Sovereign Status of Gaza

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Sovereign Status of Gaza
12/03/2009

Question :
If Gaza is not occupied, does that mean Gaza has separate sovereign status? If they have no connection, what is your opinion-does Gaza have separate sovereign status?Is having "separate sovereign status", synonomous with being "sovereign territory"?

Answer :
You have matters reversed. Territory must have separate sovereign status in order to be occupied. One cannot occupy one’s own sovereign territory. But the state of not being occupied says nothing about the sovereign status of territory. Antarctica is not occupied and not the sovereign territory of any state. Canada is not occupied and is the sovereign territory of the state of Canada. Guantanamo Bay is not occupied and is leased by the United States from Cuba. The sovereign status of Gaza is a complex question which I will have to answer at length at another time.

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