GAZA STRIP

Gaza Strip: translation

The southernmost section of the coastal plain of mandatoryPalestine. It is some 25 miles long and between 4 and 8 miles in width. Its major city is Gaza, and there is substantial citrusagriculture. Although it lies between Israel andEgypt, it belongs to neither, and its disposition remains a matter of dispute. The territory, heavily populated by Palestinians, was to have been part of a PalestinianArabstate under the terms of the 1947United NationsPartition Plan for Palestine (seePALESTINE PARTITION PLAN). However, it was taken by the Egyptian army during Israel'sWar of Independence(1948—49) and placed under Egyptian military administration. Held briefly by Israel in 1956-57 (after theSinai War), the Gaza Strip was then returned to Egyptian control, where it remained until 1967, when Israel again occupied the area during theSix-Day War. Egypt did not claim sovereignty over the Gaza Strip as a part of theEgypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and negotiations concerning its status have made little progress.

Violence and protests directed at Israel and the Israeli administration in the area have increased considerably since late 1987, and both Jews and Arabs were killed during the course of theintifada.Pursuant to the Israel-Palestine Liberation OrganizationGaza-JerichoFirst Implementing Agreement (Cairo, May 1994), control over much of the Gaza Strip was transferred to the Palestinian self-rule authority, with the exception of a handful of smallsettlementsin northern Gaza that continued to be defended by theIsrael Defense Forces. Those settlements were major targets of Palestinianterroristattacks andQassam missilesfired during theAl-Aksa intifada, and weapons were smuggled to the terrorists in Gaza through tunnels extending from theSinai Peninsula.

In December 2003, Israel'sprime minister Ariel Sharonannounced his plan to unilaterally disengage Israeli military forces and civilians from the Gaza Strip (and four isolated settlements in the northernWest Bank). Among the factors provided by proponents of disengagement (seeUNILATERAL DISENGAGEMENT [HIT-NATKUT, TOKHNIT HAHITNATKUT]) was the untenable status of 8,500 Jewish settlers in Gaza among 1.3 million Palestinians. Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip was completed on 12 September 2005.

See alsoKarni Crossing; Kerem Shalom; Kissufim Crossing; Rafah Crossing; Sufa Crossing.