Closure of the Gaza Strip: Key facts and messages

unrwa

june 2012

closure of the gaza strip: key facts and messages This month marks the anniversary of the tightening of the Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which is over five years old and in violation of international law.

Although the Gaza Strip has been repeatedly subjected to restrictions on the movement of persons and goods, these restrictions grew increasingly tighter over the years since the 1990s, until borders were closed completely in June 2007.

As of today, severe restrictions against the movement of persons and goods remain intact. The closure of Gaza has had a devastating impact on the population of Gaza, as shown through the facts and figures in this fact sheet.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Gaza Strip Overview Map

Ashkelon

January 2009

About 60% of the population is under age 18. Some 350,000 persons are youth aged 15-24 years.

The completion of the closure of Gaza in 2007 has decimated the economy. Ongoing restrictions against the movement of goods to and from Gaza are preventing sustainable economic recovery.

• •

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Zikim

• •

Karmiya Yad Mordekhai

North Gaza

West Bank

 Erez  

a an

Beit Lahiya

rra ne

Ash Shati' Camp

Jabalia Camp

Beit Hanoun

ed M

Nahal Oz

Crossing point for fuels

25

Shuva Zimrat

Alumim

50 km

An Nuseirat Camp

Tkuma

Be'eri

Al Maghazi Camp

Tushiya Shokeda

Netivot

Deir al Balah

Middle Area Khan Yunis Khan Yunis Camp

Re'im Kisufim

Al Qarara

ISRAEL

Ein ha-Shlosha Bani Suheila

Khan Yunis

Unemployment rates in Gaza remain among the highest in the world and are increasing.

Kfar Maimon

Al Bureij Camp

Az Zawayda

Deir al Balah Camp

Kfar Aza

Sa'ad

Karni

Crossing point for goods 0

Real GDP per capita contracted by 39 per cent from 2005-2009, as a result of increasing Israeli restrictions against movement to and from Gaza.

Real GDP per capita grew approximately 19 per cent in 2011, reflective of the extremely low baseline and driven largely by imports through the network of tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border; however, the economy seems to have now reached a saturation point.

As at end 2011, real GDP per capita remained at approximately ten per cent below 2005 levels.

Mefalsim

     

Gaza

JORDAN

•

Sderot

Jabalia

Gaza City

ite

ISRAEL

EGYPT

Netiv ha-Asara Crossing point for people

Se

Dead Se a

Gaza Strip

Exports from Gaza remain at less than 5% of pre-2007 levels and imports at less than approximately 45% of pre-2007 levels.

A ban on the transfer of Gazan goods to its historic market in the West Bank, second in importance only after Israel, remains in effect.

New data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) confirms that the recent economic resurgence in Gaza has reached a saturation point, with some gains beginning to reverse.



LEBANON



The population of Gaza is estimated at 1.6 million, including 1.2 million registered Palestine refugees.

Nirim

Patish

• • •

Improvements to the unemployment rates in 2010-2011 have begun to reverse.

The unemployment rate in Gaza rose to 31.5 per cent in Q1 2012.

51 per cent of the youth workforce is unemployed as is 46.5% of the female workforce.

'Abasan al Kabira Nir Oz Tal as Sultan

Magen

  

Rafah

Rafah Camp

Ein ha-Bsor

Governorate Border Green Line

Rafah

Rafah

  

International terminal for passengers

EGYPT

Crossing Point

Airport

Kerem

  

 Shalom  

Sufa

Ami'oz

Yesha Nir Yitskhak

Both used as alternative crossing point for commercial and humanitarian goods

Mivtakhim

Israeli Built-up area

Ohad

Sde Nitsan

Built-up area

Kilometres 0

2

4

Refugee Camp

The economic growth from mid-2010 to mid-2011 was primarily driven by demand, which is unsustainable in a small economy like Gaza. The inability to export products will continue to prevent a reactivation of the productive economy until access is restored.

8

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east

www.unrwa.org

It is only due to the large-scale interventions of international agencies and donors that the economic and food security crises in Gaza have not turned into a full-blown humanitarian emergency.

• •

UNRWA alone provides for the daily food needs of over 800,000 refugees at an annual cost of $85 million.

Ultimately borne by international donors, many of these high costs could be avoided by opening the border for normal trade, including both imports and exports.

Even though more persons were able to work from mid-2010 to mid-2011, their ability to afford basic food and other items necessary for life continued to decrease.

• • • • •

Approximately 33 per cent of Gazan workers remain poor, according to PCBS. During the second half of 2011, the average real monthly wage stood at NIS 1074, approximately 32 per cent below the 2006 level (NIS 1589).

The average household in Gaza continues to allocate nearly half of its expenditures on food, due to high prices and low wages.

An estimated 44 per cent of households in Gaza lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. It is important to note that this is a “post-assistance rate”, meaning these households lack secure access even after receiving food assistance from UNRWA or other aid agencies.

Two of every three refugees in Gaza remain dependent on UNRWA for their daily food requirements.

The closure of Gaza – particularly the ban on the commercial import of construction commodities – continues to restrict implementation of humanitarian projects.

• • • • •

While UNRWA has a working relationship with the Government of Israel (GoI), the mandatory submission of all projects to the GoI for approval continues to be slower than seems necessary.

On average, it takes six months for UNRWA to receive approval of projects from the GoI. The recently-approved housing projects required 12 and 18 months, respectively, to obtain approval.

At least one housing project, funded by the United Arab Emirates, has been pending approval for over 18 months. Partially constructed before June 2007, nearly 450 families have been waiting for their new homes for over six years.

In 2011, UNRWA spent approximately USD 5 million in additional costs related to the lengthy project approval process, construction material accountability requirements, and reduction of official crossing points for goods from four to one.

With construction commodities – in particular, aggregate, metal bars and concrete – now pouring freely into Gaza through the tunnels, there is an obvious disproportion between the control exerted over the import of goods by aid agencies and commercial companies and the free flow of goods through the tunnels.

• •

On average, nearly 3,000 tonnes of aggregate, 2,500 tonnes of cement and 300 tonnes of steel bars are transferred into Gaza through the tunnels each day (according to OCHA and the Palestinian Federation of Industries).

The continued ban on the official import of these items is disproportionately impacting the international aid agencies working in Gaza.

Prior to 2002 – before restrictions on movement began to tighten – only ten per cent of refugees were dependent on UNRWA aid. Today, this dependency ratio is approximately 70 per cent.

Unless the closure of Gaza is lifted and free movement of goods and civilians restored, people will remain trapped in unemployment, food insecurity, and aid dependency. Discontent, isolation and loss of hope will continue to grow.

In effect, the closure of Gaza punishes the whole of its civilian population and limits their basic freedoms. This policy undermines the human rights and dignity of nearly 1.7 million civilians in Gaza. It also undermines longterm peace and security in the region.

UNRWA calls on the Government of Israel to end the closure of Gaza and to restore basic freedoms and dignity for all civilians, including for an estimated 800,000 children.

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east

www.unrwa.org

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.