|
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip
of land in the Middle East not internationally recognized currently as
a de jure part of any sovereign country. It takes its name from Gaza,
its main city. It is one of the most densely populated territories on
earth, with a predominantly (99.4%) Palestinian population of about 1.4
million in an area of 360 km². 86% of the Strip is currently under
the
jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the remaining
territory (mainly the areas containing and surrounding Israeli
settlements, as well as borders and main roads) is controlled by Israel
[1]. It is a focus of dispute in the long-running Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
Geographically, the Strip forms the westernmost portion of the
Palestinian territories in Southwest Asia, having land borders with
Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the north and east. On the west,
it is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea.
The Strip's borders were originally defined by the armistice lines
between Egypt and Israel after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which
followed the dissolution of the British mandate of Palestine. It was
occupied by Egypt until it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day
War. In 1993, after the Palestinian-Israeli agreements known as the
Oslo Accords, much of the Strip came under limited Palestinian
Authority control. 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, and the
removal of all Israeli settlers and military bases from the Strip, a
process that is to be completed by October, 2005. Following withdrawal,
Israel will retain offshore maritime control and a small strip of land
(the so-called "Philadelphi Corridor") alongside the Egypt-Gaza Strip
border, although Israel's defense minister has said that Israel will
eventually leave this corridor as well.
Demographics
Around 1.37 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip. The
majority of the Palestinians are direct descendants of refugees who
fled or were expelled from Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. By
1967, the population had grown about six-fold, and the Strip's
population has continued to increase since that time. Poverty,
unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread as a result of
the record high birth rate (5.91 children born/woman on average) and
geographic confinement. From the 1970s onwards, 25 Israeli settlements
were constructed in the Gaza Strip, but these were removed in August
2005. The Palestinian population is growing by around 4% a year. Over
99% residents of the strip are Palestinian Muslim, with a small
Palestinian Christian (0.7%) minority.
Demographic numbers relates to the Palestinian population (2005
estimates)[2]:
Birth rate: 40.03 births/1,000 population(2005 est.)
Death rate: 3.87 deaths/1,000 population
net migration: 1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population
infant mortality: 22.93 deaths/1,000 live births
fertility: 5.91 children born/woman
Population growth rate: 3.77%
Geography
The Gaza Strip is located in the Middle East (at 31°25′ N
34°20′
E). It has an 11km border with Egypt, near the city of Rafah, and a
51km border with Israel. Religious and nationalist Jews claim the
entire Gaza Strip as part of Israel while Palestinians claim it as part
of a future Palestinian state they intend to create. The Government of
Israel intends to unilaterally withdraw from the Strip and remove all
Israeli residents who reside mainly in Gush Katif along the South
Western coast of Gaza. It also has a 40 km coastline on the
Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli control of
the border.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry
hot summers subject to drought. The terrain is flat or rolling, with
dunes near the coast. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda),
at 105 metres above sea level. 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; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil
degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water
resources. It is considered to be one of the fifteen territories that
comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity."
It currently holds the oldest known remains of a manmade bonfire and
some of the world's oldest dated human skeletons
Economy
Economic output in the Gaza Strip declined by about one-third
between 1992 and 1996. This downturn has been variously attributed to
corruption and mismanagement by Yasser Arafat and to Israeli closure
policies—the imposition of generalized border closures in response to
terror attacks in Israel—which disrupted previously established labor
and commodity market relationships between Israel and the Strip. The
most serious negative social effect of this downturn was the emergence
of high unemployment.
Israel's use of comprehensive closures decreased during the next
few years and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the
impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of
Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost
three-year-long economic recovery in the Gaza Strip. Recovery was ended
in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada,
triggering tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a
severe disruption of trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more
severely in early 2002, internal turmoil and Israeli military measures
in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of capital
plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a
sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in income
earned by Palestinian workers in Israel, who have been replaced by
foreign workers from Romania and Thailand.
According to the CIA World Factbook, GDP in 2001 declined 35% to a
per capita income of $625 a year, and 60% of the population is now
below the poverty line. 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. The main trade partners of the Gaza Strip are
Israel, Egypt, and the West Bank.
A study carried out by Johns Hopkins University and Al Quds
University for CARE International late in 2002 revealed very high
levels of dietary deficiency among the Palestinian population. The
study found that 17.5% of children aged 6–59 months suffered from
chronic malnutrition. 53% of women of reproductive age and 44% of
children were found to be anemic.
Transport and communication
The Gaza strip has 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 trackage remains.
The line formerly connected to the Egyptian railway system to the south
as well as the Israeli system to the north. It has a small, poorly
developed road network. Its one port was never completed after the
outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Its airport, the Gaza International
Airport, opened on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in
the Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum. The
airport was closed in October 2000 by Israeli orders, and its runway
was destroyed by the Israel Defense Force in December 2001 It has since
been renamed Yaser Arafat International Airport.
The Gaza strip has rudimentary landline telephone service provided
by an open wire system as well as extensive mobile telephone services
provided by PalTel (Jawwal) or Israeli providers such as Cellcom. Gaza
is serviced by four internet service providers that now compete for
ADSL and dial-up customers. Most Gaza households have a radio and a TV
(70%+), and roughly 20% have a personal computer. People living in Gaza
enjoy access to satellite television (Al-Jazeera, Lebanese and Egyptian
entertainment programs, etc.), local private channels, and broadcast TV
from the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and the Israel
Broadcasting Authority.
|
