U.S. clarifies it views West Bank as 'occupied' by Israel State Department spokesman tells reporters it's 'a historical fact' that Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights after annual report on human rights appeared to have used terminology introduced by Trump's administration AFP | Published: 04.01.21 , 13:18 U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said Wednesday that Israel's control of the West Bank is indeed "occupation," clarifying its stance after the release of a report that seemed to downplay the term, adopting language used by Donald Trump's government. The State Department's annual report on human rights "does use the term 'occupation' in the context of the current status of the West Bank," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.