The US State Department dropped from its annual human rights report released on Friday the term “Occupied Territories” when making reference to the West Bank including East Jerusalem and Gaza.
The Washington-based Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) said it is seen as a major shift in US foreign policy towards Israel and the Palestinians.
The U.N. the E.U. Russia China and almost all the countries in the world see the Israeli control of the West Bank Gaza East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights since 1967 as “military occupation.”
In previous years the headline of the report was: “Human rights practices in Israel and the occupied territories.” However this year’s document refers instead to “Israel Golan Heights West Bank and Gaza.”
IMEU said that US ambassador to Israel David Friedman a staunch supporter of Israel’s illegal settlement policy in the occupied territories had asked the State Department in December to stop referring to the occupied territories as “occupied.”
Israel has occupied The Golan the West Bank East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Six Day War.
