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Palestinian Territory

X

Background :

The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel still controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip; and it enforces a restricted zone along the border inside Gaza. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. Violent clashes between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007 resulted in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. In February 2007, ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June 2007, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal, and despite multiple rounds of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation negotiations, the two groups have failed to bridge their differences. Late November 2007 through June 2008 witnessed a substantial increase in Israeli-Palestinian violence. An Egyptian-brokered truce in June 2008 between Israel and HAMAS brought about a five-month pause in hostilities, but spiraling end-of-year violence resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,100 to 1,400 Palestinians and left tens of thousands of people homeless. International donors pledged $4.5 billion in aid to rebuild the Gaza Strip, but by mid-May 2009 only a small fraction of the aid had been delivered. 

Location :

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

31 25 N, 34 20 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 34.22
North 32.55
East 35.57
South 31.22

Map references :

Middle East 

Area :

total 360 square km
land 360 square km
water 0 square km

Land boundaries :

total 62 km
Egypt (eg) 11 km
Israel (il) 51 km

Coastline :

40.00 km

Climate :

temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers 

Terrain :

flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 105 metres

Natural resources :

arable land natural gas

Land use :

arable land 29.00 %
permanent crops 21.00 %
other 50.00 %

Irrigated land :

155 square km

current issues :

desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources 

Population :

1 551 859 

Indicators :

Growth rate 3.35 %
Birth rate 36.93 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 5.03 children born/woman
Death rate 3.44 deaths/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 44.40 %
15-64 years 53.00 %
65 years and over 2.60 %

Median age :

total 17.40 years
male 17.20 years
female 17.50 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.68 male(s)/female
total population 1.04 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 18.35 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 73.42 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 71.82 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 75.12 years

Religions :

Muslim 99.30 %
Christian 0.70 %

Languages :

Arabic  
Hebrew  
English  

Literacy :

total population 92.40 %
male 96.70 %
female 88.00 %

Country name :

conventional short form Gaza Strip
local short form Qita Ghazzah

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 PS
ISO Numeric 275
ISO3 PSE
FIPS WE
ccTLD ps
English Palestinian Territory

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 12.00 %
industry 5.00 %
services 83.00 %

Other Indicators :

Unemployment rate 42.30 %
Population below poverty line 70.00 %
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 9.90 %

Agriculture - products :

beef dairy
flowers fruits
olives vegetables

Industries :

food processing textiles

Energy :

Electricity Production 65 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 202 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 120 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 26 500 bbl/day
Oil Exports 511 bbl/day
Oil Imports 22 150 bbl/day

Commodities :

construction materials| consumer products
food

Currency-name :

new Israeli shekel 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 348 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 1 153 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 10
Television broadcast stations 1
Internet Country code (ccTLD) ps
Internet Users 356 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 1
Heliports 1

Photos

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