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Palestine FlagOur Life in Palestine

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Palestine - Background Information

Location

The Occupied Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are located in the Middle East. The Territories (shown in red on the map) are noncontiguous areas separated by Israel. There is no free passage between them. The West Bank is bordered on the East by Jordan and on all other sides by Israel. The Gaza Strip is bordered on the South by Egypt, on the West by the Mediterranean Sea and on all other sides by Israel.

Climate

The climate in the Occupied Territories is temperate. One can expect sunny days and warm to hot temperatures from April to November with a rainy season between November and April. Areas at higher altitudes may experience freezing temperatures and small amounts of snow in winter.

Geography

The area under the control of the Palestinian National Authority comprises parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The area of the West Bank is 5,655 sq km with a population in 2000 of 2,057,145 and an average population density of 363.8 persons/sq km.

The area of the Gaza Strip is 365 sq km with a population in 2000 of 1,167,359 and an average population density of 3,198.2 persons/sq km.

Of this territory, in 1995 the West Bank there were 178 Israeli settlements covering 85.1 sq km. In the Gaza Strip there were 18 settlements covering 6.2 sq km.

By May 2002, according to B'Tselem, "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories", well over 50% of the territory of the West Bank had been taken over by Israeli Settlements and Military Bases.

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Click the links to see the other pages in the Palestine section.

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Patti

This page was updated on 26 November 2007.

Contact me at: patti.primeau@sympatico.ca

This site was updated using Nvu and Style Master.
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