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Source: http://www.biu.ac.il/soc/besa/MSPS83.pdf
Is Gaza Occupied? Redefining the Legal Status of Gaza
(BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Elizabeth Samson - Despite whatever previous classifications have been applied to Gaza, Gaza is presently not an occupied territory. Israel presently does not exercise "effective control" over Gaza and, therefore, does not occupy it. That element, combined with the existence of the Palestinian Authority as the indigenous government endorsed by the population which is recognized by the international community, lends additional weight to the conclusion that occupation is over. Therefore, the new legal status of Gaza should be that of a "sui generis territory" administered by the Palestinian Authority. It is politically important for the absence of occupation to be acknowledged by international legal experts so that Israel would not be held to the more stringent legal requirements of an occupier and to lend greater legitimacy to Israel's acts of self-defense. The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute and a Research Associate at the BESA Center.