Gaza Strip utilities. The Gaza Strip acquired its current northern and eastern boundaries at the cessation of fighting in the 1948 war, confirmed by the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement on 24 February 1949. Article V of the Agreement declared that the demarcation line was not to be an international border. At first the Gaza Strip was officially administered by the All-Palestine Government, established by the Arab League in September 1948. All-Palestine in the Gaza Strip was managed under the military authority of Egypt, functioning as a puppet state, until it officially merged into the United Arab Republic and dissolved in 1959. From the
Gaza Strip Hostages Case), “an occupation indicates the exercise of governmental authority to the exclusion of the established government,” meaning that the local “civil government [should be] eliminated.” These factors demonstrate that Israel does not have control over Gaza. There is a local independent administration in the Gaza Strip that does not answer to Israel (and in fact, openly and repeatedly carries out belligerent attacks against Israel). Israel does not have troops regularly deployed in Gaza, and it can only deploy such troops through heavy and difficult fighting. The local civilian population does not answer to Israel. Israel has no local administration...