“Occupied Palestine” includes the densely populated Gaza…

“Occupied Palestine” includes the densely populated Gaza Strip, occupying one hundred and forty square miles (three hundred and sixtyy-three square kilometers) along the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of the Sinai Peninsula, unusual in being a densely settled area not recognized as a de jure part of any extant country.

The majority of its population, twelve hundred and three thousand in 2001, is Muslim Arab, among whom live scattered “outposts” of some seven thousand Jewish settlers, who have taken a large portion of the most desirable lands.

Living conditions in the Gaza Strip are typically poor, because of its dense and rapidly increasing population (the area's growth rate is one of the highest in the world); inadequate water, sewage, and electrical services; and high rates of unemployment.

Agriculture is the economic mainstay of the employed population, and nearly three-fourths of the land area is under cultivation.

Political tension and outbreaks of violence have often led Israeli authorities to close the border for extended periods, placing many Palestinians out of work.

The international airport in Gaza, which opened in November 1998, is closed, its runways torn up by Israeli bulldozers.

Gaza City and its surroundings continue to be greatly overpopulated by Arab refugees from Palestine.