Profile: Gaza Strip

"The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land along the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt. Just 40km long and 10km wide, it is home to more than 1.4m Palestinians"

BBC article dated 27 June 2006 describing Gaza. The article, which does not go into details (no mention of fisheries) gives a good (and short) account of Gaza history, its population centres, refugee camps, borders, entry/exit points, militant activity and the former settlement zone.

Gaza Beach Donkey

a photo provided by Greg (thanks!) showing Gaza beach donkeys. Fishers put fish on donkeys and go to the auctioneer (middleperson) who then sells the fish to merchants, shops, restaurants. Fish price is set by the auctioneer. Every fish landed has to be sold to him. He buys his licence 300 000 US dollar a year to the Palestinian Authority. And he charges fishers 5% of value of catch and fish merchants 3%, giving a total of 8%.

International assistance - news

Aid plan to the occupied Palestinian territory: Donors - Europeans first - say they want to avert a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory (see BBC article). The EU and US cut off funding after Hamas came to power earlier this year. Their focus for funding would be on local health services and provision of basic needs to poor Palestinians (not through the Hamas led government though).

In another move, the United Nations agency that provides relief for the Palestinians, UNRWA, began distributing emergency food aid to an additional 90,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA now provides food aid for 725,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip alone.

Humaritarian Update

Latest OCHA situation report on the Gaza Strip, dated 7 June 2006. To be noted:

• Continued disproportinate balance between imports and exports of goods in and out of Gaza resulting in large export revenue losses.
• Total losses from produce harvested in the greenhouses previously used by settlers now exceed US$9.5 million. (these greenhouses were expected to be a source of revenue for the Strip)
• Continuing closure at Erez crossing (used for Palestinian workers and traders).
• Non payment of Palestinian Authority salaries.
• Internal violence.
• External violence (IDF artillery shelling continues in particular into the north and northeastern areas of the Gaza Strip).
• UN staff members facing problems coming in and out of the Gaza Strip. These Israeli restrictions come at a time when the international community is looking for UN agencies for increased resources and operations in response to the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinan territory.

More in the OCHA report.