Gaza Strip
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The Gaza Strip (Arabic غزة, Hebrew עזה) is a narrow strip of land in the south-west of Palestine. At the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was occupied by the Egyptians, under which it remained until it was claimed under international law by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967.
Together with parts of the West Bank, it is mostly run by the Palestinian Authority. Substantial portions of the Gaza Strip, (mainly the sites of Israeli settlements), are controlled by Israel. The Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, a Public Security Force and a civil Police Force.
Around 1.2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza strip, mostly refugees who fled Israel in the 1948 war; as a result it has one of the highest population densities in the world. Since 1967, around 25 Israeli settlements have been constructed in the Gaza Strip. These setters occupy several orders of magnitude more land per capita than the Palestinian population. The population is growing by around 4% a year. Most people in the strip are Muslim, with small Christian (0.7%) and 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
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. It also has a 40 km coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli occupation.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry and 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.
Economic output in the Gaza Strip - under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - 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.
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, 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 John 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.
The Gaza strip has a single railway line, abandoned and in disrepair, little trackage remains. It has a small, poorly developed road network. Its one port is Gaza City . It has two airports, one paved, one unpaved, including Gaza International Airport , which opened on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October Wye River Memorandum . GIA was largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its runway was destroyed by the Israel Defense Force in December 2001
The Gaza strip has a rudimentary telephone services provided by an open wire system, two TV stations run by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority), and no radio stations. It has four ISPs. Most Palestinian households have a radio and a TV, but there are no figures available.
See also: History of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Terror
Israeli troops have begun implementing the historic pullout plan from the Gaza Strip by delivering eviction notices to the remaining settlers. They now have 48 hours, beginning this morning at 00:00 (UTC+3) to withdraw from their settlements before the army removes them by force.
The Gaza Strip

Many settlers have vowed to resist their evacuation and promised fierce but nonviolent resistance. They have blocked the gate of Neve Dekalim, one of the largest settlements in the Strip, and called upon the soldiers to refuse their orders. "You're a partner to a crime," they screamed to army members.

Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, Israel's commander over the Gaza Strip, said the army will not waver in managing the pullout: "We will reach every settler, just as we have planned."

The IDF has sent about 55,000 troops to evacuate some 8,500 settlers.

The Israeli government believes that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is vital for the security of the country, although the decision to withdraw was very controversial, causing splits in Sharon's governing Likud party. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz called it a "painful and difficult, but historic day".

In a televised prime time address, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon outlined his reasons for the withdrawal: "This act is essential for Israel. Believe me, the pain I feel with this act is the full realisation that we must do it. ... We cannot hold onto Gaza forever, more than a milion Palestinians live there ... crowded in refugee camps, poverty and hotbeds of hatred with no hope on the horizon." Sharon also said that if any terrorist attacks by Palestinians were to occur after the pull-out his government would deliever the "harshest response ever". But he also stated that if the Palestians would stretch out their hand in peace "we will respond with an olive branch."

The Palestinian Authority fully agrees with the Israeli actions. "We tell the Israeli people, `You have chosen the right path,'. Don't listen to the voices of the extremists who want a continuation of the occupation. I don't want — and I will not accept — any clashes with the army or the settlers," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Channel 10 TV. Abbas also insisted that Israel must hand over control over the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well in the not so far future.

The PA itself has deployed some 7,500 security to prevent attacks by Palestinian extremists.

The Gaza Strip has been partially occupied by Jewish settlers for 38 years. The average per capita Palestinian annual income there in 2001 was $625 U.S. dollars and there are extreme dietary deficiencies among the Palestinian people. Israel has given no assurances that there will be a lessening of trade restrictions on goods coming out of the Gaza strip.