Gaza
(Arabic: غزة,
Hebrew:
עזה ) is a Palestinian city in
the Gaza Strip, approximately southwest of
Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city
under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. Inhabited
since at least the 15th century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by
several different peoples and empires throughout its history. The
Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient
Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Romans and
later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port
flourished. In 635, it became the first city in Palestine to be
conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a center
of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusaders invaded the
city, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several
hardships from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a
village by the 16th century when it was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan
dynasty controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age
of great commerce and peace.
Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming
a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. As a result of the 1948
Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly-formed Gaza Strip
territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city.
Gaza was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, but in
1993, the city was transferred to the Palestinian National
Authority. Hamas took over the city in 2007 after months of clashes
with its rival Fatah, and has been under a blockade by Israel. High
population density, limited land access, and strict internal and
external security controls have kept economic conditions in the
Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian
Authority (PA) - even more degraded than in the West Bank. The
beginning of the second intifada in September 2000 sparked an
economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies;
these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in
Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza
Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military
measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the
disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business
closures. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September
2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth,
but Israeli-imposed crossings closures, which became more
restrictive after HAMAS violently took over the territory in June
2007, have resulted in widespread private sector layoffs and
shortages of most goods. The status of the crossings, which are
closed to all but the most basic goods, has not changed following
Israel's military offensive into the Gaza Strip in early 2009. (via
Wikipedia)
