View text source at Wikipedia

List of military occupations

This article is about territorial occupations. For military ranks, see List of comparative military ranks.
Part of a series on
War
(outline)
History
Military
Battlespace
Weapons
Tactics
List of military tactics
Operational
Strategy
List of military strategies and concepts
Grand strategy
Administrative
Organization
Personnel
Logistics
Science
Law
Theory
Non-warfare
Culture
Books
Related
Lists

This article presents a list of military occupations, both historic and contemporary, but only those that have taken place since the customary laws of belligerent military occupation were first clarified and supplemented by the Hague Convention of 1907.[1]

As currently understood in international law, "military occupation" is the effective military control by a power of a territory outside of said power's recognized sovereign territory.[2] The occupying power in question may be an individual state or a supranational organization, such as the United Nations.

Ongoing occupations

[edit]
Military occupations in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia (for colouring correspondence, see below), as of 2024.
Territory Since Occupied state/territory Occupying state Occupier's declared state/territory Status
Transnistria 1992  Moldova  Russia  Transnistria Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[a]
Abkhazia 2008  Georgia  Abkhazia Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[3][b]
South Ossetia  South Ossetia
Crimea[4][5] 2014  Ukraine[c] Russia Federal subjects of Russia Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3]
Significant parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts
Negligible parts of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv Oblasts 		2014[d]
2022[e] 		Russia Federal subjects of Russia[f]
Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblasts:
  • DPR & LPR: Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power (2014–2022)[3][6]
  • Four oblasts: Occupied and annexed by a foreign power (2022)[i]

Mykolaiv Oblast:

  • Occupied and partially annexed by a foreign power; territory mostly recaptured by Ukraine[j]

Kharkiv Oblast:

  • Occupied by a foreign power[k]
Parts of Kursk Oblast 2024  Russia[c]  Ukraine Ukrainian occupation of Kursk Oblast Occupied by a foreign power[13][l]
Parts of Southern Lebanon[14] 2024  Lebanon  Israel — Occupied by a foreign power
East Jerusalem[15][16][17][18] 1967 Palestinian territories;
 Palestine (since 1988 declaration)[m] 		Israel Part of the Jerusalem District (effectively annexed in 1980) Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3][23][n]
West Bank[24] Israel Judea and Samaria Area Occupied by a foreign power,[25][o] with de facto partial annexation in the West Bank[3]
Gaza Strip[p] —
Golan Heights[32][33][34]  Syria Israel Part of the Northern District (effectively annexed in 1981) Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3][23][q] Recognized by only the United States as part of Israel.[35]
Parts of Southern Syria[36] 2024 — Occupied by a foreign power
Al-Tanf[37] 2015  United States — Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[37][r]
Azaz, al-Bab and Jarabulus Districts[38][39] 2016  Turkey Syrian Interim Government Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[s]
Afrin District 2018 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[40][t]
Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn Districts 2019 Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[u]
Northern Cyprus[41] 1974  Cyprus  Northern Cyprus Occupied by an armed group under the influence of a foreign power[3][6][v]
Sofulu, Barxudarlı and Karki[42] 1992  Azerbaijan  Armenia Armenia Part of the Tavush and Ararat Provinces Occupied by a foreign power
Artsvashen[43]  Armenia  Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Part of the Gadabay Rayon
Portions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik Provinces 2021[w]
2022[x] 		Azerbaijan Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijan
Majority of Western Sahara[44] 1975  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (declared in 1976)  Morocco Morocco Southern Provinces
(annexed between 1976-79) 		Occupied and annexed by a foreign power[3][23][y]

Historical occupations

[edit]

Events before the Hague Convention of 1907 are out of scope.

1907–1919 (miscellaneous)

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Korea 1905–1910  Korea  Japan Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 Aftermath of Russo-Japanese War Yes
Cuba 1906–1909  Cuba  United States Second Occupation of Cuba Banana Wars No
Libya 1911–1912  Ottoman Empire  Italy Invasion of Libya Italo-Turkish War Yes
Albania 1912–1913[45]  Albania  Serbia Occupation of Albania Balkan Wars No
Nicaragua 1912–1933  Nicaragua  United States Occupation of Nicaragua Banana Wars No
Veracruz 1914  Mexico  United States Occupation of Veracruz Mexican Revolution No

World War I and immediate aftermath

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Albania 1916–1918[46]  Albania  Austria-Hungary Occupation of Albania World War I No
Eastern Galicia 1914–1915  Austria-Hungary  Russia Occupation of Eastern Galicia No
Belgium 1914–1918  Belgium  Germany Occupation of Belgium No
Northeastern France 1914–1918  France Invasion of Northeastern France No
Luxembourg 1914–1918  Luxembourg Occupation of Luxembourg No
Congress Poland 1914–1918  Russia
Invasion of Russian Poland No
Parts of the Baltic governorates and Vilna Governorate-General 1914–1919  Germany Invasion of Baltic Russia No
German South West Africa 1914–1915  Germany  South Africa South West Africa campaign Yes
Governorate of Serbia 1915–1918  Serbia
Occupation of Serbia No
Serbia 1915–1918  Germany Invasion of Serbia No
Eastern Serbia 1915–1918  Bulgaria Occupation of Eastern Serbia No
Serbian Macedonia 1915–1918  Bulgaria Occupation of Serbian Macedonia Yes
Albania 1915–1917[46]  Albania  Bulgaria Occupation of Albania No
Montenegro 1916–1918  Montenegro  Austria-Hungary Invasion of Montenegro No
Haiti 1915–1934  Haiti  United States Occupation of Haiti Banana Wars No
Dominican Republic 1916–1924  Dominican Republic Occupation of the Dominican Republic No
Cuba 1917–1922  Cuba Sugar Intervention No
Northeast Italy 1917–1918  Italy  Austria-Hungary Invasion of Northeastern Italy World War I No
1918–1925[z]  Russian SFSR
 Soviet Union
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Russian Civil War No
Constantinople 1918–1923  Ottoman Empire
Occupation of Constantinople Aftermath of World War I No
Smyrna 1919–1922  Greece Occupation of Smyrna No
Rhineland 1918–1930  Germany  France
 United Kingdom
 Belgium
 United States 		Occupation of the Rhineland No
Eastern Galicia 1918–1919  West Ukrainian People's Republic  Poland Polish–Ukrainian War Yes
Volhynia 1918–1919  Ukrainian People's Republic Partial
Ukraine 1918–1920  Ukrainian People's Republic  Russian SFSR Ukrainian–Soviet War Yes

1920–1946 (miscellaneous)

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Transcaucasia 1920 Azerbaijan  Russia Invasion of Azerbaijan Russian Civil War Yes
1921  Georgia Invasion of Georgia Yes
Ruhr 1923–1924  Germany
Occupation of the Ruhr Aftermath of World War I No
Manchuria / Manchukuo 1931–1945  China  Japan Invasion of Manchuria Second Sino-Japanese War No
Xinjiang 1934  Soviet Union Invasion of Xinjiang Kumul Rebellion No

World War II: build up and immediate aftermath

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Ethiopia 1935–1941  Ethiopia  Italy Invasion of Ethiopia Second Italo-Ethiopian War Yes
Parts of China 1937–1945  China  Japan Second Sino-Japanese War World War II No
Shanghai 1937–1945 No
Austria 1938  Austria  Germany Anschluss Events preceding World War II in Europe Yes
Sudetenland[47] 1938  Czechoslovakia Munich Agreement Yes
Bohemia and Moravia 1939–1945 Occupation of Czechoslovakia No
Memel Territory 1939–1945  Lithuania Occupation of Memel Yes
Albania 1939–1945  Albania  Italy Invasion of Albania No
Carpathian Ruthenia 1938  Czechoslovakia  Hungary First Vienna Award Yes
Carpatho-Ukraine 1939–1944  Carpatho-Ukraine  Hungary Invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine Yes
Poland 1939–1945  Poland  Germany Invasion of Poland World War II Partial
Eastern Poland 1939–1941  Soviet Union Annexation of Polish territories Partial
Parts of Finland 1939–1940  Finland Winter War Partial
British Somaliland 1940–1941  United Kingdom  Italy Italian invasion of British Somaliland Yes
Belgium 1940–1945  Belgium  Germany Invasion of Belgium No
Denmark 1940–1945  Denmark Invasion of Denmark No
Faroe Islands 1940–1945  United Kingdom Occupation of the Faroe Islands No
Greenland 1940–1945
Greenland in World War II No
Hankoniemi 1940–1941  Finland  Soviet Union Winter War No
Iceland[aa] 1940–1945  Kingdom of Iceland  United Kingdom Occupation of Iceland No
 United States[ab] No
Northern France[ac][ad] 1940–1944  France  Germany Invasion of Northern France No
Southeastern France[ae] 1940–1943  Italy Italian invasion of France No
Vietnam 1940–1945  Japan Invasion of French Indochina No
Baltic states 1940–1941[af][ag]  Estonia  Soviet Union Soviet occupation of the Baltic states Yes
 Latvia
 Lithuania
Luxembourg 1940–1945  Luxembourg  Germany Occupation of Luxembourg No
Netherlands 1940–1945  Netherlands Invasion of the Netherlands No
Norway 1940–1945  Norway Invasion of Norway No
Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region 1940  Romania  Soviet Union Occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Yes
Channel Islands 1940–1945  United Kingdom  Germany Occupation of the Channel Islands No
Cambodia 1941–1945  France  Japan Invasion of Cambodia No
Greece 1941–1944  Greece
Occupation of Greece No
Iran 1941–1946  Iran
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran No
Byelorussia 1941–1944  Soviet Union  Germany Occupation of Byelorussia No
Ukraine Occupation of Ukraine
Baltic states Occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (de jure independent, de facto under Soviet rule)
Parts of European Russia Eastern Front
Eastern Karelia  Finland Continuation War No
Guam 1941–1944  United States  Japan Occupation of Guam No
Transnistria 1941–1944  Soviet Union  Romania Operation Barbarossa No
Borneo 1941–1945  United Kingdom  Japan Occupation of British Borneo No
Hong Kong 1941–1945 Occupation of Hong Kong No
Malaya 1941–1945 Occupation of Malaya No
Yugoslavia 1941–1945  Yugoslavia
Military operations in the territory of Yugoslavia No
New Caledonia 1942–1945  France  United States New Caledonia during WWII No
New Guinea 1942–1945  Australia  Japan New Guinea campaign No
Nauru 1942–1945
Occupation of Nauru No
Andaman Islands 1942–1945  British Raj Occupation of the Andaman Islands No
Dutch East Indies 1942–1945  Netherlands Occupation of Dutch East Indies No
Philippines 1942–1945  Philippines Occupation of the Philippines No
Portuguese Timor 1942–1945  Portugal Battle of Timor No
Burma (Myanmar) 1942–1945  United Kingdom Occupation of Burma No
Singapore 1942–1945 Occupation of Singapore No
Kiska 1942–1943  United States Occupation of Kiska No
Attu 1942–1943 Occupation of Attu No
Italian Libya 1943–1951  Libya
Allied occupation of Libya No
Italy 1943–1945  Italy  Germany Occupation of Italy, Italian campaign No
Hungary 1944–1945  Hungary Occupation of Hungary No
Italy 1943–1945  Italy
Occupation of Italy, Italian campaign No
France 1944–1946  France
Liberation of France No
Baltic states 1944–1991[af][ag]  Estonia  Soviet Union 1944 Soviet re-occupation,
Baltic states under Soviet rule 		Yes
 Latvia
 Lithuania
Bulgaria 1944–1947  Bulgaria Occupation of Bulgaria No
Romania 1944–1958  Romania Occupation of Romania No
Poland 1944–1956[ah]  Poland Soviet presence in Poland No
Hungary 1944–1949[ai]  Hungary Occupation of Hungary No
Porkkalanniemi 1944–1956  Finland Continuation War No
Carpathian Ruthenia 1944–1945  Czechoslovakia Annexation of Carpathian Ruthenia Yes
Northern part of East Prussia/Kaliningrad Oblast 1945  Germany East Prussian offensive Yes
Manchuria 1945–1946  Manchukuo Soviet–Japanese War No
Austria 1945–1955  Austria
Allied-occupied Austria Aftermath of World War II No
East Germany, incl. East Berlin 1945–1949  Germany  Soviet Union Allied-occupied Germany No
West Germany 1945–1949
West Berlin 1945–1990
Saarland 1945–1957  France Saar Protectorate No
Northern Iran 1945–1946  Iran  Soviet Union Iran crisis of 1946 No
Japan (mainland) 1945–1951  Japan  United States Occupation of Japan No
Tokara Islands 1945–1952
Amami Islands 1945–1953
Ogasawara archipelago 1945–1968
Daitō Islands and Ryukyu Islands[aj] 1945–1972
Taiwan, Pescadores, and Itu Aba 1945–1952[50]  Japan[50]  China History of Taiwan since 1945 No
Korea 1945–1948  Korea
Occupation of Korea No
Southern Vietnam and Saigon[51] 1945–1946  France  United Kingdom War of Vietnam No

1947–1959

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Junagadh 1947–1948  Junagadh  India Annexation of Junagadh — Yes
West Bank[m] 1948–1967[52] Post-Mandate Palestine  Jordan Jordanian annexation of the West Bank 1948 Arab–Israeli War Yes
Gaza Strip[m] 1948–1956
1957–1967[ak] 		Egypt Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt No
Hyderabad 1948  Hyderabad  India Annexation of Hyderabad — Yes
Sikkim 1949[53]–1950  Sikkim  India Intervention in Sikkim No
Tibet 1949–1951  Tibet  China Annexation of Tibet Yes
Northern Jordan Valley[54] 1949-1967  Israel  Syria 1949 Armistice Agreements 1948 Arab–Israeli War No
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 1954–1974  Portugal  India Annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli — Yes
Suez Canal Zone 1956 Egypt
Suez Crisis Arab–Israeli conflict No
Sinai 1956–1957  Israel No
Gaza Strip  All-Palestine No
Hungary 1956  Hungary  Soviet Union Hungarian Uprising Hungarian Revolution of 1956 No
Laos 1959–1975  Laos  North Vietnam Invasion of Laos Laotian Civil War No

1960–1979

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Goa, Daman and Diu 1961–1974  Portugal  India Annexation of Goa — Yes
Aksai Chin 1962  India  China Sino-Indian War Sino-Indian War Yes
Arunachal Pradesh 1962 No
Dominican Republic 1965–1966  Dominican Republic  United States Invasion of the Dominican Republic Dominican Civil War No
Sinai 1967–1982[al]  Egypt  Israel Six-Day War Arab–Israeli conflict No
Czechoslovakia 1968–1989[am]  Czechoslovakia
Invasion of Czechoslovakia Prague Spring No
East Pakistan
(became Bangladesh) 		1971  Pakistan  India Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War No
Southern half of Vietnam 1975–1976  South Vietnam  North Vietnam 1975 spring offensive Vietnam War Yes
Parts of Angola 1975–1976  Angola  South Africa South African invasion of Angola South African Border War No
Tiris al-Gharbiyya 1975–1979  Western Sahara  Mauritania Battles of La Güera and Tichla Western Sahara War No
East Timor 1975–1999  East Timor  Indonesia Invasion of East Timor Indonesian occupation of East Timor Yes
Aouzou Strip 1976–1987  Chad  Libya Occupation of the Aouzou Strip Chadian–Libyan War No
Parts of Lebanon 1976–2005  Lebanon  Syria Syrian occupation of Lebanon Lebanese Civil War No
Kagera Region 1978  Uganda  Tanzania Ugandan invasion of Kagera Uganda–Tanzania War No
Southern Lebanon 1978–1984  Lebanon Free Lebanon State 1978 South Lebanon conflict Lebanese Civil War No
1984–2000  Israel 1982 Lebanon War 1982 Lebanon War No
Cambodia 1978–1989  Kampuchea  Vietnam Invasion of Kampuchea Cambodian–Vietnamese War No
Parts of Vietnam 1979  Vietnam  China Invasion of Vietnam Sino-Vietnamese War No
Afghanistan 1979–1989  Afghanistan  Soviet Union Invasion of Afghanistan Afghan–Soviet War No

1980–1999

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Falkland Islands 1982  United Kingdom  Argentina Occupation of the Falkland Islands Falklands War No
Grenada 1983  Grenada
Invasion of Grenada Grenadian Revolution No
Northern Province 1987–1990  Sri Lanka  India Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War No
Maldives 1988  Maldives 1988 Maldives coup d'état — No
Panama 1989–1990  Panama  United States Invasion of Panama War on drugs No
Kuwait 1990–1991  Kuwait  Iraq Invasion of Kuwait Gulf War Yes
Seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh 1992–2020  Azerbaijan
First Nagorno-Karabakh War Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Yes (by Artsakh)
Bağanıs Ayrım, Aşağı Əskipara, Xeyrimli and Ghizilhajili[55] 1992–2024  Armenia No
Haiti 1994–1995  Haiti
Operation Uphold Democracy 1991 Haitian coup d'état No
Lesotho 1998–1999  Lesotho
Operation Boleas Lesotho general election riots No
Parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1998–2002[56]  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Foreign support to the DR Congo Second Congo War No

2000–2019

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
Gash-Barka, Southern, Northern Red Sea and Southern Red Sea
regions of Eritrea 		2000–2018  Eritrea  Ethiopia Regions were seized at the end of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War in 2000, and subsequently delimited[57] and demarcated[58] by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague to be Eritrean territory.

Eritrea recaptured the lands during the Tigray war.

Eritrean–Ethiopian War No
Afghanistan[an] 2001–2002  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
United States invasion of Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) No
Iraq[ao] 2003–2004  Iraq
Iraq War No
Parts of Somalia 2006–2009[62]  Somalia  Ethiopia Somalia War (2006–2009) Somali Civil War No
Gori and Poti 2008  Georgia  Russia Occupation of Gori and Poti Russo-Georgian War No
Perevi 2008–2010 Occupation of Perevi No
Socotra 2018  Yemen  United Arab Emirates Takeover of Socotra Yemeni Civil War No

2020–present

[edit]
Occupied territory Years Occupied state Occupying state Event Part of war(s) Subsequently annexed?
2022–2024  Ukraine  Russia Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian War No[at]

See also

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]

Footnotes and references

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Seized during the Transnistria War; administered as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, a state with limited international recognition.
  2. ^ Seized during the Russo-Georgian War; administered as states with limited international recognition.
  3. ^ a b See Russo-Ukrainian War, War in Donbas and 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  4. ^ The occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts occurred in two stages. The south of Luhansk Oblast and the southeast of Donetsk Oblast were occupied by Russian-backed separatists from 2014 to 2022. Later, in 2022, the north of Luhansk Oblast (i.e. almost the entire oblast) and the southwest of Donetsk Oblast (e.g. Mariupol) came under Russian occupation. Parts of the northeast of Donetsk Oblast were also occupied, but areas such as Lyman have been retaken by Ukraine as of October 2022.
  5. ^ Russia's occupation of Kherson Oblast (nearly the entire oblast) and Zaporizhzhia Oblast (only the southern portion) began in 2022. On the other hand, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts were initially partially occupied by Russian-backed separatists back in 2014. In 2022, larger areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts came under Russian occupation, and the Russian-backed separatists handed over absolute control to Russia, effectively designating the entire area as Russian-occupied (as opposed to separatists-occupied). In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russia lacks control of the capital city, Zaporizhzhia, but controls the second-biggest city, Melitopol, which is acting as the de facto capital. Parts of the northwest of Kherson Oblast have been retaken by Ukraine as of October 2022.
  6. ^ See Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
  7. ^ See Russian occupation of Donetsk Oblast.
  8. ^ See Russian occupation of Luhansk Oblast.
  9. ^ As of November 2022, Russia does not control significant portions of Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Donetsk Oblast. In particular, Russia does not control the capital cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, namely Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, respectively. Russia formerly controlled Kherson for over eight months throughout 2022 after capturing it in the Battle of Kherson, although the city was eventually liberated by Ukraine following the successful 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive on 10–11 November 2022. Russia never managed to occupy the city of Zaporizhzhia at any point. Meanwhile, Russia has never managed to occupy a significant portion of Donetsk Oblast in the northwest, although Russia does control the capital city, Donetsk. As for Luhansk Oblast, Russia controls nearly the entire oblast as of November 2022.
  10. ^ Russia occupied territory in the southeast of Mykolaiv Oblast during the 2022 invasion. After failing to occupy the capital city, Mykolaiv, Russian forces withdrew to the extreme southeast, near the border with Kherson Oblast. On 30 September 2022, when Russia annexed Kherson Oblast, Russia also streamlined two small parts of Mykolaiv Oblast into Kherson Oblast, namely the city of Snihurivka and its surroundings,[7] as well as the outer portion of the Kinburn Peninsula. As of 10 November 2022, the city of Snihurivka[8][9] and its surroundings[10][11] have been completely liberated following the successful 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive, although the outer Kinburn Peninsula is still under Russian occupation.[12]
  11. ^ As of August 2024, a small incursion on the northern border of Kharkiv Oblast and a tiny sliver of territory in the far northeast are occupied by Russian forces.
  12. ^ Seized in the August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion; as of August 2024 Ukraine claims occupation encompasses 82 settlements near Russian-Ukrainian border, the largest being Sudzha.
  13. ^ a b c The West Bank (including East Jerusalem) was occupied by Jordan[19] and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt[20] from 1948 to 1967, and have been occupied by Israel since 1967.[21] The State of Palestine, which claims these territories, was not founded until 1988 (see Palestinian Declaration of Independence). The State of Palestine is, as of November 2015, recognised by 136 countries and is also a United Nations non-member observer.[22]
  14. ^ Seized during the Six-Day War from Jordan; effectively annexed in 1980 via the Jerusalem Law.
  15. ^ The West Bank was seized during the Six-Day War from Jordan, and is administered by the Israeli Civil Administration. The Oslo II Accord, officially signed on 28 September 1995, divided the West Bank into the Area C administered by Israel and the Area A and B administered by the Palestinian National Authority.

    The Gaza Strip was seized during the Six-Day War from Egypt. In 2005, Israel disengaged its military forces from the strip and no longer considers itself to be occupying the territory. Gaza's border crossings with Israel and maritime and air space are controlled by Israel. As of 2012, the United Nations "continue to refer to the Gaza Strip as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory until such time as either the General Assembly or the Security Council take a different view."[26]
  16. ^ Still considered occupied despite the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza.[27] The system of control imposed by Israel has been described as an "indirect occupation".[28] Some other legal scholars have disputed the idea that Israel still occupies Gaza.[29][30][31]
  17. ^ Seized during the Six-Day War; effectively annexed in 1981 via the Golan Heights Law. Lebanon also claims the Shebaa farms and sees the territory as being under Israeli occupation.
  18. ^ See American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War.
  19. ^ See Turkish military intervention in Syria and Syrian Civil War.
  20. ^ See Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war and Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present).
  21. ^ See Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war and Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present).
  22. ^ Seized during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus; administered as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state with limited international recognition
  23. ^ May and November 2021
  24. ^ September 2022
  25. ^ Seized during the Western Sahara War; de facto annexed; administered as the Southern Provinces; claimed by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a state with limited international recognition.
  26. ^ Most of the Allies had withdrawn by 1920, Japan continued to occupy Northern Sakhalin until 1925.
  27. ^ On 17 June 1944, Iceland dissolved its union with Denmark and the Danish monarchy and declared itself a republic.
  28. ^ On 7 July 1941, the defence of Iceland was transferred from Britain to the United States.
  29. ^ de facto Vichy France
  30. ^ Occupied the rest of France from 1942
  31. ^ de facto Vichy France
  32. ^ a b On March 26, 1949, the US department of State issued a circular letter stating that the Baltic countries were still independent nations with their own diplomatic representatives and consuls.[48]
  33. ^ a b From the Welles Declaration of July 23, 1940, "that we would not recognise the occupation, the United States acted with a consistency and a tenacity of which we can all be proud. We housed the exiled Baltic diplomatic delegations. We accredited their diplomats. We flew their flags in the State Department's Hall of Flags. We never recognised in deed or word or symbol the illegal occupation of their lands."[49]
  34. ^ A status of forces agreement was signed in December 1956 to formally regulate the position of Soviet troops in Poland, which had been there since the end of the Second World War. After the end of the country's Soviet-backed Communist regime in 1989, the last Soviet contingent would leave the country in 1993.
  35. ^ A status of forces agreement was signed in 1947 to regulate the position of Soviet troops in Hungary, which was further confirmed by Hungary's later membership in Comecon in 1949. Soviet troops would remain stationed in Hungary until 1991.
  36. ^ The Tokara Islands were restored to Japan in 1952. The Amami Islands were restored in 1953.
  37. ^ The All-Palestine Government was de facto controlled by Egypt. Formal occupation occurred only from 1959 to 1967 after that government was dissolved.
  38. ^ Israel withdrew from Taba in 1989.
  39. ^ Government control ended with the Velvet Revolution in late 1989, and stationed Soviet troops departed peacefully over 1990–1991.
  40. ^ Occupation of Afghanistan by the U.S.-led NATO ended on June 18, 2002 following the 2002 loya jirga that established the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. From June 19, 2002, U.S.-led NATO forces operated in Afghanistan with the consent of the new Afghan government.[59]
  41. ^ Occupation of Iraq by the U.S.-led Coalition ended on June 28, 2004 when the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) handed back control of Iraq to the Iraqi Interim Government as mandated by UN Resolution 1546. From June 29, 2004, U.S.-led Coalition forces operated in Iraq with the consent of the new Iraqi government.[60][failed verification]
  42. ^ These oblasts of Ukraine were all partially occupied by Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, these oblasts were eventually relinquished after several weeks. On the other hand, Russia has also occupied (parts of) Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts during the same invasion, eventually annexing them (including uncontrolled parts) in September–October 2022. Additionally, amid the 2022 annexation, Russia streamlined two small parts of Mykolaiv Oblast into Kherson Oblast, namely the city of Snihurivka and its surroundings,[7] as well as the outer portion of the Kinburn Peninsula. Earlier, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea (including Sevastopol) in 2014, which was also previously administered by Ukraine.
  43. ^ See Russian occupation of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Sumy, and Zhytomyr Oblasts.
  44. ^ The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, was captured by Russia during the 2022 invasion. Most of Chernobyl EZ lies within Kyiv Oblast (and partially within Zhytomyr Oblast), but it is off-limits to civilians. Chernobyl EZ was retaken by Ukraine in March–April 2022.
  45. ^ Snake Island, which is administratively part of Odesa Oblast and located in the Black Sea, was captured by Russia at the beginning of the invasion, on 24 February 2022. Snake Island was retaken by Ukraine on 30 June 2022.
  46. ^ Russia still controls a small part of Kharkiv Oblast, which it has not officially annexed.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907". Archived from the original on 1999-02-25. Retrieved June 20, 2015 – via The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School.
  2. ^ Bracka, J. (2021). Transitional Justice for Palestine: Truth-Telling and Empathy in Ongoing Conflict. Springer series in transitional justice. Springer International Publishing AG. ISBN 978-3-030-89435-1. Today, the widely accepted definition of occupation is 'the effective control of a power (be it one or more states or an international organization, such as the United Nations) over a territory to which that power has no sovereign title, without the volition of the sovereign of that territory'
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Duval, A.; Kassoti, E. (2020). The Legality of Economic Activities in Occupied Territories: International, EU Law and Business and Human Rights Perspectives. Routledge Research in International Economic Law. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-08873-1. In the West Bank, Israel pays lip service to the notion of a temporary occupation that is to be brought to an end by negotiation but in practice it has de facto annexed large portions of the territory under the pretext of security – as evidenced by the Wall in Palestinian territory – or by the settling of some 400,000 of its own citizens in the territory. In most cases today, however, the occupying power has formally annexed the territory in question. This is illustrated by the cases of Israel's annexations of East Jerusalem and the Golan, Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara and Russia's annexation of the Crimea. Alternatively, the occupying power has established a puppet regime that claims to be the TRNC, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
  4. ^ Peter Bursens; Christ'l De Landtsheer; Luc Braeckmans; Barbara Segaert, eds. (2016). Complex Political Decision-Making: Leadership, Legitimacy and Communication. Taylor & Francis. p. 170. ISBN 9781315453521.
  5. ^ Geiß, Robin (2015). "Russia's Annexation of Crimea: The Mills of International Law Grind Slowly but They Do Grind". International Law Studies. 91. the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  6. ^ a b Secretariat of the European Parliament DG-EXPO 2015, p. 15: "Territory may further be controlled by an armed group. This could be a rebel group which wants to take over control of the government of the state in question or it could be a group that wants to secede from the state and form a new state or have the territory transferred to another state. [...] There is no term in international law for such territory. [...] In some cases, the armed group in power in such a territory may be under the control of or under the influence of a foreign power. As has been held by the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey is legally responsible for human rights violations committed in the non-recognised 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC). It is possible that the situation is similar in the self-proclaimed peoples' republics in Donetsk and Lugansk."
  7. ^ a b "Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Mykolaiv region to be incorporated in Russian-held Kherson". Reuters. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  8. ^ Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 [@bayraktar_1love] (10 November 2022). "Snihurivka, Mykolaiv oblast - liberated 10/11/2022 https://t.co/eZSRD5c3uV" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Russia-Ukraine war live: Kyiv sceptical of Moscow's retreat from Kherson; US general estimates 100,000 Russian military casualties". the Guardian. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  10. ^ "Ukraine liberates all of Mykolaiv Oblast, Zelenskyy admin considers slashing ministries". 11 November 2022.
  11. ^ ТРУХА⚡️English [@TpyxaNews] (11 November 2022). "The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has published a map where the entire Western bank of the Kherson region is no longer occupied by Russians https://t.co/K6CM40k9Tx" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ ТРУХА⚡️English [@TpyxaNews] (12 November 2022). "The Kinburn peninsula, or as it is also called, the Kinburn Spit, remains the only not yet liberated territory in the Mykolaiv region, is the goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, "combat work is underway" on this occasion, - Natalia Humeniuk In addition, she promised good news🤞 https://t.co/6MhK3yHLO8" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-opens-military-office-occupied-kursk-region-says-it-is-still-advancing-2024-08-15/ [bare URL]
  14. ^ "Israeli troops reach deepest point in Lebanon since Oct. 1 invasion, Lebanese media say". AP. 16 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Israel plans 1,300 East Jerusalem Jewish settler homes". BBC News. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  16. ^ "Chapter 12: The status of Jerusalem" (PDF). The Question of Palestine & the United Nations (Brochure). United Nations Department of Public Information. March 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-09-02.
  17. ^ "Israeli authorities back 600 new East Jerusalem homes". BBC News. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  18. ^ "United Nations Security Council Resolution 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971". Archived from the original on 2013-08-19.
  19. ^ See also: Jordanian annexation of the West Bank
  20. ^ See also: Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip
  21. ^ "Palestinian territories - Timeline". BBC News. 8 July 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  22. ^ "Amid violence, 'glaring lack of hope,' UN deputy chief urges action to break Israeli-Palestinian impasse". UN News. 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  23. ^ a b c Secretariat of the European Parliament DG-EXPO 2015, p. 14: "An occupied territory may also be illegally annexed [...] Annexation means that the territory is incorporated into another state and is being regarded by that state as a part of its territory. Among contemporary examples, one finds the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, Western Sahara and Crimea. Under current international law, annexation can only be carried out after a peace treaty, and preferably after a referendum. Annexations which do not correspond to this requirement – like those just mentioned – are illegal."
  24. ^ Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (PDF) (Advisory opinion). Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders. International Court of Justice. 2004. ISBN 92-1-070993-4. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  25. ^ Secretariat of the European Parliament DG-EXPO 2015, p. 14: "Territory over which a foreign power has taken control is occupied. [...] An occupation is supposed to be a temporary status, but current reality shows that territory may be occupied for decades; the West Bank and Gaza have been occupied for 48 years."
  26. ^ "Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General". United Nations. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  27. ^
    • Sanger, Andrew (2011). "The Contemporary Law of Blockade and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla". In M.N. Schmitt; Louise Arimatsu; Tim McCormack (eds.). Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law - 2010. Vol. 13. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 429. doi:10.1007/978-90-6704-811-8_14. ISBN 978-90-6704-811-8. Israel claims it no longer occupies the Gaza Strip, maintaining that it is neither a Stale nor a territory occupied or controlled by Israel, but rather it has 'sui generis' status. Pursuant to the Disengagement Plan, Israel dismantled all military institutions and settlements in Gaza and there is no longer a permanent Israeli military or civilian presence in the territory. However the Plan also provided that Israel will guard and monitor the external land perimeter of the Gaza Strip, will continue to maintain exclusive authority in Gaza air space, and will continue to exercise security activity in the sea off the coast of the Gaza Strip as well as maintaining an Israeli military presence on the Egyptian-Gaza border. and reserving the right to reenter Gaza at will.
      Israel continues to control six of Gaza's seven land crossings, its maritime borders and airspace and the movement of goods and persons in and out of the territory. Egypt controls one of Gaza's land crossings. Troops from the Israeli Defence Force regularly enter pans of the territory and/or deploy missile attacks, drones and sonic bombs into Gaza. Israel has declared a no-go buffer zone that stretches deep into Gaza: if Gazans enter this zone they are shot on sight. Gaza is also dependent on Israel for water, electricity, telecommunications and other utilities, currency, issuing IDs, and permits to enter and leave the territory. Israel also has sole control of the Palestinian Population Registry through which the Israeli Army regulates who is classified as a Palestinian and who is a Gazan or West Banker. Since 2000 aside from a limited number of exceptions Israel has refused to add people to the Palestinian Population Registry.
      It is this direct external control over Gaza and indirect control over life within Gaza that has led the United Nations, the UN General Assembly, the UN Fact Finding Mission to Gaza, International human rights organisations, US Government websites, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a significant number of legal commentators, to reject the argument that Gaza is no longer occupied.
    • Scobbie, Iain (2012). Elizabeth Wilmshurst (ed.). International Law and the Classification of Conflicts. Oxford University Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-19-965775-9. Even after the accession to power of Hamas, Israel's claim that it no longer occupies Gaza has not been accepted by UN bodies, most States, nor the majority of academic commentators because of its exclusive control of its border with Gaza and crossing points including the effective control it exerted over the Rafah crossing until at least May 2011, its control of Gaza's maritime zones and airspace which constitute what Aronson terms the 'security envelope' around Gaza, as well as its ability to intervene forcibly at will in Gaza.
    • Gawerc, Michelle (2012). Prefiguring Peace: Israeli–Palestinian Peacebuilding Partnerships. Lexington Books. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7391-6610-9. While Israel withdrew from the immediate territory, Israel still controlled all access to and from Gaza through the border crossings, as well as through the coastline and the airspace. In addition, Gaza was dependent upon Israel for water, electricity, sewage, communication networks, and for its trade (Gisha 2007. Dowty 2008). ln other words, while Israel maintained that its occupation of Gaza ended with its unilateral disengagement, Palestinians—as well as many human right organizations and international bodies—argued that Gaza was by all intents and purposes still occupied.
  28. ^ Slater, Jerome (October 2012). "Just War Moral Philosophy and the 2008–09 Israeli Campaign in Gaza" (PDF). International Security. 37 (2): 44–80. doi:10.1162/ISEC_a_00098. S2CID 57565733. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  29. ^ Samson, Elizabeth (2010). "Is Gaza Occupied?: Redefining the Status of Gaza Under International Law" (PDF). American University International Law Review. 25 (915): 915–967. Retrieved 6 December 2024. Although the United Nations still maintains that Gaza is occupied, under both the literal and interpreted applications of the definition of occupation—characterized by what is termed "effective control"—Gaza is not occupied territory pursuant to the standards set forth in international law and doctrine.
  30. ^ Bell, Abraham; Kontorovich, Eugene (8 March 2016). "Palestine, Uti Possidetis Juris and the Borders of Israel" (PDF). Arizona Law Review. 58: 633–692. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  31. ^ Sebutinde, Julia (19 July 2024). "Dissenting opinion of Vice-President Sebutinde" (PDF). UN International Court of Justice. Retrieved 6 December 2024. The Court has misapplied the law of belligerent occupation and has adopted presumptions implicit in the question of the General Assembly without a prior critical analysis of relevant issues, including the application of the principle of uti possidetis juris to the territory of the former British Mandate, the question of Israel's borders and its competing sovereignty claims, the nature of the Palestinian right of self-determination and its relationship to Israel's own rights and security concerns.
  32. ^
  33. ^ Occupied territory:
  34. ^ Korman, Sharon (1996). The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice. Oxford University Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-19-828007-6. The continued occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights is recognized by many states as valid and consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Charter, on a self-defence basis. Israel, on this view, would be entitled to exact as a condition of withdrawal from the territory the imposition of security measures of an indefinite character—such as perpetual demilitarization, or the emplacement of a United Nations force—which would ensure, or tend to ensure, that the territory would not be used against it for aggression on future occasions. But the notion that Israel is entitled to claim any status other than that of belligerent occupant in the territory which it occupies, or to act beyond the strict bounds laid down in the Fourth Geneva Convention, has been universally rejected by the international community—no less by the United States than by any other state.
  35. ^ "Trump signs decree recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights". Reuters. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  36. ^ "Israel says it will impose 'sterile' zone in southern Syria". Al Jazeera. 10 December 2024.
  37. ^ a b "Syria vows to fight against 'occupiers' US, Turkey, Israel". Middle East Monitor. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  38. ^ Kajjo, Sirwan (2 March 2017). "Skirmishes Mar Fight Against IS in Northern Syria". Voice of America. Turkish occupation "is an existential threat to the Assad government's ability to reclaim the entirety of its territory, which is a key argument that regime loyalists make in their support of Bashar al-Assad's government," Heras said.
  39. ^ Fisk, Robert (29 March 2017). "In northern Syria, defeated Isis fighters leave behind only scorched earth, trenches – and a crucifixion stand". The Independent. You can't mistake the front line between the Syrian army and Turkey's occupation force east of Aleppo.
  40. ^ "Afrin's Syrian Kurds Continue to Pay Price of Turkey's Occupation". The Defense Post. 15 September 2021.
  41. ^ UN Security Council resolutions 353, 357, 358, 359, 360, and 365.
  42. ^ "Armenian-Azerbaijani Disputes Beyond Karabakh". University of Southern California. August 9, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  43. ^ Institute for War and Peace Reporting (February 12, 2011). "Cold Comfort for Displaced Armenian Villagers". Refworld. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  44. ^ "Military occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco". Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts. Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  45. ^ "1913 I Leo Freundlich: Albania's Golgotha: Indictment of the Exterminators of the Albanian People". Texts and Documents of Albanian History. Translated by Elsie, Robert. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04.
  46. ^ a b Kerchnawe, Hugo; Mitzka, Rudolf; Sobotka, Felix; Leidl, Hermann; Krauss, Alfred (1928). Die Militärverwaltung in den von den österreichisch-ungarischen Truppen besetzten Gebieten, Nide 4 (in German). Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky A.G.
  47. ^ Glassheim, Eagle (2006). "Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945–1989". The Journal of Modern History. 78 (1): 65–92. doi:10.1086/499795. S2CID 142647561.
  48. ^ Feldbrugge, F. J. M.; Van den Berg, G. P.; Simons, William B., eds. (1985). Encyclopedia of Soviet Law (2nd revised ed.). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht. p. 461. ISBN 90-247-3075-9.
  49. ^ "U.S.-Baltic Relations: Celebrating 85 Years of Friendship" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Department of State. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  50. ^ a b "Far East (Formosa and the Pescadores)". Hansard. 540 (cc1870–4). U.K. Parliament. May 4, 1955. Retrieved 2010-09-01. The sovereignty was Japanese until 1952. The Japanese Treaty came into force, and at that time Formosa was being administered by the Chinese Nationalists, to whom it was entrusted in 1945, as a military occupation.
  51. ^ Chapman 2013, pp. 30–31.
  52. ^ Benvenisti, Eyal (2012-02-23). The International Law of Occupation. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-958889-3.
  53. ^ Cohen, Stephen P. (1987). The Security of South Asia: American and Asian Perspectives. University of Illinois Press. pp. 38, 40.
  54. ^ The Missing Peace - The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace (2004), by Dennis Ross. ISBN 978-0-374-52980-2. pp 584-585
  55. ^ "Armenia returns 4 border villages to Azerbaijan". DW. 24 April 2024.
  56. ^ "Africa :: Congo, Democratic Republic of the". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  57. ^ "Decision regarding delimitation of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia" (PDF). Reports of International Arbitral Awards. 13 April 2002. pp. 83–195. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  58. ^ "Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission". Permanent Court of Arbitration. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  59. ^ "Humanitarian debate: Law, policy, action: Conflict in Afghanistan II - Part 2: Law and humanitarian action" (PDF). International Committee of the Red Cross. March 2011. p. 13-16.
  60. ^ Knut Dörmann, Laurent Colassis. "International Humanitarian Law in the Iraq Conflict" (PDF). International Committee of the Red Cross. p. 3-9.
  61. ^ "Coalition troops in Iraq". BBC News. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  62. ^ "Ethiopia Marks Yearlong Occupation in Somalia". Voice of America. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21.