One of the earliest examples of the effort to obscure the legal status of the Occupied Territories by avoiding the term “occupation” is in a memo sent on June 22nd, 1967, by Michael Comay, the Foreign Minister’s political advisor the ministry’s deputy executive director.
"Cautionary remarks with respect to the use of certain terms"
Download the document’s English translation here (pdf)
“In light of the fact that the International Committee of the Red Cross has been attempting to assert rights with respect to the civilian population subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, some cautionary remarks must be made with respect to the use of certain terms enumerated in the Convention. I am referring mainly to the terms:
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
OCCUPYING POWER
Our UN delegation and our diplomatic missions must be aware that locally, we avoid discussions with the ICRC on the status of the territories and the status of the ICRC in them, and attempt to cooperate with the organization on a strictly pragmatic basis.
There are two alternatives: Using the term TERRITORIES OF THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT or TERRITORIES UNDER ISRAEL [sic] CONTROL. Externally, I prefer the second option.”
