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1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)
Gaza Strip
    n 1: a coastal region at the southeastern corner of the
         Mediterranean bordering Israel and Egypt; "he is a
         Palestinian from Gaza" [syn: Gaza Strip, Gaza]

2. CIA World Factbook 2002
Gaza Strip

   Introduction Gaza Strip
   -----------------------
                            Background: 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
                                        security and for internal security
                                        and public order of settlements and
                                        Israeli citizens. Direct
                                        negotiations to determine the
                                        permanent status of Gaza and West
                                        Bank had begun in September 1999
                                        after a three-year hiatus, but have
                                        been 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.
  
   Geography Gaza Strip
   --------------------
                              Location: Middle East, bordering the
                                        Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
                                        Israel
                Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E
                        Map references: Middle East
                                  Area: total: 360 sq km
                                        water: 0 sq km
                                        land: 360 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
                    Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
                                        highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu
                                        'Auda) 105 m
                     Natural resources: arable land, natural gas
                              Land use: arable land: 26.32%
                                        permanent crops: 39.47%
                                        other: 34.21% (1998 est.)
                        Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1998 est.)
                       Natural hazards: droughts
          Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh
                                        water; sewage treatment; water-borne
                                        disease; soil degradation; depletion
                                        and contamination of underground
                                        water resources
                      Geography - note: there are 25 Israeli settlements and
                                        civilian land use sites in the Gaza
                                        Strip (August 2001 est.)
  
   People Gaza Strip
   -----------------
                            Population: 1,225,911 (July 2002 est.)
                                        note: in addition, there are fewer
                                        than 7,000 Israeli settlers in the
                                        Gaza Strip (August 2001 est.)
                         Age structure: 0-14 years: 49.7% (male 312,253;
                                        female 297,008)
                                        15-64 years: 47.5% (male 296,488;
                                        female 286,393)
                                        65 years and over: 2.8% (male
                                        14,407; female 19,362) (2002 est.)
                Population growth rate: 3.95% (2002 est.)
                            Birth rate: 41.85 births/1,000 population (2002
                                        est.)
                            Death rate: 4.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002
                                        est.)
                    Net migration rate: 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population
                                        (2002 est.)
                             Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
                                        under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
                                        15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
                                        65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/
                                        female
                                        total population: 1.03 male(s)/
                                        female (2002 est.)
                 Infant mortality rate: 24.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
                                        est.)
              Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.2 years
                                        female: 72.52 years (2002 est.)
                                        male: 69.95 years
                  Total fertility rate: 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.)
      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
     HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
                                  AIDS:
                     HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
                           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)
                              Literacy: definition: NA
                                        total population: NA%
                                        male: NA%
                                        female: NA%
  
   Government Gaza Strip
   ---------------------
                          Country name: conventional long form: none
                                        conventional short form: Gaza Strip
                                        local long form: none
                                        local short form: Qita Ghazzah
  
   Economy Gaza Strip
   ------------------
                    Economy - overview: Economic output in the Gaza Strip -
                                        under the responsibility of the
                                        Palestinian Authority since the
                                        Cairo Agreement of May 1994 -
                                        declined by about one-third between
                                        1992 and 1996. The downturn was
                                        largely the result of Israeli
                                        closure policies - the imposition of
                                        generalized border closures in
                                        response to security incidents in
                                        Israel - which disrupted previously
                                        established labor and commodity
                                        market relationships between Israel
                                        and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza
                                        Strip). The most serious negative
                                        social effect of this downturn was
                                        the emergence of high unemployment;
                                        unemployment in the WBGS during the
                                        1980s was generally under 5%; by
                                        1995 it had risen to over 20%.
                                        Israel's use of comprehensive
                                        closures decreased during the next
                                        few years and, in 1998, Israel
                                        implemented new policies to reduce
                                        the impact of closures and other
                                        security procedures on the movement
                                        of Palestinian goods and labor.
                                        These changes fueled an almost
                                        three-year-long economic recovery in
                                        the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real
                                        GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in
                                        1999. Recovery was upended in the
                                        last quarter of 2000 with the
                                        outbreak of Palestinian violence,
                                        triggering tight Israeli closures of
                                        Palestinian self-rule areas and a
                                        severe disruption of trade and labor
                                        movements. In 2001, and even more
                                        severely in early 2002, internal
                                        turmoil and Israeli military
                                        measures in Palestinian Authority
                                        areas resulted in the destruction of
                                        capital plant and administrative
                                        structure, widespread business
                                        closures, and a sharp drop in GDP.
                                        Another major loss has been the
                                        decline in income earned by
                                        Palestinian workers in Israel.
                                   GDP: purchasing power parity - $750
                                        million (2001 est.)
                GDP - real growth rate: -35% (2001 est.)
                      GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $625 (2001
                                        est.)
           GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9%
                                        industry: 28%
                                        services: 63% (includes West Bank,
                                        1999 est.)
         Population below poverty line: 60% (2001 est.)
     Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
                      percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
      Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)
                           Labor force: NA
           Labor force - by occupation: services 66%, industry 21%,
                                        agriculture 13% (1996)
                     Unemployment rate: 26% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)
                                Budget: revenues: $930 million
                                        note:
                                        expenditures: $1.2 billion,
                                        including capital expenditures of
                                        $15 million (includes West Bank)
                                        (2000 est.)
                            Industries: 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
     Industrial production growth rate: NA%
              Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied
                                        by Israel
             Electricity - consumption: NA kWh
                 Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
                 Electricity - imports: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied
                                        by Israel
                Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef,
                                        dairy products
                               Exports: $603 million (includes West Bank)
                                        (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
                 Exports - commodities: citrus, flowers
                    Exports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
                               Imports: $1.9 billion (includes West Bank)
                                        (c.i.f., 2001 est.)
                 Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction
                                        materials
                    Imports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank
                       Debt - external: $108 million (includes West Bank)
                                        (1997 est.)
              Economic aid - recipient: $800 million disbursed (includes
                                        West Bank) (2001 est.)
                              Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS)
                         Currency code: ILS
                        Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar -
                                        4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057
                                        (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397
                                        (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997)
                           Fiscal year: calendar year
  
   Communications Gaza Strip
   -------------------------
         Telephones - main lines in use: 95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and
                                         West Bank) (1997)
           Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
                       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)
                                 Radios: NA; note - most Palestinian
                                         households have radios (1999)
          Television broadcast stations: 2 (operated by the Palestinian
                                         Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)
                            Televisions: NA; note - most Palestinian
                                         households have televisions (1997)
      Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)
                         Internet users: 60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001)
  
   Transportation Gaza Strip
   -------------------------
                              Railways: total: NA km; note - one line,
                                        abandoned and in disrepair, little
                                        trackage remains (2001 est.)
                              Highways: total: NA km
                                        paved: NA km
                                        unpaved: NA km
                                        note: small, poorly developed road
                                        network
                             Waterways: none
                     Ports and harbors: Gaza
                              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
         Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
                                        over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)
       Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1
                                        under 914 m: 1 (2001)
  
   Military Gaza Strip
   -------------------
                     Military branches: in accordance with the peace
                                        agreement, the Palestinian Authority
                                        is not permitted conventional
                                        military forces; there are, however,
                                        a Public Security Force and a civil
                                        Police Force
         Military expenditures - dollar $NA
                                figure:
     Military expenditures - percent of NA%
                                   GDP:
  
   Transnational Issues Gaza Strip
   -------------------------------
              Disputes - international: West Bank and Gaza Strip are
                                        Israeli-occupied with current status
                                        subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
                                        Interim Agreement - permanent status
                                        to be determined through further
                                        negotiation
  
                                       



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