Gaza Strip

قطاع غزة Gaza Strip
Coat of arms of Palestine Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Biladi
Capital	Gaza 31°25′N 34°20′E
Largest city	capital
Official languages	Arabic
Government	Palestinian National Authority
Created	1949
Area
- Total	360 km² (212th) 130 sq mi
- Water (%)	0
Population
- census	1,376,289
- Density	3,823/km² 10,586/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	estimate
- Total	$768 million
- Per capita	$600
Currency	Israeli new sheqel (ILS)
Internet TLD	.ps
Calling code	+970

The Gaza Strip (Qitˁɑ' Ġazzah/Qita' Ghazzah, Retzu'at 'Azza) is a narrow coastal strip of land along the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel.

The Gaza Strip was not recognized internationally, in 2007, as part of any sovereign country. It was governed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel controls the Gaza strip's airspace and offshore maritime access.

It holds the oldest known remains of a man-made bonfire and some of the world's oldest dated human skeletons. It is considered to be one of the 15 territories that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity."

Geography

Crowded beach in Gaza City.

The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city. The Gaza Strip has a 32-mile (51km) border with Israel, a seven-mile (11km) border with Egypt, and an area of 139 square miles (360km²), slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC.

The terrain is flat or rolling, with dunes near the coast. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah ([Joz Abu 'Auda]]), at 344 feet (105 meters) above sea level.

The Gush Katif bloc of Israeli localities used to exist on the sand dunes adjacent to Rafah and Khan Yunis, along the southwestern edge of the 25-mile (40km) Mediterranean coastline. A few months after the Israel's unilateral disengagement plan in December 2005, a controversial buffer zone was created on the northern border with Israel. Part of it reaches 1.5-mile (2.5km) into the Palestinian Authority controlled territory, on roughly the area of the former northern Israeli localities, an area used to launch Qassam rockets into Israel.

The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry, hot summers subject to drought. January is the coldest month with average temperatures ranging from(43°F to 59°F (6°C to 15°C) and July and August are the hottest months at 72°F to 91°F (22°C to 33°C) on average.

Natural resources include arable land (about a third of the strip is irrigated), and recently discovered natural gas.

Environmental issues include desertification; salination of fresh water; inadequate sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water resources.

Gaza, the largest city within the Gaza Strip, has a population of approximately 400,000. It is frequently termed "Gaza City" in order to distinguish it from the Gaza Strip. Other cities include Rafah, and Khan Yunis. Several towns are located along the coast between Rafah and Gaza City. Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun are located to the north and northeast of Gaza City, respectively.

History

Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon

Strategically located on the Mediterranean coastal route, ancient Gaza was a prosperous trade center and a stop on the caravan route between Egypt and Syria. The city was occupied by Egypt around the fifteenth century B.C.E.

The Philistines were a people who invaded the southern coast of Canaan, around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being later named Philistia. Gaza became one of their chief cities. Canaan is an ancient term for a region approximating to present-day Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Lebanon and Syria.

In 145 B.C.E. Gaza was conquered by Jonathan Maccabaeus the Hasmonean (Brother of Judas Maccabeus the Maccabee). There was a prospering Jewish presence in Gaza until the Roman ruler Gavinius expelled them in 61 C.E. In the times of the Mishnah and the Talmud there was a large Jewish community in Gaza, and on one of the pillars of the Great Mosque of Gaza there was a Greek inscription which read "Hananiah bar Yaakov" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah carved above it. This column was originally part of a Byzantine-era synagogue, destroyed at an unknown date and reused (recycled) as part of a grand Church of St. John Baptist, built by Crusaders. When the Crusaders were driven out, the church was commandeered for use as a mosque. At an undetermined date between between 1987 and 1993, during the intifada a very tall ladder or scaffolding were erected and the carving was chisled off. The remains of the ancient Gaza synagogue, built around 500 C.E., were found near the city wharf.

Gaza was captured by Arabs in the 630s after a siege during which the Jewish population of the city defended it alongside the Byzantine garrison. Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great grandfather was buried, the city became an important Islamic center. In the twelfth century, Gaza was taken by Christian Crusaders; it returned to Muslim control in 1187.

The region fell to the Ottoman Empire that ruled the region of Palestine for four centuries (1517-1917).

The British took control of the region during World War I (1914-1918).

In 1922 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate of Palestine was established. The future of Palestine was hotly disputed between Arabs and the Zionist movement.

In 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan]] proposed a division of the mandated territory between an Arab and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem and the surrounding area to be a corpus separatum under a special international regime. The regions allotted to the proposed Arab state included what would become the Gaza Strip and almost all of what would become the West Bank, as well as other areas.

Jewish groups (notably the Jewish Agency) generally supported the partition plan. Arab groups (all Arab countries in the U.N. voted against it) generally rejected the partition plan and subsequently invaded the newly formed State of Israel starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

After the war, Israel controlled many of the areas designated for the Arab state, and the negotiated agreements established Armistice Demarcation Lines (ADLs), which did not have the status of recognised international borders.

Egypt took control over Gaza and its surrounding area. The Egyptians never accepted the inhabitants as citizens of Egypt and prohibited them from leaving Gaza Strip.

Israel captured the city and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six Day War, and Gaza remained occupied by Israel for the next 27 years with smaller territory as large part of land has been confiscated by Israel. At the beginning of the Israeli occupation, the relations between Israelis and citizens of Gaza were pleasant, and both sides tended to cross the borders - the Palestinians in order to work within the State of Israel, and Israelis in order to buy cheaper objects. However, the relationship changed from the First Intifada, and later on after the failure of the Oslo accords. The disappointment of both sides from each other led the Gaza strip into poverty, and made the Hamas party the strongest one within the strip.

With the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as First Intifada in 1987, Gaza became a center of political unrest and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, and economic conditions in the city worsened.

Originally the headwear of Palestinian peasants, the keffiyeh, worn here by Yasser Arafat, first came to symbolize Palestinian nationalism during the British Mandate period.

In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords calling for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. Most of the Israeli forces left Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian National Authority to administer and police the city, along with the rest of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters.

In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to some West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.

In February 2005, the Israeli government voted to implement |Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip beginning on August 15, 2005. The plan required the dismantling of all Israeli settlements there, transferring the lucrative hot house industry to Palestinian control to spur economic development, and the removal of all Israeli settlers and military bases from the Strip, a process that was completed on September 12, 2005, as the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to military rule in the Gaza Strip after 38 years of control.

The withdrawal was highly contested by the nationalist right in Israel, particularly the religious nationalist tendency, and some supporters of these tendencies now consider the Gaza Strip to be an occupied part of Israel. Following withdrawal, Israel retains offshore maritime control and control of airspace over the Strip. Israel withdrew from the "Philadelphi Route" that is adjacent to the Strip's border with Egypt after an agreement with the latter to secure its side of the border. The future political status of the Gaza Strip remained undecided, and is claimed as part of any prospective Palestinian state.

Government and politics

Damaged part of Yasser Arafat International Airport.

The Strip itself and its population is under the nominal jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, a provisional government that also nominally governs parts of the West Bank. The authority also operates the Strip's Rafah border crossing into Egypt under European Union supervision, and. The crossing has been closed sporadically due to Israeli demands since June 2006, after a series of terrorist attacks by Palestinian militants were launched against Israel.

Prior to Israel's unilateral withdrawal, the United States considered the Gaza Strip to be Israel-occupied territory. Following the withdrawal, no official government statement has been made on the present status of the Strip. However, the CIA World Factbook, last updated in March 2007, continues to define the Gaza strip as "Israeli-occupied".

Israel, the United States, and the European Union have frozen all funds to the Palestinian government since Hamas's victory in the 2006 elections. They view the group as a terrorist organization and have pressured them to recognize Israel and renounce violence.

According to the Palestinian "Basic Law" which was signed by former president Yasser Arafat in 2002 after a long delay, the structure of the Palestinian Authority is based on the three separate branches of power — executive, legislative, and judiciary. The Judiciary Branch has yet to be properly formalized.

The president of the Palestinian Authority is directly elected by the people, and the holder of this position is also considered to be the commander-in chief of the armed forces. In an amendment to the Basic Law approved in 2003 the president appoints a "prime minister" who is also chief of the national security services. The prime minister chooses a cabinet of ministers and runs the government, reporting directly to the president.

The Palestinian Legislative Council, an elected body increased to 132 representatives that acts as a parliament, must approve all cabinet positions proposed by the prime minister, and must also confirm the prime minister upon nomination by the president. Half the legislative council must be elected under a system of proportional representation and half by traditional constituencies.

The judiciary is nominally independent, and subject to the law, and was, in 2007. The Basic Law calls for the establishment of a Supreme Judicial Council, Islamic Sharia’ courts, and military courts.

Economy

Backyard industry.

High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank.

The beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures.

The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, which have not yet been realized due to Israeli military activities in the Gaza Strip in 2006, continued crossings closures, and the international community's financial embargo of the PA after HAMAS took office in March 2006.

The Israeli settlers of Gush Katif built greenhouses and experimented with new forms of agriculture. These greenhouses also provided employment for many hundred Gazan Palestinians. When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, these greenhouses were bought by the World Bank and given to the Palestinian people to jump-start their economy. Most of these greenhouses have now been looted or destroyed.

As of December 2006, unemployment rose from 23 percent in 2005 to over 50 percent. In the previous four months, approximately 10,000 emigrated from the territories, and approximately 50,000 have applied to do so. For the previous nine months, the 160,000 civil service workers, who are the breadwinners for a third of households, did not received their full salaries due to the cuts in foreign aid.

Gaza Strip industries are generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center. Electricity is supplied by Israel.

The main agricultural products are olives, citrus, vegetables, Halal beef, and dairy products. Primary exports are citrus and cut flowers, while primary imports are food, consumer goods, and construction materials.

Gold Market, Gaza City.

The Gaza strip has a small, poorly developed road network. It also had a single standard gauge railway line running the entire length of the strip from north to south along its center; however, it is abandoned and in disrepair, and little track remains. The line once connected to the Egyptian railway system to the south as well as the Israeli system to the north.

The strip's one port was never completed after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Its airport, the Gaza International Airport, opened in November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the Oslo II Accord and the Wye River Memorandum, was closed in October 2000 by Israeli orders, and its runway was destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces in December 2001. It has since been renamed Yasser Arafat International Airport.

The Gaza strip has rudimentary landline telephone, extensive mobile telephone services, and four internet service providers. Most Gaza households have a radio and a TV, and roughly 20 percent have a personal computer. Residents have access to satellite television (Al Jazeera, Lebanese and Egyptian entertainment programs, etc.), local private channels, and broadcast TV from the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Exports (for Gaza and West Bank) totalled $301-million in 2005. Export commodities included citrus, flowers, textiles. Export partners included Israel, Egypt, and the West Bank.

Imports totalled $2.44-billion. Import commodities included food, consumer goods, and construction materials. Import partners included Israel, Egypt, and West Bank.

According to the CIA World Factbook, GDP in 2001 declined 35 percent to a per capita income of $625 a year, and 60 percent of the population was below the poverty line.

Demographics

Palestinian children, 2002

Around 1.37 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip. Population density is 8227 per square mile (3177 per square kilometre). The majority of the Palestinians are direct descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled from their homes when Israel was created during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Gaza Strip population has continued to increase since that time.

The large refugee population means the United Nations Relief and Works Agency provides health, educational, and social services. A study carried out for CARE International in late 2002 found that 17.5 percent of children suffered from chronic malnutrition, while 53 percent of women of reproductive age and 44 percent of children were found to be anemic.

About 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 15. Infant mortality is 32 per 1000 live births, and average life expectancy 72 years.

Ethnicity

Palestinian Arabs and others 99.4 percent of the population, while Jewish make up 0.6 percent. Gaza’s population is divided into categories according to residential status. There are indigenous Gazans, permanently settled refugees, and residents of refugee camps. Around 52 per cent of Gazans live in urban centres. Indigenous Gazans comprise only 40 per cent of the area’s total population, though they hold disproportionate influence in economic and political affairs.

Religion

Other than a small and dwindling community of 2000 Christians, the residents are almost entirely Sunni Muslims. Historically, there has been a Jewish presence in the region. However, on several occasions, the most recent being as a result of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 by Israel, they have been asked to leave.

The Islamic holy book, the Koran, sets out rules for everyday behavior as well as religious doctrine, so religion, politics, and culture are bound together in Muslim communities. An imam (spiritual leader) delivers a weekly sermon at a mosque on Fridays.

Language

The primary language of the Palestinians is Arabic. Israelis in the region speak Hebrew, which is spoken by many Palestinians. English is widely understood. Arabic is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. Classified as Central Semitic, it is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic.

Men and women

Women are restricted to homemaking or local cottage industries, since many Palestinian men consider it unacceptable for women to work outside the home. Women dress in the traditional Muslim jilbab, a long jacketlike dress, with a scarf to cover the hair. Men are the center of Palestinian life. The family patriarch is the key decision-maker regarding living arrangements, children's marriages, and money. Women must obey their father or husband.

Marriage and the family

File:Palestijnse familie rond 1900 .jpg

Family in Palestine, c.1900

A Palestinian Arab family, 2004

Polygamy is common, and up to four wives are allowed, but most Palestinian men have only one or two wives. When a couple wishes to marry, the man approaches the woman's family. They declare their engagement, and the families get to know one another. This tradition is weaker in urban areas and among university students. A wedding is an occasion for singing, dancing, and feasting. The couple exchanges vows in a Muslim ceremony called the Katb al-Kitab.

The extended family is the strongest social unit, and share the same household. Married children live with their parents. Elderly parents are cared for at home by the families of their children. If a man with several wives can afford a large house, each wife gets her own rooms. But houses tend to be small and lack privacy. Palestinians are proud of their children. An infant boy's circumcision is celebrated. Extended families help in caring for infants and young children.

Education

The school system in Gaza is based on Egypt's, which is divided into three stages: Basic education, which includes a primary stage and a preparatory stage; secondary education and post-secondary education. There are numerous literacy and cultural centers. Most children get a free public education, from kindergarten through high school. Children from well-to-do families may attend an Islamic or a Christian school. There are eight Palestinian universities and four colleges, all of which grant bachelor's degrees in arts and sciences. A few offer graduate programs.

Class

Before the Israeli unilateral disengagement, Jewish Israeli settlements were separated from Palestinian communities, and the best roads, shopping centers, jobs, and services were in the Israeli areas. Palestinians resented this.

Within the Palestinian community there are two distinct cultures — the privately educated Palestinians, who lived in the United States or Europe before their parents returned in the mid-1990s, and the majority, who lived through the Israeli occupation. The returnees got the best jobs, and many flaunt money and automobiles. The majority lives in poverty. The gulf between rich and poor may be a bigger problem than attaining Palestinian sovereignty.

People and Culture

Gaza's population is composed almost entirely of Muslims, though it also has a small Christian community. A massive influx of Palestinian refugees swelled Gaza's population after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. The city's population has continued to increase since that time, and poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread. Gaza has serious deficiencies in housing and infrastructure, and an inadequate sewage system has contributed to serious hygiene and public health problems. As in the rest of the Palestinian territories, the birth rate is extremely high.

Attractions

Places of interest to the visitor are the Great Omari Mosque, the Mosque of Al Sayed Hashem, the Mosque of Ibn Othman, the Mosque of Ibn Marwan, The Sheikh Abul Azm sanctuary, the Sheikh Ajlin sanctuary, Tell al Mintar, Napoleon's fort (Al Radwan Castle), and the Church of St. Porphyrius. The city also has many new resorts where tourists and local people can swim and relax by the beach or swimming pools.

• The Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque)

Located in downtown Gaza, Al-Omari Mosque with its splendid minaret, reputedly occupying the site of the first ancient temple of Marnas and then a Greek Orthodox Church. The mosque was also the site of a Norman church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.

• Napoleon's Fort (Qasr El-Basha)

Also located in downtown Gaza, this imposing stone building dates back to the Mamluk period. It is known as Qasr El-Basha because Napoleon spent a few nights here on his way through the town in 1799.

• St. Porphyrus Church

This 4th century church is where St. Porphyrus died and was buried (420 C.E.) It is located in the Gaza's old city and still in use today by the Greek Orthodox Community.

• Al-Sayed Hashem Mosque

Located in Al-Daraj Quarter, the mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful ancient mosques in Gaza. The tomb of Hashem bin Abd-Manaf, Mohammad's grandfather who died in Gaza during a trading voyage, is believed to be under the dome of the mosque.

Transport

Gaza shared Yasser Arafat International Airport with the rest of the Gaza Strip. It was opened in 1998, but is currently inoperational, its runways and support facilities having been largely destroyed by Israeli armed forces during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Following the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in autumn 2005, discussions took place between the Palestinian and Israeli sides on its reopening. So far, Israeli negotiators have not agreed to allow the airport be reopened.

Arriving to Gaza:

• By air:

Gaza International Airport, 40 km south of Gaza. Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, 75 km north of Gaza.

• By car:

Northern access: Erez Crossing point (border with Israel). Southern access: Rafah crossing point (border with Egypt and also known as Philadelphia line).

[1].

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Gaza

• West Bank
• Palestine
• Sinai Peninsula
• Porphyry of Gaza
• Al-Azhar University - Gaza
• First Battle of Gaza
• Second Battle of Gaza
• Little Gaza

External links

• Municipality of Gaza
• Gaza at Google Maps
• Al-Azhar University-Gaza
• The Islamic University - Gaza
• Creation of Disputed Gaza Buffer Zone December 2005

Template:Cities in the Gaza Strip

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