Why Is The Gaza Strip Important To Israel ?
The Gaza Strip is situated along the Mediterranean Sea, and has Egypt on one side and Israel on the other. |
As its name denotes, the Gaza Strip is really a strip of land around forty-one kilometers in length and being between six and twelve kilometers in width. Around one and half million Palestinians live there.
Just taking into consideration the size of Gaza Strip, one wonders why is it important to Israel.
Many of the Palestinians living on the Strip were previously living else where in Palestine. However, when the war between Israel and its neighbors started in 1948, these people left their homes and came to the Strip in an attempt to escape the killing. Unfortunately none of these people were allowed to their earlier villages.
However, internationally Gaza Strip is believed to be a part of the territories that were allotted to the Palestinians. The Strip is controlled by Hamas, after it won the elections and defeated the Palestinian Authority in 2006. Hamas is considered to be a militia outfit by many countries. Nonetheless, it is the group that controls the Gaza Strip. It is from here that the Hamas is waging its war against Israel and Israeli.
This is one of the prime reasons why the Gaza Strip is important to Israel.
Earlier, the Strip was a part of the Turkish Empire, and then of the British Empire. Between 1948 and 1967, the Strip was occupied by the Egyptians. However, this occupation was cut short after the Israeli won the war in 1967.
In 1993, Israel and the PLO signed an agreement where the administration of the Strip would be overseen by the Palestinians, while Israel would oversee the military and certain parts of the border, and be in-charge of the waters of the Strip. This agreement was to continue until a permanent solution was found between Israel and Palestine. However, this has not happened.
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