1BluePlanet Gaza Strip

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1BluePlanet Gaza Strip

gaza strip

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Introduction: GAZA STRIP

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.

GEOGRAPHY
Country name:	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah
Capital:
Location:	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Geographic Coordinates:	31 25 N, 34 20 E
Area:	total: 360 sq km land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area Comparative:	slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land Boundaries:	total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Coastline:	40 km
Maritime Claims:	Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Climate:	temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Terrain:	flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Elavation Extremes:	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
Natural Resources:	arable land, natural gas
GOVERNEMENT
Governement Type:
Administratives Divisions:
Independence
National Holiday:
Constitution:
Legal System;
Suffrage
Executive Branch:
Legislative Branch:
Judicial Branch:
Political parties and Leaders:
PEOPLE
Population:	1,376,289 note: in addition, there are more than 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 48.5% (male 342,186/female 325,899) 15-64 years: 48.8% (male 342,927/female 329,354) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,036/female 20,887) (2005 est.)
Median age:	total: 15.65 years male: 15.5 years female: 15.81 years (2005 est.)
Nationality:	noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic groups:	Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Religions:	Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%
Languages:	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
COMUNICATIONS
Telephones - main lines in use:	95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	320,000 (cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2002)
Telephone system:	general assessment: NA domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an open-wire system international: NA
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:	2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)
Internet country code:	.ps
Internet hosts:
Internet users:	60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001)
TRANSPORT
Railways:
Highways:	total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network
Waterways:
Pipelines:
Ports and harbors:	Gaza
Merchant marine:
Airports:	2 (2001) note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA), inaugurated on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum; GIA has been largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Heliports:	1 (2004 est.)