Israeli officials have acknowledged systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, secret documents disclosed by Israeli newspaper Haaretz have revealed.

The previously classified foreign ministry documents date back to 1967 and 1968, shortly after Israel began its now 49-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The documents show how the Israeli government sought “to avoid application of the Geneva Conventions to the territories immediately after they were captured” and how “it tried to prevent international criticism of violations of the conventions.”

Israeli documents show how Israel in 1968 tried to avoid phrase occupation in order to circumvent Geneva convention. https://t.co/naUzmBr0u4

— Jørgen Jensehaugen (@JJensehaugen) September 21, 2016

The documents also “reveal how Israel sought to avoid defining itself as an occupier in the territories, while admitting explicitly that this claim was put forth for strategic reasons, to avoid criticism, even though there was no substantive justification for it.”

One document, a “top-secret” cable sent in March 1968 to Israel’s then-ambassador in Washington, Yitzhak Rabin, states: “Our consistent policy has been and still is to avoid discussing the situation in the administered territories with foreign parties on the basis of the Geneva Conventions.”

It continued: “Explicit recognition on our part of the applicability of the Geneva Conventions would highlight serious problems under the convention with house demolitions, expulsions, settlement and more – and furthermore, when we’re obligated to leave all options open with regard to the issue of borders, we must not recognize that our status in the administered territories is solely that of an occupying power.”

Collective punishment is a grave violation of Israel's obligations under the IV Geneva Convention #Impunity https://t.co/NL4mCjeFXR

— Xavier Abu Eid (@xabueid) September 17, 2016

The cable described “East Jerusalem” as “the most serious problem”, since “if the government were to follow the Geneva Conventions and The Hague Regulations, it wouldn’t be able to make far-reaching administrative and legal changes, such as expropriating land.”

A second “secret” cable was sent by Michael Comay, political advisor to then-Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, to the foreign ministry’s deputy director general on 22 June 1967.

Comay says officials must “be careful about the use of certain phrases noted in the [Geneva] convention”, such as “‘occupied territories’ and ‘occupying power’”. This was “in light of the fact that the international Red Cross is trying to assert rights with regard to the civilian population.”

Israel approves 100s of settler homes and continues to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention with impunity: #BDS https://t.co/WOs8qITfUj

— Dimitri Lascaris (@dimitrilascaris) September 3, 2016

According to Haaretz, “these documents are not merely an interesting historical record of how Israel initially related to the Geneva Conventions, nor are they merely an admission of its violation. They are also relevant to the ongoing debate today over the occupation’s legality.”

(MEMO, PC)