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Gaza

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Gaza (غزة ; עזה Azzah) is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. The city, which has a population of approximately 400,000 in the inner city and 1.4 million people in the metropolitan area, has been inhabited since 3000BC. The city is frequently termed "Gaza City" in order to distinguish it from the larger Gaza Strip.

Etymology

The name "Gaza" (pronounced Aza in Hebrew), may be derived from the Hebrew word "az," for strong.

History

The history of Gaza, one of the oldest cities in the world, has been shaped by its strategic location. The city is located on the Mediterranean coastal route, between North Africa and the greener lands of the Levant. Ancient Gaza was a prosperous trade center and a stop on the caravan route between Egypt and Syria.

Antiquity

In ancient times, Gaza was the residence of the Egyptian governor of the region, then known as Canaan. In the 13th century BC, it was conquered by the Philistines, a Greek people, from whom the name Palestine originated. The Philistines made Gaza their capital city. Gaza was the place where Samson was imprisoned and met his death (Judges 16:21). The prophets Amos and Zephaniah uttered harsh prophecies against Gaza and its Philistine inhabitants. (Amos 1:7) (Zephaniah 2:4).

Tell es-Sakan, dating to 3500 BC, is five kilometers south of today's Gaza city.

Around 3000 BC, the Canaanites developed various urban centres. Artifacts from Tell al-'Ajjul, including pottery, alabaster and bronze works, are housed at the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem.

The city was invaded and captured by Thutmose III in 1484 BC. This was the start of the ruling of the ancient Egypt. This was also the time where the name Gaza was first mentioned.Around 1200 BC the Philistines started the settlement of the coastal area.

Under the rule of the Neo-Assyrians Gaza had to pay a tribute in 734 BC. The Neo-Assyrians were followed by the Neo-Babylonian domination.The attack of the Cambyses I was resisted in 529 BC. Later the Greek established a trading post around 520 BC. Some hundred years later the first coins were minted on the Athens model was around 380 BC.

After the Siege of Tyre in 332 BC, Alexander the Great besieged Gaza, the last city to resist his conquest. Gaza, led by a eunuch named Batis and defended by Arab mercenaries, withstood the siege for two months, until it was overcome by storm. The defenders, most local elements, fought to death, and the women and children were taken captive. The city was resettled by neighboring Bedouins.

Ptolemy started the rule in the year 301 BC. The Seleucides dominated by the year 198 BC. In 145 BC Gaza was conquered by Jonathan the Hasmonean (Brother of Judah the Maccabee). The new leaders under the rule of Alexander Jannaeus brought destruction and massacres around 96 BC. The start of the Gaza era as dated by the Pompey's calendar. As they were expelled and Judea was made a client kingdom of Rome by Pompey in 63 BC, Gaza fell under the rule of Hyrcanus and later by Herod the Great around 30 BC.

In 6 AD, it was placed under direct Roman rule. There was a prospering Jewish presence in Gaza until the Roman ruler Gavinius expelled them in 61 AD as part of the First Jewish-Roman War leading to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Hadrian visited the city in the year 130 AD. Around 250 AD Christianity started to spread.

In the times of the Mishnah and the Talmud there was a large Jewish community in Gaza. The remains of the ancient Gaza synagogue, built around 500 AD, were found near the city wharf. It was conquered by Muslims in the 630s after a siege during which the Jewish population of the city defended it alongside the Byzantine garrison.

Islamic rule

Gaza was captured by ‘Amr ibn al-‘As a Muslim in 637 AD. Believed to be the site where prophet Muhammad's great grandfather was buried, the city became an important Islamic center. The arrival and domination of the Abbasids started with the end of the Umayyads around 750 AD. Gaza became a centre for the art of writing in the Islamic world.

Around 909 AD the influence of the Fatimids from Egypt started to grow. Leading to a slow decline of Gaza, although the important port of Maiouma was flourishing. The orange tree was introduced in the area arriving from India (943 AD).

The city was captured by Baldwin III of Jerusalem. The control was handed over to the Knights Templar in the year 1149. Saladin tried to regain control in its first raid in 1170 on Lower Gaza. Richard I of England recaptured the city from Saladin in 1191. The end of the period marked the conquest of the city by the Mongol Hulagu Khan in 1260. During this period, the Jewish community in Gaza was destroyed. The Jews, however, returned and their community was rebuilt with the return of the Mamluk occupation.Famous Gazan Jews include the medieval liturgical poet Israel Najara, who is buried in Gaza's local cemetery, and the Sabbatean prophet Nathan of Gaza. Rabbi Abraham Azulai lived in Gaza in 1619, and it was there that he wrote his Kabbalistic work "Hesed le-Avraham".

Just some years later the domination of the Mameluks started (1277). They finished the reconstruction of the Great Mosque (Gaza) in (1340).

Ottoman Empire

In 1660 Gaza became the capital of Palestine. The ruler at that time was Hussein Pasha (Husayn Pasha). Gaza maintained close contacts with the Christian Europe. Napoleon captured the city in 1799 and this was followed by a domination of the Turks. Muhammad Ali made Gaza part of Egypt in 1832. In February 1799, when the French forces led by Napoleon entered the city, it was struck by a terrible plague which caused the Jews to move to other areas in Palestine. Starting in the early 1800s, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt. Though Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire, a large number of its residents were Egyptians (and their descendants) who had fled political turmoil. The Ottomans lost it to the British in the Third Battle of Gaza on 7 November 1917 during the First World War. By the year 1886, 30 Jewish families had returned to Gaza, but they were deported by the Ottomans during World War I.

Modern Period

Twentieth century

After World War I, the League of Nations (precursor to the United Nations) granted quasi-colonial authority over former Ottoman territories to Great Britain and France. Britain had the mandate over the areas that now comprise Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jordan.

Many Jewish inhabitants of Gaza left during and after the 1929 Palestine riots. From then on, the British prohibited Jews from living there. In 1946, however, a group of Jews established Kibbutz Kfar Darom in the central Gaza Strip, named for a Jewish town that had existed there in the Talmudic period. Though the Jewish community remained distinct, many still lived amongst the Christian and Muslim communities in neighborhoods such as Rimal. However, their numbers slowly dwindled as the tensions between Jews and Arabs increased throughout Palestine, causing mutual distrust.

After the Israeli-Arab war in 1948, Egypt occupied Gaza and its surrounding area. The city's growing population was augmented by an influx of Arab refugees fleeing Israel. Israel captured the city and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six Day War, but withdrew completely in the wake of Ariel Sharon's Gaza disengagement plan in 2005. With the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as the First Intifada in 1987, Gaza became a center of political unrest and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, and economic conditions in the city worsened.

Palestinian National Authority

In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords calling for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. The Israeli forces left Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian National Authority to administer and police the city, along with the most of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to most West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian National Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.

On September 12, 2005 the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to military rule. Israel also withdrew from the Philadelphi Route, a narrow strip adjacent to the border with Egypt, after Egypt agreed to secure its side of the border. Under the Oslo Accords, the Philadelphi Route was to remain under Israeli control to prevent arms smuggling. With Egypt agreeing to patrol its side of the border, it was hoped that this objective would be achieved. Hamas won a surprise victory in the Palestinian elections in early 2006. Since then, it has been engaged in a violent power struggle with Fatah. In 2007, Hamas overran Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip and its members were dismissed from the PNA government as a result. Currently, Hamas has de facto control of the area. Israel has continued to bombard Gaza and nearby cities in response to Qassam rocket attacks. The European Union and the United Nations have called Israel's actions "disproportionate", but also demand that Palestinian militias halt rocket attacks.

A human rights coalition charged March 6 2008 that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached its worst point since Israel liberated the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Impasse

Hamas leadership now in control of Gaza will not recognise Israel's right to exist. This effectively causes an impasse since Israel will not deal with them but will only deal with the Palestinian authority in the West Bank.

Demographics

The population of Gaza today is overwhelmingly Muslim, with a small minority of about 3,500 Christians, mostly Greek Orthodox. A massive influx of Palestinian refugees swelled Gaza's population after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. The city's population has continued to increase since that time, and poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread. Gaza has serious deficiencies in housing, educational facilities, health facilities, infrastructure, and an inadequate sewage system, all of which have contributed to serious hygiene and public health problems. The birth rate is extremely high and the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza live in poverty, and rely on United Nations food aid to survive.

Economy

Gaza is the economic center for a region in which citrus fruits and other crops are grown. Many Gazans worked in Israeli service and industry when the border was open. The city contains some small industry, including textiles and food processing. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing; commercial development in the city is minimal. Gaza serves as a transportation hub for the Gaza Strip, and contains a small port that serves a local fishing fleet. Overall economic development has been slow and hampered by frequent political unrest.

Landmarks and public buildings

Landmarks in Gaza include the Great Mosque of Gaza (Great Omari Mosque), the Mosque of Al Sayed Hashem, the Mosque of Ibn Othman, the Mosque of Ibn Marwan, The Sheikh Abul Azm sanctuary, the Sheikh Ajlin sanctuary, Tell al Mintar, Napoleon's fort (Al Radwan Castle), and the Church of St. Porphyrius.

  • The Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque)

Located in downtown Gaza, Al-Omari Mosque with its splendid minaret, reputedly stands on the site of the first ancient temple of Marnas then a Greek Orthodox Church. The mosque was also the site of the Church of St. John the Baptist, a Norman church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century. On one of its pillars there used to be a Greek inscription which read "Hananiah bar Yaakov" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah carved above it.

  • Napoleon's Fort (Qasr El-Basha)

Also located in downtown Gaza, this imposing stone building dates back to the Mamluk period. Napoleon is believed to have spent a few nights here on his way through the town in 1799.

  • St. Porphyrus Church

This 4th century church is where St. Porphyrius died and was buried in 420 CE. It is located in the Gaza's old city and still in use today by the Greek Orthodox community.

Located in Al-Daraj Quarter, the mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful ancient mosques in Gaza. The tomb of Hashem bin Abd-Manaf, Mohammad's grandfather who died in Gaza during a trading voyage, is believed to be under the dome of the mosque.

Transportation

The Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza opened in 1998, but its runways and facilities were largely destroyed by the Israeli armed forces during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Following Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators discussed the possibility of reopening it, but meanwhile it remains closed.

Mayors

  • Maged Awni Abu Ramadan (2005-)
  • Sa’ed Kharma (2001-2005)
  • Aown S. Shawa (1994-2001)
  • Alad Abdul Peensiyah (2001-2004)

Town twinning

See also

References

http://www.iugaza.edu.ps External link (remember http:// prefix)

External links



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Last updated on Friday March 14, 2008 at 00:37:01 PDT (GMT -0700)
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