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Background:
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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
began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but
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
continued 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 brought about
a turning point in the conflict. In February 2005 the
Israeli Government voted to disengage from the Gaza
Strip by dismantling all Israeli settlements and
removing all Israeli settlers. This process was
completed in September 2005. Nonetheless, Israel
maintains offshore maritime control as well as airspace
control. The future political status of the Gaza Strip
has yet to be determined. |
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Location:
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Middle
East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Israel |
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Geographic coordinates:
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31 25 N,
34 20 E |
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Map references:
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Middle
East |
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Area:
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total:
360 sq km
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km |
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Coastline:
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40 km
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Maritime claims:
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Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status
to be determined through further negotiation |
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Climate:
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temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
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Terrain:
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flat to
rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
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Natural resources:
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arable
land, natural gas |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 28.95%
permanent crops: 21.05%
other: 50% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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120 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage
treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation;
depletion and contamination of underground water
resources |
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Geography - note:
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there are
25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in
the Gaza Strip (February 2002 est.) |
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Population:
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1,376,289
note: in addition, there are more than 5,000
Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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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.) |
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Median age:
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total:
15.65 years
male: 15.5 years
female: 15.81 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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3.77%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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40.03
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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3.87
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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1.54
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
22.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.05 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 71.79 years
male: 70.5 years
female: 73.15 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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5.91
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun:
NA
adjective: NA |
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Ethnic groups:
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Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6% |
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Religions:
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Muslim
(predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%
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Languages:
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Arabic,
Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many
Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9%
male: 96.3%
female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip
local long form: none
local short form: Qita Ghazzah |
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Economy - overview:
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High
population density, limited land access, and strict
internal and external controls have kept economic
conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two
areas under the Palestinian Authority - even more
degraded than in the West Bank. An anticipated Israeli
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 may offer some
medium-term opportunities for economic growth. The
beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000
sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of
Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were
imposed in response to security interests in Israel,
disrupted labor and commodity relationships with the
Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003,
Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas
resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the
disruption of administrative structure, and widespread
business closures. Including the West Bank, the UN
estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the
125,000 who used to work in Israel or in joint
industrial zones have lost their jobs. International aid
of $2 billion to Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 2004
prevented the complete collapse of the economy and
allowed some reforms in the government's financial
operations. Meanwhile unemployment has continued at half
the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves open more
political options that could affect the economy. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$768
million (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.5%
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)
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Labor force:
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725,000
(2004) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 14%, industry 19%, services 66% (2004) |
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Unemployment rate:
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50%
(includes West Bank) (2003 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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81% (2004
est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2.2%
(includes West Bank) (2001 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA; note - these budget data include
West Bank (2003) |
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Agriculture - products:
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olives,
citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA |
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Electricity - production:
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NA kWh;
note - electricity supplied by Israel |
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Electricity - consumption:
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NA kWh
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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NA kWh;
note - electricity supplied by Israel (2001) |
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Exports:
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$205
million f.o.b., includes West Bank (2002) |
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Exports - commodities:
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citrus,
flowers |
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Exports - partners:
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Israel,
Egypt, West Bank |
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Imports:
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$1.9
billion c.i.f., includes West Bank (2002) |
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Imports - commodities:
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food,
consumer goods, construction materials |
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Imports - partners:
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Israel,
Egypt, West Bank |
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Debt - external:
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$108
million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$2
billion (includes West Bank) (2004 est.) |
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Currency (code):
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new
Israeli shekel (ILS) |
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Currency code:
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ILS |
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Exchange rates:
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new
Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541
(2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar
year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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95,729
(total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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320,000
(cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank)
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: NA
domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided
by an open-wire system
international: NA |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 0, FM
0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Radios:
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NA; note
- most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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2
(operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation)
(1997) |
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Televisions:
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NA; note
- most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)
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Internet country code:
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.ps |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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3 (1999)
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Internet users:
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60,000
(includes West Bank) (2001) |
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Highways:
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total:
NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
note: small, poorly developed road network |
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Ports and harbors:
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Gaza |
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Airports:
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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.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Heliports:
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1 (2004
est.) |
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Military branches:
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in
accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian
Authority is not permitted conventional military forces;
there are, however, public security forces (2002) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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NA |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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NA |
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Disputes - international:
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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; Israel announced its intention to pull out
settlers and withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005 |
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Refugees and internally displaced persons:
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refugees (country of origin): 922,674 (Palestinian
Refugees (UNRWA)) (2004) |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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