Gaza Strip
| Gaza Strip Qita Ghazzah | |
| image:gz-map.png | |
| Languages | Chiefly Arabic (also Hebrew, English) |
| Area
- Total - % water | (not ranked)
360 kmē 0% |
| Population
- Total - Settlers - Density |
(not ranked)
1,225,911 (2002) over 5,000 3,400/kmē (2002) |
| Currency | 1 New Israeli sheqel (NIS) = 100 Agorot |
| Time zone | UTC +2/+3 |
The Gaza Strip (Arabic غزة, Hebrew רצועת עזה) isnarrow stripland insouth-westPalestine. Atend of1948 Arab-Israeli War,was occupied byEgyptians, under whichremained untilwas claimed under international law by Israel duringSix-Day War1967.
Togetherparts ofWest Bank, itmostly run byPalestinian Authority. Substantial portions ofGaza Strip, (mainlysitesIsraeli settlements),controlled by Israel. The Palestinian Authoritynot permitted conventional military forces; there are, however,Public Security Force andcivil Police Force.
| Tablecontents |
|
2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Transportcommunication 5 External links |
Demographics
Around 1.2 million Palestinians live inGaza strip, mostly refugees who fled Israel in1948 war; asresulthas one ofhighest population densities inworld. Since 1967, around 25 Israeli settlements have been constructed inGaza Strip. These setters occupy several ordersmagnitude more land per capita thanPalestinian population. The populationgrowing by around 4%year. Most people instripMuslim,small Christian (0.7%)Jewish (0.6%) minorities.
- Birth rate: 41.85 births/1,000 population
- Death rate: 4.12 deaths/1,000 population
- net migration: 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population
- infant mortality: 24.76 deaths/1,000 live births
- fertility: 6.29 children born/woman
Geography
The Gaza Striplocated inMiddle East (at 31 25 N, 34 20 E). It has an 11km borderEgypt, nearcityRafah, and51km borderIsrael. It also has40 km coastline ontoMediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims dueIsraeli occupation.
The Gaza Strip hastemperate climate,mild winters,dryhot summers, subjectdrought. The terrainflat or rolling,dunes nearcoast. The highest pointAbu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda), at 105 metres above sea level. Natural resources include arable land (aboutthird ofstripirrigated),recently discovered natural gas. Environmental issues include desertification; salinationfresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation;depletioncontaminationunderground water resources. Itconsideredbe one offifteen terrotories that compriseso-called "CradleHumanity"
Economy
Economic output inGaza Strip - underresponsibility ofPalestinian Authority sinceCairo AgreementMay 1994 - declined by about one-third between 19921996. This downturn has been variously attributedcorruptionmismanagement by Yasser Arafat andIsraeli closure policies -impositiongeneralized border closuresresponseterror attacksIsrael - which disrupted previously established laborcommodity market relationships between Israel andStrip. The most serious negative social effectthis downturn wasemergencehigh unemployment.Israel's usecomprehensive closures decreased duringnext few years and,1998, Israel implemented new policiesreduceimpactclosuresother security procedures onmovementPalestinian goodslabor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery inGaza Strip. Recovery was ended inlast quarter2000 withoutbreak ofal-Aqsa Intifada, triggering tight Israeli closuresPalestinian self-rule areas andsevere disruptiontradelabor movements. In 2001,even more severelyearly 2002, internal turmoilIsraeli military measuresPalestinian Authority areas resulted indestructioncapital plantadministrative structure, widespread business closures, andsharp dropGDP. Another major loss has beendeclineincome earned by Palestinian workersIsrael.
According toCIA World Factbook, GDP2001 declined 35% toper capita income$625year,60% ofpopulationnow belowpoverty line. Gaza strip industriesgenerally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings,mother-of-pearl souvenirs;Israelis have established some small-scale modern industriesan industrial center. Electricitysupplied by Israel. The main agricultural productsolives, citrus, vegetables, beef,dairy products. Primary exportscitruscut flowers, while primary importsfood, consumer goods,construction materials. The main trade partners ofGaza StripIsrael, Egypt, andWest Bank.
A study carried out by John Hopkins UniversityAl Quds UniversityCARE International late2002 revealed very high levelsdietary deficiency amongPalestinian population. The study found that 17.5%children aged 6-59 months suffered from chronic malnutrition. 53%womenreproductive age44%children were foundbe anemic.
Transportcommunication
The Gaza strip hassingle railway line, abandonedin disrepair, little trackage remains. It hassmall, poorly developed road network. Its one portGaza City. It has two airports, one paved, one unpaved, including Gaza International Airport, which opened on 24 November 1998 as partagreements stipulated inSeptember 1995 Oslo II Accord and23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum. GIA was largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli ordersits runway was destroyed byIsrael Defense ForceDecember 2001.The Gaza strip hasrudimentary telephone services provided by an open wire system, two TV stations run byPalestinian Broadcasting Corporation (whichcontrolled byPalestinian Authority),no radio stations. It has four ISPs. Most Palestinian households haveradio andTV, but thereno figures available.
See also: History ofWest BankGaza Strip Terror
