The Gaza Strip

Who is it Between The Gaza Strip is located between Egypt and Israel. The Strip is only 25 miles long and 5 miles across. The conflict here began in 1948 when the Arab-Israeli war began. The Strip was placed in Arab control. Overpopulation from refugees and extreme poverty quickly became a serious issue.

Gaza Refugees In only 362 square kilometers, the Gaza Strip holds 1.85 million people, making it one of the most overcrowded places on Earth. The Egyptian Government did not recognize Gaza as part of Egypt, and did not allow refugees to either become citizens or flee to other Arab countries. Israel did not provide for the refugees or permit them to Israel either.

Control over the Strip - (Government Impact) Control over the Gaza Strip has shifted between Egypt and Israel several times. In The Suez crisis of 1956 gave control to Israel, only to be reverted to Egyptian control a year later. Israel controlled the strip again after the 6 day war in 1967 and later gave control to the Palestinian Authority after severe rioting and protests in Between all of the shifts of control, the people of Gaza have continually been denied support from neighboring governments, adding to the poverty and anger. The anger toward Israel promoted the rise of terrorist groups such as the Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Hamas Control - (Government Impact) The existing government in Gaza was defeated by the Hamas in 2006 elections. A large number of countries including the U.S. and the E.U. have had the Hamas placed on official lists of terrorist groups. Gaza then became independent of the Palestinian Authority in The victory of the Hamas only worsened conditions for Gazans. Israel declared Gaza a hostile territory, and almost entirely closed the border, with extreme restrictions on imports and even power cuts.

Israeli - Hamas Conflict In 2008, the Hamas Gazans launched rocket strikes against Israel, and Israeli forces responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Economic and Social Consequences 30% of the arable land in Gaza is uninhabited and unusable due to the massive buffer zone instated by Israel. Israel and Egypt maintain a strict boundary on Gaza, prohibiting migration, and blocking trade, taking a large toll on their economy and contributing to poverty. The rockets and airstrikes exchanged between Israel and Gaza destroyed a large amount of infrastructure, and claimed over 1,000 lives.

Economic and Social Consequences Gaza is technically controlled by Israel, as the United Nations considers the area to be occupied by Israel. This means that the airspace and maritime area of Gaza is maintained by Israel. Israel does not have any governmental control over Gaza, since Hamas is the political party in power, and the Hamas claims to represent the Palestinian Authority. Israel does enforce much external control over the Gaza strip however, because Israel controls Gaza’s utilities such as water, telecommunications and electricity.

Cultural Importance After the holocaust people of the Jewish faith felt that they deserve their own country. Since Palestine is thought to be the original home of the Jewish people they were given a large chunk of it, but many Arab people believed this to be unfair and did not recognize this as a country. In 1948 and 1967 wars broke out to decide who would get the holy land. Then in 2006 a terrorist group name Hamas took control of Gaza trying to restore Palestine to it's original state.

Valuable Natural Resources The largest natural resource in Gaza is natural gas, but Israel prevents the palestinian population from using it. The land can also be considered a natural resource. This part of the middle east is densely populated, and most of the fighting has been between Israel and other Arab nations over the land.

Strategic Importance The dispute over the Gaza strip was originally a territorial conflict between Israel and Egypt immediately following World War II. The Arab-Israeli war and the Six-Day War was fought over territory, but ultimately the conflict left the Gaza Strip filled with extreme poverty and tens of thousands of refugees. When Egypt and Israel no longer desired control of Gaza because of the burdens it carried, they both abandoned it, and left it as a buffer territory.

Historical Importance The major effects of the creation of Israel after WWII - Territorial disputes caused heightened anger and violence in the Middle East after hundreds of thousands muslims were forced out of former Palestine in order to create a Jewish state. The violence in the middle East left millions in poverty and created countless thousands of refugees. The suffering people have turned to terrorism and further violence in anger.

Boundary Results The 362 square kilometer country of Gaza borders the Mediterranean Sea, Israel, and Egypt. The borders of Gaza were made up after World War Two, it was decided that Gaza would be made out of a chunk of Palestine, doing so started the decline of Palestine’s land mass. Different crossings in the country such as the Erez and Karni Crossing divide up the country into different sections usually with each containing a large city such as Gaza City or Khan Yunis. These crossings are a result of the many conflicts Gaza has faced with Egypt, Israel, and Hamas.

Economic Importance While one would assume the location of Gaza with the coast along the Mediterranean Sea would prompt much trade and allow for economic prosperity, however an almost complete and total blockade of the area prevent Gaza from trading with anyone but Egypt and Israel. This severely hinders their economy, and with no extremely valuable or abundant natural resources, as well as a severely high unemployment rate, the area does not show much potential economically.

Demographic Impact Due to the constant conflict in the area of Gaza there is a net-out migration stream. Palestinian refugees flee Gaza looking for safety and economic opportunity. The exact population of Gaza and the numbers leaving are hard to calculate due to the lack of a comprehensive registration system there. These refugees are fleeing to territories that border the state of Israel. The gazan people have been effected in the most negative way. The sanctions enforced by Israel and Egypt have forced them into poverty. All of the surrounding nations have abandoned them, and refused them help. Israel has had the most positive impact. They have expanded their territorial power, and gained external control on much of palestine.

Other Information Israel’s defense budget is $15 billion per year The U.S. gives $3 billion per year to Israel’s defense budget In the conflicts of 2011, 2,200 people were killed. 71 Israelis were killed. 7 were civilians. 2,101 gazans were killed, 1460 were civilians. More than half of gaza’s population is under 18. Roughly 40,000 children do not attend school (2010). Only 10% of the water sources in gaza are drinkable, so they must depend on other countries for this utility, as well as power and food.

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