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Concept
Gaza Strip
Summary
The Gaza Strip ('gɑːzə; قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ DIN qɪˈtʕɑːʕ ˈɣaz.za), or simply Gaza, is a Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The smaller of the two Palestinian territories, it borders Egypt on the southwest for and Israel on the east and north along a border. Together, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank make up the State of Palestine, while being under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory. Both fell under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, but the Strip is governed by Hamas, a militant, fundamentalist Islamic organization, which came to power in the last-held elections in 2006. Since then, Gaza has been under a full Israeli-led land, sea and air blockade. This prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory.
The Strip is long, from wide, and has a total area of . With around 2 million Palestinians on some 365 square kilometers, Gaza, if considered a top-level political unit, ranks as the 3rd most densely populated in the world. Sunni Muslims make up the predominant part of the population in the Gaza Strip. Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 2.91% (2014 est.), the 13th highest in the world, and is often referred to as overcrowded. Gaza suffers from shortages of water, electricity and medicines. The United Nations, as well as at least 19 human rights organizations, have urged Israel to lift its siege on Gaza, while a report by UNCTAD, prepared for the UN General Assembly and released on 25 November 2020, said that Gaza's economy was on the verge of collapse and that it was essential to lift the blockade.
When Hamas won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, the opposing political party, Fatah, refused to join the proposed coalition, until a short-lived unity government agreement was brokered by Saudi Arabia. When this collapsed under pressure from Israel and the United States, the Palestinian Authority instituted a government without Hamas in the West Bank, while Hamas formed a government on its own in Gaza.
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