How Long Has the West Bank Been Under Military Government?
Israel’s State Comptroller dates the military government to the law of 7 June 1967. The IDF commander has signed about 1,800 orders since then.
7 June 1967 is the date from which military government in the West Bank runs. The State Comptroller of Israel stated in a 2016 audit that a proclamation kept in force the law of that day and passed all powers of government, legislation, appointment and administration to the IDF commander. The Military Advocate General states, on its own count, that the commander has signed about 1,800 orders since 1967. The State Comptroller’s 2021 audit describes the Civil Administration still running civilian affairs under that military authority.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 June 1967 | Date of the law kept in force by the proclamation on government and law | State Comptroller of Israel | Stated in the 2016 audit |
| About 1,800 | Military orders signed by the commander, all published in the Collection of Proclamations, Orders and Appointments; the Corps’ own count | Military Advocate General | 1967 onward, as stated on its overview page |
| 31 July 1967 | Signing of Order 59, in force from 7 July 1967 | Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank Area | 1967 |
| 1981 | Order of the IDF commander establishing the Civil Administration | State Comptroller of Israel | 1981 |
| 314 | Civil Administration employees: 202 Israeli civil servants and 112 Palestinian employees | State Comptroller of Israel | 2019 |
| 25 | Staff officers representing the government ministries | State Comptroller of Israel | Audit of September 2018 to June 2019 |
| 8 years | Time the Civil Administration’s internal auditor post had been unfilled | State Comptroller of Israel | As at the same audit |
A 1967 proclamation gave the IDF commander all powers of government
The State Comptroller of Israel sets out the founding instrument as the legal framework for its 2016 audit of the Judea and Samaria Area. In the Comptroller’s own account, the Proclamation on the Order of Government and Law did two things, and the law it preserved was itself layered.
- The law in force in the area on 7 June 1967 remains in force, so far as it does not conflict with the proclamation or with any proclamation or order of the IDF commander, which are the commander’s own enactments.
- All powers of government, legislation, appointment and administration pass to the commander.
- The law in force before 1967 rested on Ottoman law, as amended under the British Mandate and under Jordanian rule.
The IDF commander has signed about 1,800 orders since 1967
The Military Advocate General states that about 1,800 orders have been signed since 1967, and that all of them are published in the Collection of Proclamations, Orders and Appointments. That figure is the Corps’ own count of orders signed, not of orders in force. Each order is the commander’s own enactment, published by him in Hebrew and Arabic.
Order 59, on government property, shows the form. It was signed on 31 July 1967 by the GOC Central Command, as Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank Area, took effect from 7 July 1967, and has been amended nine times. Its naming clause uses the West Bank Area (אזור הגדה המערבית) rather than Judea and Samaria. The State Comptroller records two later orders among the instruments still shaping the area: Order 291 of 1968, which halted land settlement, and Order 418 of 1971, which amended the Jordanian planning law.
A 1981 order set up the Civil Administration under the commander
The State Comptroller of Israel records that in 1981 the IDF commander issued an order establishing the Civil Administration to run civilian affairs “for the welfare and benefit of the population”. Its February 2004 organisation order, the Civil Administration’s own charter, sets its purpose as implementing government policy in civilian fields and acting as the executive arm for infrastructure, planning and building in Area C, including the Israeli localities. The Comptroller states that it is professionally subordinate to COGAT and headed by an IDF brigadier general.
| Civil Administration, as audited | Count |
|---|---|
| Israeli civil servants | 202 |
| Palestinian employees | 112 |
| All employees | 314 |
| Staff officers representing the ministries | 25 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Annual Report 70C, audit of September 2018 to June 2019; employee counts for 2019. The same audit found the internal auditor’s post unfilled for 8 years.
Israeli law does not apply in the area, the Comptroller states
The State Comptroller of Israel wrote in its 2016 audit, in Hebrew: “ישראל מחזיקה בשטחי איו״ש בדרך של ‘תפיסה לוחמתית’, שמשמעויותיה המשפטיות הן, בין היתר, שהמשפט הישראלי אינו חל על שטחי איו״ש”. In a working English rendering: Israel holds the Judea and Samaria Area by way of “belligerent occupation”, whose legal meanings include that Israeli law does not apply there. The sentence is the Comptroller’s own statement of the legal framework, not a government decision.
The Comptroller lists the law that does apply, in layers:
- Ottoman law, as amended under the British Mandate and Jordanian rule, as in force on 7 June 1967.
- The Jordanian Temporary Law No. 79 of 1966 on planning, as amended by Order 418 of 1971.
- The proclamations and orders of the IDF commander, the commander’s own legislation, which prevail where they conflict with the earlier law.
None of these figures may be added together
- The about 1,800 is the Military Advocate General’s own count of orders signed since 1967, not of orders in force; Order 59 alone carries nine amendments.
- Order 59 took effect on 7 July 1967, 24 days before it was signed on 31 July; its determining day of 7 June 1967 is a third, separate date.
- The 314 employees and 25 staff officers describe the 2018 to 2019 audit window only; 202 and 112 sum to 314.
- The occupation sentence is the State Comptroller’s statement of the legal framework in a 2016 audit, attributed to the Comptroller.
Questions readers ask
When did military government in the West Bank begin?
The State Comptroller of Israel states that the proclamation on government and law kept in force the law of 7 June 1967 and passed all powers of government to the IDF commander. Order 59 uses the same date as its determining day.
Who holds legislative power in the West Bank?
The State Comptroller of Israel states that all powers of government, legislation, appointment and administration passed to the IDF commander under the 1967 proclamation.
How many military orders have been issued in the West Bank?
The Military Advocate General states that about 1,800 orders have been signed since 1967, on the Corps’ own count of orders signed.
Where are the military orders published?
The Military Advocate General states that all of them are published in the Collection of Proclamations, Orders and Appointments, known in Hebrew as קמצ״ם.
Are the military orders published in English?
The Military Advocate General publishes Order 59 in Hebrew and Arabic on facing halves of the page, and in no third language. Any English wording of it is an unofficial translation.
What was the first order on government property?
The Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank Area signed Order 59 on 31 July 1967, in force from 7 July 1967. It created a Custodian of Government Property and defined that property by ownership on 7 June 1967.
What is the Civil Administration?
The State Comptroller of Israel records that the IDF commander established it by order in 1981 to run civilian affairs, and that it is headed by an IDF brigadier general under COGAT.
How many people work in the Civil Administration?
The State Comptroller of Israel counted 314 employees in 2019: 202 Israeli civil servants and 112 Palestinian employees, alongside 25 ministry staff officers.
Does Israeli law apply in the West Bank?
The State Comptroller of Israel stated in 2016 that Israel holds the Judea and Samaria Area by way of belligerent occupation, and that Israeli law does not apply there.
What law governed the West Bank before 1967?
The State Comptroller of Israel states that the pre-1967 law rested on Ottoman law, as amended under the British Mandate and Jordanian rule. Planning still runs on the Jordanian Temporary Law No. 79 of 1966.
Is land in the West Bank still being registered?
The State Comptroller of Israel found that land settlement was halted under Order 291 of 1968, and that from the late 1970s the Civil Administration used declarations of state land instead.
Why do the documents say “West Bank Area” and later “Judea and Samaria”?
The Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank Area named Order 59 for the West Bank Area in 1967. The State Comptroller’s audits of 2016 and 2021 use the Judea and Samaria Area.
Sources
- Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank Area, 1967. Order Concerning Government Property (West Bank Area) (No. 59), 5727-1967. Collection of Proclamations, Orders and Appointments, booklet 5, p. 162; Military Advocate General copy at idf.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2016. Judea and Samaria Area: Activity of the Supervision and Enforcement Unit and Aspects of Land Registration. Annual Report 66b. library.mevaker.gov.il/sites/DigitalLibrary/Documents/2016-66b-201-IOSH.pdf. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2021. Staff Officers in the Civil Administration in the Judea and Samaria Region. Annual Report 70C, English abstract, pp. 55 to 59. library.mevaker.gov.il/sites/DigitalLibrary/Documents/2020/70c/EN/2020-70c-107-Ayosh-TAKTZIR-EN.pdf. Official or primary record.
