photo: An Israeli soldier managing Palestinians at the Huwara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, 2006

Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power’s military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling power’s own sovereign territory.[1][2][3][4] The controlled territory is called occupied territory, and the ruling power is called the occupant.[5] Occupation’s intended temporary nature distinguishes it from annexation and colonialism.[4][6] The occupant often establishes military rule to facilitate administration of the occupied territory, though this is not a necessary characteristic of occupation.[7]

Bonus: Belligerent Occupation: Duties and Obligations of Occupying Powers