In both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority has not made laws either for or against homosexuality. Instead, the President of the Palestinian Authority decided to keep the laws that were already in place in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. On May 20, 1994, he ruled that laws that took effect before June 5, 1967 in these areas would not be changed. The laws are also more complicated because the Palestinian territories have been ruled by many different foreign powers, like the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel. Each of these foreign powers created their own laws for the Palestinian territories. Because of the many different laws that have been in place there, the legal situation in the territories is confusing. Sometimes, the criminal law about homosexuality is applied (or used) in the territories. At other times, the laws are not applied. It can be different in the different territories. 