Gaza

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Gaza (غزة) Gaza City
Crowded beach in Gaza City
Flag
Nickname: "Gaza City"
Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook
Country	Palestinian National Authority
Territory	Gaza strip
First occupied	15th century BCE
Government
- mayor	Sa’ed Kharma
Area
- City	45 km²  (17.4 sq mi)
Population
- City	400,000
Website: http://www.mogaza.org/

Gaza (Arabic: غزة‎ transliteration: Ġazzah; Hebrew: עזה‎ Azzah) is the largest city within the Gaza Strip, part of the Palestinian territories. The city, which has a population of approximately 400,000, is frequently termed "Gaza City" in order to distinguish it from the larger Gaza Strip.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Jewish communities in Gaza 2 People and Culture 3 Economy 4 Attractions 5 Transport 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

Strategically located on the Mediterranean coastal route, ancient Gaza was a prosperous trade center and a stop on the caravan route between Egypt and Syria. The city was occupied by Egypt around the 15th century BCE. Philistines settled the area several hundred years later, and Gaza became one of their chief cities.

In 145 BCE Gaza was conquered by Jonathan the Hasmonean (Brother of Judah the Maccabee). There was a prospering Jewish presence in Gaza until the Roman ruler Gavinius expelled them in 61 CE. In the times of the Mishnah and the Talmud there was a large Jewish community in Gaza, and on one of the pillars of the Great Mosque of Gaza there was a Greek inscription which read "Hananiah bar Yaakov" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah carved above it. This column was originally part of a Byzantine-era synagogue, destroyed at an unknown date and reused (recycled) as part of a grand Church of St. John Baptist, built by Crusaders. When the Crusaders were driven out, the church was commandeered for use as a mosque. At an undetermined date between between 1987 and 1993, during the intifada a very tall ladder or scaffolding were erected and the carving was chisled off.^[1] The remains of the ancient Gaza synagogue, built around 500 CE, were found near the city wharf.

Gaza was captured by Arabs in the 630s after a siege during which the Jewish population of the city defended it alongside the Byzantine garrison.^[2] Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great grandfather was buried, the city became an important Islamic center. In the 12th century, Gaza was taken by Christian Crusaders; it returned to Muslim control in 1187. The city fell to the Ottomans in the 16th century and was taken by the British during World War I (1914-1918).

Following World War I, Gaza became part of the British mandate for Palestine. After the first Arab Israel war in 1948, Egypt took control over Gaza and its surrounding area. The Egyptians never accepted the inhabitants as citizens of Egypt and prohibited them from leaving Gaza Strip. Israel captured the city and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six Day War, and Gaza remained occupied by Israel for the next 27 years with smaller territory as large part of land has been confiscated by Israel. At the beginning of the Israeli occupation, the relations between Israelis and citizens of Gaza were pleasant, and both sides tended to cross the borders - the Palestinians in order to work within the State of Israel, and Israelis in order to buy cheaper objects. However, the relationship were changed from the First Intifada, and later on after the failure of the Oslo accords. The disappointment of both sides from each other led the Gaza strip into poverty, and made the Hamas party the strongest one within the strip.

With the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as the intifada in 1987, Gaza became a center of political unrest and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, and economic conditions in the city worsened.

In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords calling for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. Most of the Israeli forces left Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian Authority to administer and police the city, along with the rest of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to some West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.

The current mayor is Mr. Sa’ed Kharma.

[edit] Jewish communities in Gaza

The Jewish community in Gaza was destroyed during the Crusades, but returned and was rebuilt with the return of the Mamluk occupation. In February 1799, when the French forces led by Napoleon entered the city, it was struck by a terrible plague which caused the Jews to move to other areas in Palestine. By the year 1886, thirty Jewish families had returned to Gaza, but they were deported by the Ottomans during World War I. Jews returned to Gaza after the war ended but they were forced to leave once again after the 1929 Palestine riots and the subsequent massacre of Jews in Safed and Hebron. Following these riots, in which over 130 Jews were killed, the British prohibited Jews from living in Gaza to quell tension. Jews didn't return to Gaza, though in 1946 they established kibbutz Kfar Darom nearby in the central Gaza Strip.^[3]

Famous Gazan Jews have included the medieval liturgical poet Israel Najara, who is buried in Gaza's local cemetery, and the Sabbatean prophet Nathan of Gaza. Rabbi Abraham Azulai lived in Gaza in 1619, and it was there that he wrote the book for which he is remembered, his cabalistic work "Ḥesed le-Abraham".

[edit] People and Culture

Gaza's population is composed almost entirely of Muslims, though it also has a small Christian community. A massive influx of Palestinian refugees swelled Gaza's population after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. The city's population has continued to increase since that time, and poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread. Gaza has serious deficiencies in housing, educational facilities, health facilities, infrastructure, and an inadequate sewage system, all of which have contributed to serious hygiene and public health problems. As in the rest of the Palestinian territories, the birth rate is extremely high. The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza live in poverty (less than 2$ per day), and rely on United Nations food aid to survive.

[edit] Economy

Gaza is the economic center for a region in which citrus fruits and other crops are grown. Many Gazans work in Israeli service and industry when the border is open. The city contains some small industry, including textiles and food processing. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing; commercial development in the city is minimal. Gaza serves as a transportation hub for the Gaza Strip, and contains a small port that serves a local fishing fleet. Overall economic development has been slow and hampered by frequent political unrest and Israeli closures of vital border crossings.

[edit] Attractions

Places of interest to the visitor are the Great Omari Mosque, the Mosque of Al Sayed Hashem, the Mosque of Ibn Othman, the Mosque of Ibn Marwan, The Sheikh Abul Azm sanctuary, the Sheikh Ajlin sanctuary, Tell al Mintar, Napoleon's fort (Al Radwan Castle), and the Church of St. Porphyrius. The city also has many new resorts where tourists and local people can swim and relax by the beach or swimming pools.

• The Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque)

Located in downtown Gaza, Al-Omari Mosque with its splendid minaret, reputedly occupying the site of the first ancient temple of Marnas and then a Greek Orthodox Church. The mosque was also the site of a Norman church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.

• Napoleon's Fort (Qasr El-Basha)

Also located in downtown Gaza, this imposing stone building dates back to the Mamluk period. It is known as Qasr El-Basha because Napoleon spent a few nights here on his way through the town in 1799.

• St. Porphyrus Church

This 4th century church is where St. Porphyrus died and was buried (420 CE) It is located in the Gaza's old city and still in use today by the Greek Orthodox Community.

• Al-Sayed Hashem Mosque

Located in Al-Daraj Quarter, the mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful ancient mosques in Gaza. The tomb of Hashem bin Abd-Manaf, Mohammad's grandfather who died in Gaza during a trading voyage, is believed to be under the dome of the mosque.

[edit] Transport

Gaza shared Yasser Arafat International Airport with the rest of the Gaza Strip. It was opened in 1998, but is currently inoperational, its runways and support facilities having been largely destroyed by Israeli armed forces during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Following the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in autumn 2005, discussions took place between the Palestinian and Israeli sides on its reopening. So far, Israeli negotiators have not agreed to allow the airport be reopened.

Arriving to Gaza:

• By air:

Gaza International Airport, 40 km south of Gaza. Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, 75 km north of Gaza.

• By car:

Northern access: Erez Crossing point (border with Israel). Southern access: Rafah crossing point (border with Egypt and also known as Philadelphia line).^[4]

[edit] See also

• West Bank
• Palestine
• Sinai Peninsula
• Porphyry of Gaza
• Al-Azhar University - Gaza
• First Battle of Gaza
• Second Battle of Gaza
• Little Gaza

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Municipality of Gaza
• Gaza at Google Maps
• Al-Azhar University-Gaza
• The Islamic University - Gaza
• Creation of Disputed Gaza Buffer Zone December 2005

Coordinates: 31°30′N 34°27′E