The Gaza Strip
PALESTINE MONITOR FACTSHEET
“Gaza is a prison and Israel
seems to have thrown away
the key.”
United Nations Special Rap-
porteur on Human Rights,
John Dugard
Gaza: The Facts
• Gaza is an arid rectangle of territory at the
southeast end of the Mediterranean. 45 km
(25 miles) long and 10 km (6 miles) wide,
it is wedged between Israel to the north
and east, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to the
south.
• The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely
populated places on earth with 3,823 per-
sons per km2.
• The population of Gaza tripled in 1948-49
when it absorbed approximately 175,000
Palestinian refugees fleeing their homes in
what is now Israel.
• There are now about 1.5 million inhabit-
ants in the Gaza Strip.
• The majority of the population are young
refugees: the average age in the Gaza Strip
is 16.
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Updated: 31/08/2007
The History of Gaza
• the Gaza Strip was established at the end of
the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Its boundaries were
defined by the ceasefire lines. It was placed
under Egyptian rule and held in trust for a
future Palestinian state.
• At the end of the 1956 Suez-Sinai War, the
Gaza Strip was occupied by Israel. A year later
Israel withdrew its troops as a result of inter-
national pressure and a United Nations Emer-
gency Force (UNEF) was placed in the Gaza
Strip.
• In June 1967, Israel recaptured the Gaza Strip
during the Six-Day War. In November of the
same year UN Security Council Resolution 242
called on Israel to withdraw from the Gaza
Strip and other ‘occupied territories.’
• In 1970, the first Jewish settlement, Kfar
Darom, was built in the Gaza Strip. This settle- Map: BBC 2006
ment was illegal under international law, but Refugee camp of northern Gaza and rapidly
nonetheless the Israeli government continued spread to East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
to expand settlements in Gaza. The increasing The first Intifada was characterised by strikes,
Jewish presence in Gaza sparked Palestinian civil disobedience, boycotts and demonstra-
activism and helped motivate the founding tions against the Israeli military. It lasted until
of several political groups. Confrontations 1993.
between settlers and Palestinians became • The Camp David Summit in 2000 renewed
increasingly violent. hopes for peace. But the Israeli military and
• In 1987, Hamas was founded as an Islamic Palestinians engaged in a new round of intense
resistance movement. It was established in fighting as a result of Ariel Sharon’s visit to the
Gaza just before the beginning of the first Pal- esplanade of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which led to
estinian Intifada, which started in the Jabalia the second (al-Aqsa) Intifada in September 2000.
• On September 12th, 2005, Israel withdrew its
military personnel as well as all Israeli settlers
from Gaza. It claimed this amounted to “dis-
engagement” from the Gaza Strip. However,
Israel still controls all of Gaza’s borders, plus its
airspace and territorial waters. Military incur-
sions, targeted assassinations and constant
closures of Gaza’s borders are still common-
place. The Gaza Strip therefore remains under
active Israeli occupation.
• In June of 2007, violent clashes escalated
between the armed wings of political factions
Fatah and Hamas, killing more than 100 peo-
ple in Gaza. Both parties accused one another
of orchestrating a military coup and attempt-
ing to assassinate each others’ leaders. Hamas
routed Fatah forces and retained control of
Gaza. Hamas and the state of Israel have his-
torically refused to recognize each other. Israel
responded to the Hamas victory by effectively
sealing Gaza off from the outside world.
Gaza and International Law
• The laws of occupation are incorporated
into the 1907 Hague Convention and the
1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. These laws
impose general responsibility on the occupy-
ing state for the safety and welfare of civilians
living in an occupied territory. The laws of oc-
cupation apply if a state has “effective control”
over the territory in question.
• The broad scope of Israeli control in the Gaza
Strip, which exists despite the Israeli military
claim of a lack of permanent presence in the
strip, creates a reasonable basis to assume this
amounts to “effective control,” and that the laws
of occupation therefore continue to apply.
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• Under international humanitarian law even
if Israel ‘s control of the Gaza Strip does not
amount to “effective control” and the territory
is not considered occupied, Israel still bears
certain responsibilities . International humani-
tarian law is not limited to protecting civilians
living under occupation, but includes provi-
sions intended to protect civilians during an
armed conflict, regardless of the status of the
territory in which they live.
The Humanitarian
Crisis in Gaza
• The Gaza Strip has been facing a humani-
tarian crisis since April, 2006, when western
donors cut aid to the Palestinian Authority in
an effort to isolate the democratically elected
Hamas government.
• In 2006, average GDP in the Gaza Strip was
less then $1,500, the same as Mozambique
and less than Rwanda.
• In Gaza approximately 80% of Palestinians
are now living in poverty; 35% of them are
classified as “extremely impoverished”.
• The Karni crossing, which serves as the main
conduit for commercial goods into Gaza, has
been closed since June 13th, 2007. This has
devastated the Gazan economy. 80% of all in-
dustrial sector businesses are either temporar-
ily shut down or running at below 20% capac-
ity. This sector is 95% dependant on imported
raw materials, and over 66,000 workers have
been temporarily laid off.
• Due to constant closures, the movement
of essential commodities through Sufa and
Kerem Shalom crossings has been massively
restricted. Gaza now suffers shortages of es-
sential commodities, such as powdered milk,
rice and vegetable oil. The resulting rise in
market prices has made it extremely difficult
for families to have an adequate, healthy and
balanced diet. The high price of animal fodder,
and shortage of cattle, has led to a steep rise
in the price of fresh and frozen meat. However,
the price of local cash crops for export (espe-
cially fruits and vegetables) is decreasing.
• The health sector remains unstable. Accord-
ing to the July 2007, United Nations Relief
and Works Agency (UNRWA) Gaza Situation
Report, primary and secondary health care
facilities are still functioning despite shortages
of electricity and supplies such as X-ray film,
laboratory kits, patient beds and examination
tables. However there are ongoing shortages
of chronic disease drugs and anaesthetics,
and a considerable portion of equipment and
machines are out of order, overloading the
remaining capacity of hospitals.
• Also according to UNRWA, 22% of Gaza
homes are not connected to the sewage sys-
tem, making sanitation a major problem.
Inside the Erez crossing, going to Gaza. Photo: Olly Lambert.