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"Occupied": Disputed Word about Disputed Land

(New York Times) William Safire - In the past, Sharon resented the pro-Palestinian usage, "the occupied West Bank." Although the kingdom of Jordan claimed that territory from 1948 to 1967, its claim was not recognized by most of the world's nations; after Israel defeated an Arab attempt to destroy the Israeli state in 1967, Israel moved into the land to ensure what it called ''defensible borders.'' In light of UN resolutions calling for a withdrawal from ''territories'' - but specifically not all territories - seized in Israel's defensive war, Israelis tried out the phrase administered territories. Those sympathetic to the cause of an independent Palestinian state preferred occupied West Bank. As the usage was tilted toward the Palestinians, Israelis recalled that the legal status of Judea/Samaria or the West Bank had, since the Yom Kippur war, been ''areas in dispute.'' A neutral term was floated to provide occupied with competition: disputed territories. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld endeared himself to embattled Israelis by showing his understanding of the nuances as he referred to ''the so-called occupied territories.'' Then Sharon deliberately used the word occupation. Israel's nonpartisan attorney general, Elyakim Rubinstein, promptly rebuked the prime minister, reminding him that the proper legal term was disputed territories.
2003-06-24 00:00:00
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