human rights law.

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• Is Israel Still an Occupying Power in Gaza?