Gaza: impoverished smaller half of future Palestinian state
AFP
Date: 09-10-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - The Gaza Strip, the lesser half of the Palestinians' promised future state, is home to 1.3 million residents who struggle against often overwhelming levels of poverty and violence on the shores of the Mediterranean.
The Israeli army, which captured the territory from Egypt during the 1967 Six-Day War, is on track to leave Gaza for the final time on Monday and hand over control of the empty Jewish settlements to the Palestinian Authority.
Before the transfer, the Palestinian Authority exercised sovereignty on some 67 percent of the land, with the remaining 33 percent taken up by 21 settlements which needed an Israeli army division for their security.
Each square kilometre (0.4 square mile) shelters an average of 2,350 Palestinians, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
For decades the Palestinian population lived alongside 8,000 Jewish settlers who lived in relative luxury and space before their evacuation last month.
Around 900,000 of the population are refugees who were expelled or left their homes after the creation of Israel in 1948 and their offspring. Half of those live in eight camps managed by the United Nations.
Situated to the southwest of Israel and bordering Egypt, the Mediterranean coastal region covers 362 square kilometres (140 square miles), some 45 kilometres (28 miles) in length by six to 10 kilometres wide.
Owing to an almost uninterrupted army blockade of the territory during the five-year Palestinian uprising, Gaza labourers have been largely unable to cross into Israel for work.
Unemployment stands at around 45 percent and up to two-thirds of the population live in poverty, with Israeli military checkpoints hampering freedom of movement and goods inside the Palestinian territory.
Over the last five years, the army has carried out short, sharp operations inside the Gaza Strip and along the almost-hermetic security barrier, set up to prevent Palestinian attacks in Israeli territory.
Some of the deadliest raids have seen Israel trying to stamp out arms smuggling from nearby Egypt via underground tunnels and to quell militant rocket and mortar attacks at Gaza settlements and southern Israeli towns.
An October 2004 campaign, concentrated mainly on the northern Gaza Strip, left 130 Palestinians dead and caused more than three million dollars worth of damage, according to UN figures.
Palestinians hope their living conditions will improve with the completion of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's historic disengagement plan.
While freedom of movement is to resume inside the territory, Israel is to maintain control of its territorial waters and airspace, and at least in the short-term will continue to inspect civilians and goods entering from Egypt.
Although Israel has destroyed all the settlers' houses since they left last month, they have left intact public infrastructure, including sewage and water plants and networks.
Source
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
|