THIS MAP SHOULD WAKE YOU UP
HISTORY
The 1947-1949 Palestinian War led to the creation of the state of Israel. The Gaza Strip came under Egyptian occupation and the West Bank was ruled by Jordan.
In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization was established. Its goal was to create a Palestinian state and issued a statement which nullified Israel’s right to exist.
In 1967, as a result of the Six Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and an area in the Golan Heights.
Israel was ordered to withdraw from the territories occupied during the war, in exchange for Arab recognition and the recognition of final borders by the United Nations Security Council Resolution. Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem.
On Nov 15, 1988, the Palestine National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, declared, under chairman Yasser Arafat, the existence of the state of Palestine.
On Jan 25, 2006, legislative elections were held in the Palestinian territories and on Feb 10, 2006, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was nominated to form a new government and on March 29 was sworn in as Prime Minister. As of June 2024, no new elections have been held.
In 2007, Hamas engaged in a violent conflict, taking place mainly in the Gaza Strip, that led to the collapse of the Palestinian National government. The Hamas government in Gaza became dependent mainly on Iran.
On June 14, 2007, the Palestinian Authority Chairman, Abbas, dismissed the Hamas government and appointed Salam Fayyad as Prime Minister. The new governments authority was intended to extend to all Palestinian territories. In effect, it became limited to the West Bank. Hamas did not recognize the move and continued to rule the Gaza Strip.
In 2012, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was granted Non-Member Observer Status in the United Nations and thereafter the Palestine National Authority was replaced with the designation of State of Palestine.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
The State of Palestine is divided into two disconnected territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip has a population of 2.3 million people in an area 4-7 miles wide and 25 miles long or 141 sq. miles and has one of the worlds highest population densities. It is divided into 5 territories or governates being North Gaza; Gaza City; Deir el-Balah; Khan-Younis; and Rafah. Within these territories are 8 designated refugee camps. These camps have developed from tent cities to high density urban developments (high rise apartments) which house 1/3 of all Palestinian refugees.
Registered refugees in 2018 per UNWRA’s registry was 1,421,282. UNWRA does not run the refugee camps but provides services to these camps.
There are no functional airports. The Yasser Arafat International Airport built in 2001 was bombed and destroyed by Israel in 2004.
There is one functional electrical generating plant which provides 16% of Gaza’s power. Israel provided 28% leaving a chronic power shortage of 56%.
Only 5% of Gaza’s water is safe to drink and according to the UN and, 68% of the population suffer from food insecurity.
50% of the population is aged 18 or younger with 44.1% between the ages of 0-14 and 21.3% are between the ages of 15-24.
The birth rate in Gazza is one of the highest in the world at 3.38 per woman. By comparison, the US rate was 1.84 in 2021.
Most children go to school which is funded by UNWRA. Class sizes approach 50 students per teacher and it is not uncommon for schools to run 2 shifts per day to accommodate the demand.
Unemployment rates are high at an average of 50% with 20% of all jobs being in Israel. The unemployment rate is even higher for younger people. Palestinians working in Israel (by permit) would make 6 times more than what they would earn in Gaza.
In reflection, the refugee statistics, comparing the situation from 1948 to today show a disaster. The situation has gone from an estimated 700,000 refugees in 1948 to 5.9 million as registered with UNWRA in 2023. It should be noted that UNWRA records relate to refugees living in camp settlements in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
One cannot help but project your emotions should you be in that situation. A young person or even an adult might be happy to receive 7-13 euro per day to dig tunnels. I’m told that tunnel progression could be up to 10 feet per day due to favorable soil conditions. Presumably Hamas is being financially supported by Iran. Joining Hamas could provide the youth with not only a per diem but food and shelter. Hamas would be a go to source for individual benefits.
As for the birth rate, being unemployed and perhaps staying home over prolonged periods of time, might lead to a greater frequency of intimacy and resulting births.
CONCLUSION, NOW LETS LOOK AT THESE MAPS AGAIN
This will be the fourth time that conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip has occurred. Each time Israel was victorious. Under normal circumstance “to the victor go the spoils”. Over time, and its many victories, Israel has expanded its territories. Todays war is no different as Israel is presently claiming additional territories in the West Bank in the name of Israel and is licensing Israelis to occupy these new lands. The West Bank is being subdivided and then subdivided again. Inevitably, these lands seem destined to be controlled and occupied by Israel. In the case of the Gaza Strip, there are no spoils, only liabilities. I do not believe Israel wants to assume control over the population and accept the potential liability. The Gaza Strip is a welfare state and has no future except to be supported by the rest of the world. There seems to be an international strategy to educate the young people and provide them with the skills to emigrate to countries where their skills can be put to use. This strategy has failed as the population has risen from 700,000 in 1948 to 2.3 million today. Birth control would seem to be logical. Logical for you and me but not to a Palestinian family as the larger the family, the higher priority the family has for welfare.
I only see this situation repeating itself over-and-over again, not unlike the movie “ground hog day”.
I can see the victor wanting to displace the population of the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. Perhaps including a land swap. I was told that even the West Bank does not want the influx of people and the liability that would arise from this.
Palestinian protestors chant the slogan “from the river to the sea” meaning they want to join the West Bank to the Gaza Strip creating a more cohesive State of Palestine. This again leads to land issues between Israel and Palestine. In addition, I am not sure this would solve the apparent financial problems. Radical Palestinians also want to claim Israeli territory as their own and, in the process, eliminate Israel. Israel has military control over the Gaza Strip. Why would they agree to such an aggressive solution.
In 2018, the Trump administration, stopped the US funding of UNRWA, withholding some 300 million dollars of UNWRA’s 1 billion-dollar budget and, claiming the fundamental business model and fiscal practices are “simply unsustainable”. US Secretary Pompeo maintained that most Palestinians under UNWRA’s jurisdiction aren’t refuges and that UNWRA is a hurdle to peace. Once in power, the Biden administration resumed funding. In some ways this reminds me of the use of “tough love” to influence on a smaller scale, the behavior of our spoiled children. Tough love, per Wikepedia, is the act of treating a person sternly or harshly with the intent to help them in the long run. More easily said than done.
A solution is beyond me. Unless both the financial and land issues are settled, I do not see a resolution. The short-term solution was to throw money and resources at the problem. This has been going on now since 1948 or 76 years with little or no result. Instead of being resolved, the problem has multiplied and will continue to grow. Unless radical changes are made, I see no resolution to the situation.
MJClark……….AAARRRRGGGH!