Largest city

Gaza
Official language(s)
Arabic
Government
Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh
Organized
September 13, 1993 Oslo accords
• Population
• July 2007 estimate
• 1,500,202 people (149th1)
•  Census
• 9, 520 
• Density
• 4,118/km2 (6th1)
10,665/sq mi
 In a letter that Ahmed
Jabari sent to Khaled Meshal
he warned him that security
situation Gaza is getting
worse as it was reported by
Arabic-language newspaper
A-Sharq Al-Awsat. Jabari
wrote that Gaza is falling
into anarchy.
The region served as a battlefield during the
First World War (1914–18), with the British
and Ottomans fighting in the Sinai and
Palestine. Gaza, which controlled the coastal
route, was taken by the British in the Third
Battle of Gaza on 7 November 1917. The
British government has financially supported
the maintenance of a cemetery for fallen
British soldiers from WWI.
British rule of Palestine
ended with the expiration
of the British Mandate and
the Israeli Declaration of
Independence on May 14,
1948.
However, Israel maintained its
control over the crossings in
and out of Gaza. The Rafah
crossing between Egypt and
Gaza was monitored by the
Israeli army through special
surveillance cameras. Official
documents such as passports,
I.D. cards, export and import
papers, and many others had to
be approved by the Israeli
army.
 The Israeli Gaza Strip barrier is a separation barrier
first constructed under the leadership of Israeli
Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin to improve security
and counter-terrorism protection. It was completed
in 1996, but was largely torn down by Palestinians at
the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.Between
December 2000 and June 2001, the part of the barrier
separating the Gaza Strip from Israel was
reconstructed. Completely encircling the Gaza
Strip,the barrier is made up of wire fencing with
posts, sensors, high technology observation posts
and buffer zones on lands bordering Israel, and
concrete and steel walls on lands bordering Egypt.
In total 13 Israelis and approximately 1400
Palestinians were killed in the 22-day war.
After 22 days of fighting, Israel decided to
stop fighting, while insisting on holding its
positions, while Hamas has vowed to fight on if
Israeli forces do not leave the Strip.
5,000 homes, 16 government buildings, and
20 mosques were destroyed. 25,000 homes
were damaged.
 PHY
R A
E OG
G
 :The vast majority of the population
are Sunni Muslims, with an estimated
2,000 to 3,000 Christians.In
December 2007, Israel permitted 400
Gaza Christians to travel through
Israel to Bethlehem for Christmas.
Even though they were restricted by
travel permits, many Christian
families took the opportunity to
settle in the West Bank, despite the
illegality.
 *Eighty percent of the population is below
the poverty line according to a 2007 estimate.
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.
Israel supplies the Gaza Strip with electricity.
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
 After the Hamas takeover of
the Gaza Strip the health
conditions in Gaza Strip faces
new challenges. World Health
Organization (WHO) expressed
its concerns about the
consequences of the
Palestinian internal political
fragmentation; the
socioeconomic decline;
military actions; and the
physical, psychological and
economic isolation on the
health of the population in
Gaza.
 Gazans who desire
medical care in Israeli
hospitals must apply
for a medical visa
permit. In 2007, State
of Israel granted
7,176 permits and
denied 1,627.
 Religion

:Adherents of Islam makes up

99.3 percent of the population
and 0.7 percent of the population
are Christian.
 TRANSPORT AND
COMMUNICATION
 Damaged part of Yasser Arafat International
Airport.

 The Gaza Strip has a small, poorly developed road

network. It also had a single standard gauge
railway line running the entire length of the Strip
from north to south along its center; however, it is
abandoned, in disrepair, and little trackage remains.
The line once connected to the Egyptian railway
system to the south, as well as the Israeli system to
the north.
LIVE GAZA,LIVE
MUSLIMS