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The oldest sources on Gaza tell that it was the residence of the Egyptian governor to Canaan. 13th century BC: Arrival of the Philistines, making Gaza into an important coastal city. 7th century AD: The Gaza territory comes under Muslim rule. 1947: By the partition plan of the UN the territory of Gaza is projected to become part of an independent Arab state. 1948 May: Egyptian forces move up along the Palestinian coastline
in an attempt to reach Tel Aviv. Being pushed back by Jewish forces, a
British ceasefire agreement stops the Jewish troops while the Egyptians
still hold the Gaza territory. Soon after, large groups of Palestinian
refugees are coming in to Gaza. 1956: As part of the Suez-Sinai War, Gaza Strip is occupied by Israel, but Israel leaves as a result of international pressure. 1967 June 5-10: As one of several territories, Gaza is occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War This time Israel stays. 1987: Start of the Palestinian Intifada, which makes Palestinian fight for independence and political and human rights more evident in the media, as well as forcing the official Israel to face the real situation of the Palestinians on Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 1993: Signing of the Oslo Agreement that is intended to secure the establishment of a Palestinian State. 1994 May 18: Israeli troops leave most of the Gaza Strip, and
control is passed on to the Palestinian National Authority. July 1: Arrival of Yassir Arafat in Gaza, where an enthusiastic crowd meets him. 1995 January 2: 3 Palestinian police officers are shot by Israeli military, at Bayt Hanun. 1996: January 20: Elections for the Palestinian National Council and president of the council. Gaza Strip has 37 seats in the 88 seat strong council. PLO and Yassir Arafat become the great victors of the election. However, no other candidate receives more votes than the leading Arafat critic Haidar Abdu sh-Shafi, a citizen of Gaza Strip. Out of Gaza Strip do also Hamas candidates become elected, even if Hamas in most constituencies boycots the elections. February 26:
After those bombs kill 26 people in Israel, Israel
closes the borders to Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This results
economical hardship on the thousands of Gazans who have their daily work
in Israel. While the borders remain closed for a couple of weeks, Israel
starts to enlist workers from East Asia. GAZA The
Gaza strip may be perhaps one of the most famous strips of land in the
world because of the attention it receives.
The
Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land along the western shores of the
Mediterranean Sea. The land is located on the coast of the Mediterranean
Sea. In this particular image, North would be directed to the bottom of
the page, with South being directed to the bottom of the page. Likewise,
West would be to the left side of the image and East to the right. It may
be noted the border can be seen in the image because of a difference in
vegetation patterns, the Egyptian side being less vegetated perhaps due to
heavy use of the land for grazing.
Slightly
more than twice the size of Washington, D.C., the 360 square kilometre
area is occupied by over 800,00 stateless Palestinian Arabs and
approximately 4,800 Jewish settlers according to a 1995 estimate. A
photographic portfolio of life in the Gaza Strip, from all perspectives,
may be found at this link
Like the West Bank, the Gaza Strip was
included as part of the British Mandate that lasted from 1917 to 1948.
Following British control, Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip from 1948 until
1967, when it passed to Israeli control after the Arab-Israeli War. The
British took over Palestine after the First World War and promised the
Arabs independence because of their help during World War I against the
Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Although the Turks were defeated, most Arabs
did not gain their independence after the War. The formerly occupied land
was divided into six countries, four of which were then ruled by
Europeans. The only two nations to become independent were Saudi Arabia
and Yemen The Arabs, disappointed, then began an undeclared war involving
riots, protests, bombings, and other acts of violence. Between the years
of 1932 and 1946, the Arabs won independence for the nations of Iraq,
Lebanon, and Syria.
Gaining
independence for Palestine posed a different problem, however, because of
the large number of Jewish people living in the area. These people had
fought on the side of Great Britain and were valuable to the scientific
community. East of the Jordan River, the independent country of Jordan was
set up for them. A year later, in 1948, an area west of the Jordan River
was given to the Jewish people and the country of Israel was established.
The surrounding Arab nations objected to this and invaded Israel only to
be immediately driven out. Meanwhile, 450,000 Palestinian Arabs fled
Israel when war broke out. Unwelcome by the Arab countries, these refugees
settled along the west bank of the Jordan River and in an area along the
Mediterranean Sea, known as the Gaza Strip.
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Since
1948, the Arabs and the Israelis have fought four wars. Boundaries have
shifted back and forth.
To date, the only Arab country that has recognized Israel's right to exist
is Egypt. Arab nationalists headed by the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) have carried out guerrilla attacks on Israel. In
return, Israel has bombed guerrilla bases and has invaded PLO strongholds
in Lebanon. However, peace talks and negotiations have occurred recently
between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian
Authority President Yasser Arafat. 