Qiryat Gat
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| Hebrew | קִרְיַת גַּת |
| Government | City |
| Unofficially also spelled | Kiryat Gat |
| District | South |
| Population | 47,800 (CBS end of 2004) |
| Jurisdiction | 10,400 dunams (10.4 km²) |
Qiryat Gat, commonly spelled Kiryat Gat (Hebrew: קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2004 the city had a total population of 47,800.
The city name refers to Gath - one of the five major cities of the Philistines - because archeologists found the ruins of a Philistine site mistaken for Gat in the area. The real Gat was later found some 20km further south. West of the city lie the ruins of the abandoned town of Al-Faluja, an Arab town destroyed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the subsequent founding of modern Israel.
Uniquely in Israel, the city is founded on land meant to have been protected by an International Agreement, under an exchange of letters that were filed with the United Nations and became an annex to the Israel/Egypt armistice agreement of February 1949.
Under this agreement, the safety and property of the 3,140 Arab civilians (over 2000 locals, plus refugees from other villages) in the area were guaranteed. The agreement made was that "those of the civilian population who may wish to remain in Al-Faluja and Iraq al Manshiya (the two villages within the enclave covered by the letters) are to be permitted to do so. ... All of these civilians shall be fully secure in their persons, abodes, property and personal effects." [1]
The enclave was handed over to Israel as part of the Israeli-Egyptian armistice agreement, but few civilians left when the Egyptian brigade withdrew on 26th Feb 1949. Israel promptly violated the armistice agreement and began to intimidate the populace into flight. United Nations observers reported to UN mediator Ralph Bunche that the intimidation included beatings, robberies, and attempted rape. [2] Moshe Sharret (Israeli Foreign Minister) protested, and Quaker observers bore witness to the beatings. [3] Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that the decision to cleanse the "Faluja pocket" population was probably approved by Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion [4]. The last civilians left on the 22nd April and the order to demolish these (and a string of other) villages was made 5 days later by Rabin. [5] See also San Fransisco Chronicle which questions whether due diligence was applied to the land on which the chip plant was built.
The modern Israeli city of Qiryat Gat was established in 1954 on the land of the village of 'Iraq al-Manshiyya and it has expanded from there to reach al-Faluja. Shahar, Noga, Nir Chen and Nehora were established in 1955 and 1956 on the lands of al-Faluja.
In 1996, all that remained of al-Faluja were the foundations of the village mosque and fragments of its walls, along with a dilapidated well and a cistern. Israeli government offices and an airport have been built on the surrounding land.
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[edit] Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was all Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. In 2001 there were 463 immigrant settlers. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 23,500 males and 24,700 females. The population of the city was spread out with 35.7% 19 years of age or younger, 14.9% between 20 and 29, 18.5% between 30 and 44, 15.8% from 45 to 59, 3.8% from 60 to 64, and 11.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 0.8%.
[edit] Economics
Qiryat Gat is a home for an Intel chip production factory. This new and modern high tech factory is a main employment source in the area. An additional Intel factory is expected to be built also in Qiryat Gat.
[edit] Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 15,257 salaried workers and 1,152 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is NIS 4,125, a real change of +4.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,199 (a real change of +7.3%) versus NIS 2,956 for females (a real change of -1.8%). The mean income for the self-employed is 5,494. There are 1,336 people who receive unemployment benefits and 6,487 people who receive an income guarantee.
[edit] Education
According to CBS, there are 25 schools and 10,676 students in the city. They are spread out as 18 elementary schools and 5,498 elementary school students, and 13 high schools and 5,178 high school students. 54.7% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Morris, Benny - The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949, (Cambridge University Press, 1989) - p. 243
- ^ Morris, Benny - The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949, (Cambridge University Press, 1989) - p. 244
- ^ 'Visit of the Quaker team to Faluja Feb 26 to Mar 6th, Reported by Ray Hartsough ... AFSCA - Foreign Service 1949, Palestinians - Faluja. Cited by Morris, Benny - The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, (Cambridge University Press, 2004) - p. 522
- ^ Entry for 28 Feb 1949, Weitz, Diary, IV, 15; and Y Berdichevsky to Machnes, 3 Mar 1949, ISA MAM 297\60, cited by Morris, Benny Ibid p.524
- ^ Rabin to 3rd Brigade, 26 Apr. 1949, IDFA 979\51\\17 - cited Ibid p. 524
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| Cities | Arad · Ashdod · Ashqelon · Beersheba · Dimona · Eilat · Netivot · Ofaqim · Qiryat Gat · Qiryat Mal'akhi · Rahat · Sderot |  |
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