GAZA STRIP - · PDF filethe Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a single territorial unit in...

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Gaza Seaport

Erez CrossingBeit Hanoun

3Buffer Zone

Closed Crossings6Al-Montar

Karni Crossing 2Al-Montar

Nahal Oz Crossing 2

Sufa Crossing 2

Kerem Shalom CrossingKarm abu Salem

Gaza International Airport5destroyed /non-operational

Rafah CrossingAl ’Awda

7 Tunnels

8 Gaza Fishing PortAsh-Shifa Hospital

(closed)

Sderot

Nir Am

Ein ha-Bsor

Mefalsim

Kfar Maimon

Kfar Aza

Be'eri

Yad Mordekhai

Netiv Ha'asara

Shokeda

Kisufim

Karmiya

Nir Yitskhak

Pri Gan

Ein Hashlosha

Ma'on Plants

Nir Oz

Sa'adNahal Oz

Kerem Shalom

Temporary Wastewater

Treatment Lagoons

Beit Hanoun Industrial Zone

Sheikh Zayed Housing Project

Palestine Stadium

Legislative Council

Gaza Sports Club

Al-Azhar University

Islamic University

UNRWA Compound

Government Building Complex

Al-Montar Hill

Housing Project

Al-Aqsa University (Khan Yunis Campus)

UNDP Rubble Crushing Site

Housing Project (Unfinished)

Salah Ad-Deen

Sufa Landfill

Gazalandfill

Beit LahiaWastewater

Treatment Plant

Rafah Wastewater

Treatment Plant

Ar-Ras

Salah Ad-Deen

As-Sek

Coastal R

Salah Ad-Deen

Salah A

Khalil al-W

As-Sek

Karni-NezarimKarni-Nezarim

Omar Ben Al-Khattab

ash-Shohada

As-Solta

n Al-Oth

al Abd A

Kisufim

Abu Baker As-Sadeek

Khalil al-Wazeer

Al-Quds

Rd No. 10

Al-Montar

JabaliaCamp

Ash-Shaticamp

Al-Ma'ani

Az-Zawayda

Al-Mussadar

Wadi As-Salqa

Deir al-BalahCamp

Al-Burej Camp

Al-MaghaziCamp

An-Nuseirat Camp

An-Naser(Al-Bayuk)

Al-Qarara

Al-Fukhkhari

Abasanal-Kabira

Abasan Aj-Jadida(as-Saghira)

Rafah Camp

Bani Suhella

Khan YunisCamp

Az-Zahra

Juhar ad-Dik

Khuza'a

ShokatAs-Sufi

Al-QaryaAl-Badawiya(Umm An-Naser)

Al-Mughraqa(Abu Middein)

Wadi Gaza

i l ad

Temporary Wastewater

Treatment Lagoons

Beit Hanoun Industrial Zone

Sheikh Zayed Housing Project

Palestine Stadium

Legislative Council

Gaza Sports Club

Al-Azhar University

Islamic University

UNRWA Compound

Northern Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant

Government Building Complex

Al-Montar Hill

Housing Project

Al-Aqsa University (Khan Yunis Campus)

UNDP Rubble Crushing Site

Housing Project (Unfinished)

Salah Ad-Deen

Sufa Landfill

Gazalandfill

Beit LahiaWastewater

Treatment Plant

Rafah Wastewater

Treatment Plant

GazaPowerPlant

Karni Industrial

Zone(closed)

Al-BarzilBlock

Block O

Az-Zaitoun

Ash-Shuja'iyeh

At-TuffahAd-Darraj

An-Naser

Southern Remal

As-Sabra

Tal El-Hawa

Northern Remal

Ash-SheikhIjleen

Old City

MadinatAl-'Awda

Ash-SheikhRadwan

ljdeedeh

At-Turkman

As-Siafa

Izbat Beit Hanoun

As-Surij

Al-Mawasi(Khan Yunis)

Qa'al-Qurein

Qa'al-Kharaba

Qizan an-Najjar

Umm Kemell

Umm al-Kilab

Al-Mawasi(Rafah

Al-Qarya as-Suwaydiya

Tal as-Sultan

Al- Karama

Jabalia

Gaza City

Beit HanounBeit Lahia

Khan Yunis

Deir al-Balah

Khan Yunis

Middle Area

North Gaza

E G Y P T

I S R A E L

3 nautical miles

Deir al-Balah Wharf

Mawasi Khan Yunis Wharf

Mawasi Rafah WharfNo Fishing Zone

1 nautical mile

di t e

No Fishing Zone

1.5 nautical miles

Plannedbus and truckconvoy route

Bertin

Oslo A

6 n.m.FishingLimit Today

WestBank

GazaStrip

Nablus

Hebron

Jericho

Tiberias

Tulkarm

Nazareth

Ramallah

Beersheba

Bethlehem

Khan Yunis

Jerusalem

Tel Aviv

Reginal Context

MEDITERRANEANSEA

ISRAEL

LEBANON

EGYPT JORDAN

Regional Context

Effective Fishing Limit

Crossing PointsOpen

Closed & Restricted Areas

300 Meter No-Go Zone*

Fences and Barriers

Concrete Wall

Double Wire Fence with Watch Towers

Former Fishing Limit

Philadelphi Corridor

High Risk Zone

Closed but Open for Exceptional Cases

Closed

Locations

Bridge

Hospital

Landmark

Built-up Area

Refugee Camp

Main City

Main Road

Regional Road

Local Road

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Sewage Outlet

Boundaries

Governorate Boundary

Municipal Boundary

1950 Armistice (Green Line)

Access and Physical Closures Gaza Strip

Crossing PointsOpen

Fences and Barriers

Concrete Wall

High Risk Zone

Closed

Locations

Bridge

Hospital

Landmark

Built-up Area

Refugee Camp

Main City

Main Road

Regional Road

Local Road

Sewage Outlet

Boundaries

Municipal Boundary

Access and Physical Closures Gaza Strip

Crossing PointsOpen

Fences and Barriers

Concrete Wall

High Risk Zone

Closed

Locations

Bridge

Hospital

Landmark

Built-up Area

Refugee Camp

Main City

Main Road

Regional Road

Local Road

Sewage Outlet

Boundaries

Municipal Boundary

Access and Physical Closures Gaza StripGaza Strip

Boundaries

Access and Physical Closures

In November 2012, Israel declared again that the area stretching 300 meters from the border fence into the Gaza Strip would be a no-go zone. Incidents of fire on Palestinians have been reported at distances of up to 1,200 meters from the border.

7The tightening of Israel’s closure of the Gaza Strip in 2007 led to a flourishing of trade through tunnels that had been dug under the Gaza-Egypt border. The easing of the closure in mid-2010 brought a change in the types of goods that are transferred via the tunnels. In addition to contraband and weapons, the tunnels are now used mainly for the transfer of fuel and basic construction materials such as gravel, cement and steel, whose import via Kerem Shalom is subject to restrictions. As a result of turmoil in Egypt, in June and July of 2013, activity in most of the tunnels was obstructed.

Tunnels

The Gaza Strip, a part of Mandatory Palestine, was created by the armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt in 1949. From that time until 1967 the Strip was under Egyptian control and its connection to the West Bank and Israel was cut off. In 1967, the connection was renewed when the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were occupied by Israel. The 1993 Oslo Accords defined the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a single territorial unit in whose borders freedom of movement would be permitted. However, since 1991 the Gaza Strip has gradually been closed off; since 2007 its residents have only been able to exit and enter it in exceptional cases.

GAZA STRIP Mapping Movement and Access

September 2013

Width 5.7-12.5 km / 3.5-7.7 mi

Length 40 km / 24.8 mi

Area 365 km² / 141 mi²

Population 1,707,437 June 2013

Population density 4,661 people

per km² / 12,109 per mi²

Population under the age of 18 900,745 (52.9%) mid 2013

Unemployment rate 31% 1st quarter of 2013

Percentage of population receiving aid at least 70% 2013

Literacy rate aged 15 and over 95% 2011

6Israel opened the crossing in 1982 and in 2005, it was operated for the first time by the Palestinian Authority and Egypt under EU supervision and via indirect Israeli control. After Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, the crossing was closed aside from limited openings by Egypt. After the Gaza flotilla incident in May 2010, Egypt opened Rafah on a regular basis for limited categories of travellers. During the first six months of 2013, an average of 40,800 crossings were recorded via Rafah per month, slightly more than during the implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access. In July 2013, as a result of turmoil in Egypt, Egypt limited the operation of the crossing and the number of individuals travelling dropped sharply.

Rafah Crossing3After the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, Israel retained control over an area inside Gaza that it calls the "buffer zone". This 300-meter wide strip of land runs along the border inside Gaza. In practice, at various times and various points along the border, Israel has prohibited access into an area that stretches up to 1,500 meters from the fence. In November 2012, the military announced that it would allow access up to 300 meters from the border, however there have still been incidents in which individuals have been injured and killed in the buffer zone at distances of up to 1,200 meters from the border.

The “Buffer Zone” 5

The airport, which was officially opened in 1998, operated until October 2000. In December 2001 and May 2002, Israel bombed the control tower and runway. During Operation Cast Lead in 2009, the airport was further destroyed and presently serves as a site for foraging gravel and other construction materials.

Yasser Arafat International Airport

4The crossing was opened in 2005 for the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. In mid-2007, it began to serve as the main crossing point for goods sold to Gaza and for small quantities of export which exit the Strip. As of March 2011, when the conveyor belt at Karni Crossing ceased being used, it became the sole operational commercial crossing for goods entering and exiting Gaza.

Kerem Shalom Crossing2Karni Crossing was built in 1994 and served as Gaza's main commercial crossing point for goods entering and exiting the Strip. In June 2007, after Hamas took control of Gaza, the crossing was closed with the exception of a conveyer belt that was used to transfer grain and animal feed until it was also closed in March 2011. Sufa Crossing was built in 1994 and was used for the transfer of construction materials to the Gaza Strip. It was closed by Israel in 2008. Nahal Oz Crossing, used to transfer fuel purchased from Israel to Gaza, was closed in early 2010.

Closed Crossings 8The port is 4-5 meters deep and is home to the small boats of Gaza’s fishermen. Sailing is allowed up to a distance of 6 nautical miles from the coast, whereas the Oslo Accords permitted sailing up to a distance of 20 nautical miles. There is no seaport in the Gaza Strip. Construction began on a seaport, as agreed in the Oslo Accords, in July 2000 but was halted in September after the Second Intifada broke out. In September 2001, Israel destroyed the site and has since not given permission for it to be rebuilt.

The Fishermen’s Port1The crossing serves individuals traveling between Gaza and the West Bank and Israel. Since 1991, Palestinians have had to obtain a permit in order to travel via Erez. Until the year 2000, thousands of Palestinian laborers traveled through the crossing every month to jobs in Israel. Israel gradually reduced the number of permits it issued until March 2006 when a new policy was introduced, stating that travel would be allowed only in "exceptional humanitarian cases", a policy still in effect today. During the first six months of 2013, the average number of entries into Israel via Erez reached 4,150. Most of those traveling are medical patients and their companions and merchants.

Erez Crossing

Gisha contact details: tel. 972-3-6244120 | fax 972-3-6244130 | email info@gisha.org | www.gisha.orgDesigned by: www.RoniLevit.comPhotography: Eman Mohammed and Khaled AL-Ashqar• This map is based on OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, occupied Palestinian territory) basemap of the Gaza Strip, 2010 found at www.ochaopt.org • Access and closure data is as of July 2013 | Map produced: September 2013

GAZA STRIP - · PDF filethe Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a single territorial unit in...

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