note: in addition, there are some 6,900 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 2000 est.)
Currency:
new Israeli shekel (ILS)
Languages:
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Elevation:
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Natural hazards:
droughts
Climate:
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Agricultural:
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products.
Economy:
Economic output in the Gaza Strip - which comes under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 - declined perhaps one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of generalized border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.
Industry:
generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center
