· The Gaza Strip is located in the Middle East (at 31 25 N, 34 20 E) and consists of around 360sq km. Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn The term Palestine and the related term Palestinian have several overlapping (and occasionally contradictory definitions Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn Palestinian diaspora ( الشتات, al-shatat) is a term used to describe Palestinians living outside of historic Palestine - an area Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called Palestinian Refugee camps were established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to accommodate Palestinian refugees who fled from the war The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west Geography of the Best Wank Location Middle East west of Jordan Geographic coordinates: Map references Middle East The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria The 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are divided into 16 electoral Districts ( Aqdya, singular - Qadaa) After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian territories were divided into three areas (Area A Area B and Area C and 16 Governorates under the jurisdiction The following is a list of cities in Palestinian National Authority administrated areas, although depending on which particular area each locality is located The list of Arab localities in Israel includes all population centers with a 50% or higher Arab population in the State of Israel. East Jerusalem refers to the part of Jerusalem captured by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and subsequently by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) (منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary The Palestinian National Council (PNC is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and elects its Executive Committee which assumes leadership of the The Palestinian Legislative Council (sometimes referred to as the Palestinan Parliament) the Legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a Unicameral The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP) ( Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Tahrīr A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain Ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power usually The Palestinian flag ( علم فلسطين) was originally designed by Sharif Hussein for the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916 The Palestinian Christians are Palestinians who follow Christianity. Islam in Israel and Palestinian territories includes the Muslims of Israel, where they constitute 16% of the population those who comprise 75% of the population of Church_of_the_nativity_bethjpg|thumb|200px|View of The Church of the Nativity from Manger Square]]The Church of the Nativity ( كنيسة المهد) in Bethlehem The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Sanctum Sepulchrum also called the Church of the Resurrection, ( Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως Naos tis Anastaseos This article refers to the basilica in Nazareth For information on the church associated with the Blagoveschenskaya Tower in Russia see Kremlin towers or Cathedral Rachel's Tomb ( Hebrew: קבר רחל Arabic: translit Qubbat Rakhil, trans Al-Aqsa Mosque ( Arabic:المسجد الاقصى /æl'mæsdʒɪd æl'ɑqsˁɑ/ {{Audio|ArAqsaMosque The Dome of the Rock ( Arabic: مسجد قبة الصخرة translit The Mosque of Omar (مسجد عمر is the oldest and only Mosque in the city of Bethlehem, located in Manger Square, near the Church of the The Cave of the Patriarchs ( Hebrew: מערת המכפלה Me'arat HaMachpela, Trans Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn Palestinian art is a term used to refer to Paintings Posters Installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists Palestinian costumes are the traditional Clothing worn by Palestinians. Palestinian cinema is relatively young in comparison to Arab cinema as a whole many Palestinian movies are made with European and Israeli funding and support Palestinian cuisine consists of foods from or commonly eaten by the Arabs of historical Palestine — which includes those living in the Palestinian territories Dabke ( Arabic: ar دبكة also transliterated as debke, dabka, and dabkeh) is the traditional Folk Palestinian pottery refers to Pottery produced in Palestine throughout the ages and pottery produced by modern-day Palestinians. Palestinian handicrafts are Handicrafts produced by Palestinian people. Palestinian Arabic is a Levantine Arabic dialect subgroup spoken by Palestinians and Arab Israelis. Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language novels short stories and poems produced by Palestinians. Palestinian music ( موسيقى فلسطينية) is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. The following is a list of prominent Palestinians. Academic figures Rami Abuhabsah, Biologist Nadia Hany Abu-Assad (born 11 October 1961 (هاني أبو أسعد is a Dutch - Palestinian film director Ibrahim Abu-Lughod (إبراهيم أبو لغد February 15, 1929 — May 23, 2001) was a Palestinian (later American Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini ( Arabic: محمد عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني (August 24 1929 – November 11 Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi (b October 8 1946 is a Palestinian legislator human rights activist and scholar Mohammad Bakri ( 1953 -) (محمد بكري מוחמד בכרי also spelled Mohammed or Muhammad) is an Arab actor and director with Israeli Rim Banna is a Palestinian singer Composer and Arranger that is well-known for her modern interpretations of traditional folk songs Tawfiq Canaan (24 September 1882 – 15 January 1964 was a Physician and pioneer in the field of Medicine in Palestine, also well-known for being one of Mahmoud Darwish ( 13 March 1941 &ndash 9 August 2008) was a respected Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for Imil (Emile Shukri Habibi (إميل حبيبي אמיל חביבי 21 January 1922 – 2 May 1996) was a Palestinian - Nathalie Handal (نتالي حنظل born July 29, 1969) is a Poet, Writer, Playwright and literary researcher of Middle Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (محمد أمين الحسيني properly transliterated al-Husseini, 1895 / 1897 - July 4, 1974) a member Faisal Abdel Qader Al-Husseini (فيصل عبدالقادر الحسيني ( July 17, 1940 – May 31, 2001) was a Palestinian politician Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni (عبد القادر الحسيني also spelled Abd al-Qader al-Husseini) (1907-1948 was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who Ghassan Kanafani (غسان كنفاني April 9, 1936 in Akka, Palestine – July 8, 1972 in Beirut, Lebanon Ghada Karmi (غادة كرمي) (1939- is a Palestinian doctor of medicine author and academic Leila Khaled (ليلى خالد laylà ẖālid; born April 9, 1944) is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP Rashid Khalidi (born 1950 an American historian of the Middle East, is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and director Walid Khalidi (وليد خالدي born in 1925 in Jerusalem) is an Oxford University educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Samih al-Qasim ( سميح القاسم; b 1939 is a Palestinian Druze poet and citizen of Israel whose Arabic poetry is well-known Edward Wadie Saïd MRSL ( إدوارد وديع سعيد,; 1 November 1935 &ndash 25 September Khalil al-Sakakini ( خليل السكاكيني; January 23, 1878 - August 13, 1953) was a Palestinian Christian, Elia Suleiman (إيليا سليمان born July 28, 1960 in Nazareth) is a Palestinian-Israeli film director and Actor Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir ( خليل الوزير) also known by his kunya " Abu Jihad " (Arabic أبو جهاد — Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin (1937 – March 22 2004 ( Arabic: ar الشيخ أحمد ياسين was the co-founder with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, of Hamas May Ziade (née Marie, with Ziade also written Ziadé or Ziadeh) ( مي زيادة) ( February 11 1886. The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. It has an 11km border with Egypt, near the city of Rafah, and a 51km border with Israel. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Rafah (رفح is a Palestinian town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border on the Sinai For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. It has a 40 km coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli administration.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry and hot summers, subject to drought. Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply The terrain is flat or rolling, with dunes near the coast. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda), at 105 metres above sea level. Main resources are arable land (about a third of the strip is irrigated), and recently discovered natural gas. In Geography, arable land (from Latin arare, to Plough) is an agricultural term meaning land that can be used for Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Environmental issues include desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water resources. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil Salt affected soils are caused by excess accumulation of salts typically most pronounced at the soil surface Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing Contaminants from Wastewater, both Runoff ( Effluents Waterborne diseases are caused by Pathogenic Microorganisms which are directly transmitted when contaminated Drinking water is consumed Soils retrogression and degradation in the French school of pedology are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable Soil
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Geographic coordinates:
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 360 km²
land: 360 km²
water: 0 km²
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Coastline: 40 km
Maritime claims: Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
Natural resources: arable land
Land use:
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 39%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 11%
other: 26% (1993 est. )
Irrigated land: 120 km² (1993 est. )
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment
Geography - note: there were 24 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1999 est. )