Everything about Gaza totally explained
Gaza is the largest city in the
Gaza Strip and the
Palestinian territories. The city, which has a population of approximately 410,000 in the inner city and 1.4 million people in the metropolitan area, has been inhabited since 3000BC. The city is frequently termed "Gaza City" in order to distinguish it from the larger
Gaza Strip.
Etymology
The name "Gaza" (pronounced
Aza in Hebrew), may be derived from the Hebrew word "az," for strong.
History
The history of Gaza, one of the oldest cities in the world, has been shaped by its strategic location. The city is located on the
Mediterranean coastal route, between North Africa and the greener lands of the
Levant. Ancient Gaza was a prosperous trade center and a stop on the caravan route between
Egypt and
Syria.
Antiquity
In ancient times, Gaza was the residence of the Egyptian governor of the region, then known as
Canaan. In the 13th century BC, it was conquered by the
Philistines, an invading people with cultural links to the
Aegean, from whom the name
Palestine originated. Gaza was part of the Philistine
pentapolis; a league of the Philistine's five most important city-states. Gaza was the place where
Samson was imprisoned and met his death (
Judges 16:21). The prophets
Amos and
Zephaniah uttered harsh prophecies against Gaza and its Philistine inhabitants. (Amos 1:7) (Zephaniah 2:4).
Tell es-Sakan, dating to 3500 BC, is five kilometers south of today's Gaza city.
Around 3000 BCE, the
Canaanites developed various urban centres.
The city was invaded and captured by
Thutmose III in 1484 BCE. This was the start of the ruling of the ancient Egypt. This was also the time where the name Gaza was first mentioned.
Ptolemy started the rule in the year 301 BCE. The
Seleucides dominated by the year 198 BCE.
Islamic rule
Gaza was captured by
‘Amr ibn al-‘As a Muslim in 637 AD.
Just some years later the domination of the
Mameluks started (1277). They finished the reconstruction of the Great Mosque (Gaza) in (1340). The Ottomans lost it to the British in the
Third Battle of Gaza on
November 7,
1917 during
World War I.
Twentieth century
After World War I, the
League of Nations (precursor to the United Nations) granted quasi-colonial authority over former Ottoman territories to Great Britain and France. Britain had the mandate over the areas that now comprise Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jordan.
Many Jewish inhabitants of Gaza left during and after the
1929 Palestine riots. From then on, the British prohibited Jews from living there. In 1946, however, a group of Jews established Kibbutz
Kfar Darom in the central Gaza Strip, named for a Jewish town that had existed there in the Talmudic period. Though the Jewish community remained distinct, many still lived amongst the Christian and Muslim communities in neighborhoods such as Rimal. However, their numbers slowly dwindled as the tensions between Jews and Arabs increased throughout Palestine, causing mutual distrust.
After the Israeli-Arab war in
1948,
Egypt occupied Gaza and its surrounding area. The city's growing population was augmented by an influx of Arab refugees fleeing
Israel. Israel captured the city and the Gaza Strip during the 1967
Six Day War, but withdrew completely in the wake of
Ariel Sharon's Gaza
disengagement plan in 2005. With the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as the
First Intifada in
1987, Gaza became a center of political unrest and confrontation between
Israelis and
Palestinians, and economic conditions in the city worsened.
Palestinian National Authority
In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the
Oslo Accords calling for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank town of
Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. The Israeli forces left Gaza, leaving a new
Palestinian National Authority to administer and police the city, along with the most of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by
Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO
signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to most West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member
Palestinian National Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.
On
September 12,
2005 the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to military rule. Israel also withdrew from the
Philadelphi Route, a narrow strip adjacent to the border with Egypt, after Egypt agreed to secure its side of the border. Under the
Oslo Accords, the Philadelphi Route was to remain under Israeli control to prevent arms smuggling. With Egypt agreeing to patrol its side of the border, it was hoped that this objective would be achieved.
Hamas won a surprise victory in the Palestinian elections in early 2006. Since then, it has been engaged in a violent power struggle with Fatah. In 2007, Hamas violently overthrew Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip and its members were dismissed from the PNA government as a result. Currently, Hamas has
de facto control of the area. Israel has continued to bombard Gaza and nearby cities in response to
Qassam rocket attacks launched by Islamic terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, from civilian population centers in the Gaza Strip. The European Union and the United Nations have called Israel's actions "disproportionate", but also demand that Palestinian militias halt rocket attacks.
A human rights coalition charged
March 6,
2008 that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached its worst point since
Israel occupied the territory in the 1967
Six-Day War.
Demographics
The population of Gaza today is overwhelmingly Muslim, with a small minority of about 3,500 Christians, mostly adhering to the
Greek Orthodox Church. According to a 1997 census by the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Gaza and the adjacent
al-Shati camp had a population of 353,115 inhabitants, of which 50.9% were males and 49.1% females. Gaza has an overwhelmingly young population with over half of being between the age of infancy to 14 years (50.3%) and 25.7% were between the ages of 15 and 29. About 13.6% were between the ages of 30 to 44, 7.7% between ages 45 to 65 and 3.9% were over the age of 64.
A massive influx of
Palestinian refugees swelled Gaza's population after the
1948 Arab-Israeli War. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. In 1997, 51.8% of Gaza's inhabitants were refugees or their descendants. The city's population has continued to increase since that time to 409,680 in 2006, making it the largest city in the
Palestinian territories. The birth rate is extremely high and the vast majority of Gazans live in poverty. and rely on
United Nations food aid to survive.
Economy
Gaza is the economic center for a region in which citrus fruits and other crops are grown. Many Gazans worked in Israeli service and industry when the border was open. The city contains some small industry, including textiles and food processing. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing; commercial development in the city is minimal. Gaza serves as a transportation hub for the
Gaza Strip, and contains a small port that serves a local fishing fleet. Poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread. Gaza has serious deficiencies in housing, educational facilities, health facilities, infrastructure, and an inadequate sewage system, all of which have contributed to serious hygiene and public health problems. Overall economic development has been slow and hampered by frequent political unrest.
Landmarks and public buildings
Landmarks in Gaza include the Great Mosque of Gaza (Great Omari Mosque)(see pictures at: http://www.baladna.ps/omari.htm), the Mosque of Al Sayed Hashem, the Mosque of Ibn Othman, the Mosque of Ibn Marwan, The Sheikh Abul Azm sanctuary, the Sheikh Ajlin sanctuary, Tell al Mintar,
Napoleon's fort (Al Radwan Castle), and the Church of St.
Porphyrius.
- The Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque)
Located in downtown Gaza, Al-Omari Mosque with its splendid minaret, reputedly stands on the site of the first ancient temple of Marnas then a Greek Orthodox Church. The mosque was also the site of the Church of St. John the Baptist, a Norman church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century. On one of its pillars there used to be a Greek inscription which read "Hananiah bar Yaakov" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah carved above it.
- Napoleon's Fort (Qasr El-Basha)
Also located in downtown Gaza, this imposing stone building dates back to the Mamluk period. Napoleon is believed to have spent a few nights here on his way through the town in 1799.
- St. Porphyrus Church
This 4th century church is where St. Porphyrius
- Dunkerque, France
- Turin, Italy
- Barcelona, Spain
- Cascais, Portugal
- Tromsø, Norway
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gaza'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://gaza.totallyexplained.com">Gaza Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
