The Gaza Strip is unusual in being a densely settled area not recognized as a de jure part of any extant country.
From the beginning, the area's chief economic and social problem was the presence of large numbers of Palestinian Arab refugees living in extreme poverty in squalid camps. The Egyptian government did not consider the area part of Egypt and did not allow the refugees to become Egyptian citizens or to migrate to Egypt or to other Arab countries where they might be integrated into the population. Israel did not allow them to return to their former homes or to receive compensation for their loss of property.
Living conditions in the Gaza Strip are typically poor because of its dense and rapidly increasing population (the area's growth rate is one of the highest in the world); inadequate water, sewage, and electrical services; and high rates of unemployment.
In politically stable times, as much as one-tenth of the Palestinian population travels daily to Israel (where they are not allowed to stay overnight) to work in menial jobs. Political tension and outbreaks of violence have often led Israeli authorities to close the border for extended periods, putting many Palestinians out
of work.
(Encyclopaedia Brittanica 2007)
Friday, February 8, 2008
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