History

Sites of Interest

Contacts

South of Gaza City

The Gaza Strip is a narrow belt of land approximately 45 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. In all, it measures 165 square kilometres, the same size as Lake Tiberias or 1.3 % of the British Mandate. Up to 1948, Gaza was the administrative capital of a piece of land stretching from the Palestinian border with Egypt to Isdoud (Ashdod). Israeli military takeover has reduced its surface area by one third of that designated by the United Nations partition plan in 1947.

In 1948, the southern conquest of Palestine stopped at the borders of this strip of land, which in the space of several months became a real “sanctuary.” In all, between 200,000 and 250,000 refugees took refuge here. The latest refugees came in 1951, fleeing from their occupied villages or Bedouin encampments in the western part of the Negev. This strip of land owes its existence to Zionist political offensives in 1948 and the less enthusiastic initiative of Egypt’s late King Farouk. The establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine over as much land as successive military conquests permitted, forced the indigenous Palestinian population into a bare minimum of space. In fact, not a single village from Jaffa to Gaza was spared the elimination and displacement of its entire population. Egypt’s political stand on the matter was motivated by fear that it would have to absorb the wave of Palestinian refugees – a threat which nearly shook the Egyptian monarchy to its foundations ≠ in the event that the Israeli army continued its land takeover of Gaza. On February 24, 1949, the Kingdom of Egypt and the State of Israel signed an armistice establishing the boundaries of two new territorial entities: the Gaza Strip and the State of Israel.

Today, 1.1 million people live here, more than 75% being refugees. According to UNRWA statistics, the refugees living in the Gaza Strip make up more than 22% of the entire Palestinian population. Since their arrival as refugees, population density has increased, so nowadays the Gaza Strip has one of the highest densities of population in the world. Contemporary history here is marked by misery and frequent aggressions. Since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada, more than 70% of the population has lived under the poverty line. Most families depend on aid from Arab and Western countries, as well as UNRWA, for their survival.

The History of the Gaza Area and Gaza City

A land rich in history and in archaeological finds (often hidden under the sand or under the camps), Gaza used to be one of the busiest crossroads in the Near East. Prehistoric man arrived here on his long trek across Asia and Europe and settled near Wadi Ghazzeh. In the 4th century BC, the domestication of the donkey started caravan trading. Commerce with Egypt developed in importance. Egypt established many market towns along the southern coast of Palestine in the second half of the 4th century BC, with Gaza as their administrative centre. In the third millennium (the First Dynasty in Egypt), the area became independent of Egypt. Several Canaanite cities raised their defenses, the most prominent of these being founded on the site of Tel al-Ajul (in the south of Gaza). This city had its heyday under the Hyksos (or “rulers of foreign countries” in Egyptian), the Syro-Palestinian authorities who took political and social control of the region as far as the Nile Delta. This period came to an end when the pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty conquered Palestine circa 1550 BC.

Gaza, (gada-tu in Egyptian), became the most important urban centre in southern Palestine, where the Egyptian governor of the area had his residence. Circa 1200 BC, invasions from “Sea Peoples” – the Philistines in particular – increased and helped push the Egyptians out. Gaza was probably the capital of an independent confederation of five city-states. In 734 BC, Gaza was conquered by Tiglath-Pileser III, whose Assyrian name was haza-ti or ha-zi-ti. The Governor of Gaza quite naturally fled to Egypt.

Nonetheless, Gaza flourished as the actual gateway of the Assyrian empire into Egypt. This neo-Babylonian domination did not last long, but still there were deportations, as elsewhere. Among them was the King of Gaza himself. In circa 538 BC, the whole Near East fell to the Persians and became part of their great empire: Gaza benefited from the opening of trade links with the Mediterranean basin. It became the terminus for caravans of incense, myrrh and exotic animals from Yemen, slaves from the African Horn as well as spices from India and, quite probably, silks from China. Greek and Cypriot ships bound for the Levant and Egypt took on manufactured goods, olive oil and wine in Gaza, which became famous for these products until the end of the Byzantine period. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Gaza was one of the most renowned Greek cities in the Orient. At the crossroads of civilizations, it was truly cosmopolitan, second only to Alexandria, with people, goods, cultures and religions from everywhere.

During the Umayyad Dynasty, the city was known as “Hashem’s Gaza,” or the Gaza of Hashem Ibn Abdel Munaf, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandfather, who was buried here. Its outstanding contributions as an intellectual and commercial centre were widely acknowledged. In the 13th century, Muslim Shafeite doctrine was developed here, by a native of Gaza, Imam el-Shafii. Gaza became a real breadbasket as well as a crossroads between two great Arab capitals – Cairo and Damascus – experiencing a new expansion under the Mamelukes until the Great Plague of 1348 AD, during which it lost many of its citizens. Vasco de Gama’s discovery of new sea routes to India in the 15th Century put an end to Gaza’s maritime activities and robbed it of its privileged position on the Spice Route.

Then, in 1948, the massive influx of Palestinian refugees caused the population to explode, transforming the face of the Gaza countryside. Of 58 villages and towns in the district, 46 were evacuated and totally demolished. In a matter of months, the population of the Municipality of Gaza rose from 35,000 to 170,000 people. Unlike the West Bank, Gaza was not annexed to another country, but was given by the Arab League to Egypt to administer militarily. Most of the population depend, to this day, for their subsistence, on UNRWA assistance and money sent by refugees working in the Gulf States.

In 1956, the Gaza Strip was occupied for several months by the Israeli army. After a second occupation in 1967, resistance campaigns multiplied. Israel retaliated, executing most of the leaders of the resistance ≠ Pan-Arab and leftwing party leaders. Twelve thousand Palestinians were arrested, some of the population was deported, the refugee camps were combed for suspects and long curfews were enforced. In order to control activities in the camps, the army razed entire areas in 1971, leaving 15,000 Palestinians again without homes. From the very beginning, Israeli strategy was to chase as much of the population as possible out of the Gaza Strip. The port of Gaza was closed and the economy put in a strangle-hold. Between 1967 and 1984, more than 100,000 Palestinians left. Some were forcibly deported to the Sinai Peninsula; others emigrated to Jordan or the Gulf States.

During these years of occupation, organizations close to the Muslim Brotherhood (an Islamic movement born in Egypt) grew in social and religious influence. Occupation authorities did not seem to mind these new movements as long as they refrained from political or armed resistance against the Israeli presence. They were given free rein to develop, especially as they were against the Pan-Arab or leftist groups of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). These Islamic movements claim that this period was necessary to build moral and religious strength in order to prepare for political and armed struggle against the occupation of Palestine. The First Intifada was the signal for these actors to enter the military and political arena, by the creation of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), today the most influential resistance movements in the Gaza Strip.

On December 8, 1987, a popular revolt broke out in the Jabalya Refugee Camp after the death of several Palestinian workers. It marked a new phase of opposition to the Occupation. The next day, the Uprising (Intifada) swept all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. It would last for more than six years.

The period of the Oslo Accords brought a new rhythm to daily life in the territories. One could move around the camps and towns without fear of running into an Israeli army patrol; and yet, the Gaza Strip was steadily becoming one huge prison camp. In fact, most of its population has never left Gaza (half the people in Gaza are under 15 years of age: these children and teenagers are the first victims of this closure). At the same time, there was considerable urban expansion. After a long period of restriction, especially in the refugee camps, it was at long last possible to build or to add on to dwellings. As a result, everyone started building everywhere without any real urban planning. This boom had a short life due to economic suffocation.

The al-Aqsa Intifada has marked a new development in the struggle against occupation. As usual, the repression has been brutal, the violence daily and of all types (see al-Aqsa Intifada, p. 43). One extremely serious consequence of the Israeli reaction is that more than 70% of the working population of the Gaza Strip has been prevented from working.

Sites of Interest

The Old City

The er-Radwan Fortress

The al-Omari Mosque or Great Mosque

The gold market

St. Porphyrius Church

Hammam es-Samara

The Said Hashem Mosque

The pottery workshop

Mukheitem

Situated on the road between the Erez border and Gaza City (in the commune of Jabalya village). This site is closed at present but promises to be one of the most beautiful archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip.


Contacts

Al-Tawfiq Co-operative Society of Fishermen

88 Ahmed Orabi Street, Mohammed Zakout (Abu Ahmed) Tel: 08-283 4144 or 08-286 5295.Visits to the port or to fishermen’s families are organized by the co-operative.

Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)

Hassan Salameh Street, opposite en-Nasser Hospital. Tel: 08-287 9959, Fax 08-285 3075; E-mail: uawc@mtcgaza.com [see UAWC Ramallah, p. 235].

Democracy & Workersss Rights Centre in Palestine (DWRC)

Al-Quds Open University Street. 08-285 3011, fax 08-285 3010; gaza@dwrc.org; the centre offers briefings and talks with workers (by appointment).

South of Gaza City

Tel al-Ajul

8 kilometres south of Gaza City. Free entry.

During the first half of the second millennium BC, Tel al-Ajul was the most important Canaanite city of this southern part of Palestine and a military stronghold of the Hyksos, the rulers in Egypt.

The Byzantine site of Umm Amir

Situated in the Municipality of Nusseirat, Umm Amir is 300 metres from the shore and 13 kilometres south of Gaza City. There are archaeological digs being carried out here at themoment. Do not hesitate to ask for permission to visit: you will be given a warm welcome. The ruins here cover some two acres, constituting a group of church buildings and a monastery,which includes a chapel, baptistery, burial crypt and the monkss cells. To the north, a steam bath (hammam) and its annexes complete the site.

Deir al-Balah

Deir al-Balah is famous for the sarcophagi discovered here (which are now exhibited at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem). They date from the 13th century BC. At that time, Deir al-Balah was an important fortified market town under Egyptian rule.

Khan Younis

Khan Younis is the second largest urban centre after Gaza City. The town, including Khan Younis and al-Amal refugee camps, has more than 130,000 residents. It received its name from Emir Younis Ibn Ala’en-Nawruzi, who in 1387 AD built a huge caravanserai or khan (inn for caravans) here on the route between Cairo and Damascus; its southern façade is still preserved.

Rafah

The gateway between Egypt and Asia, Rafah has always been a busy mercantile centre but also a strategic point for armies. Antony and Cleopatra were married here in the First Century BC.
Ruins are numerous here, but buried deep under the sand dunes.