IV.

Economy

Despite the region’s limited land and water resources, agriculture and livestock raising dominated the economy of the Gaza Strip for centuries and continue to support many Gazans. Principal crops grown in the region include citrus fruits, vegetables, and other field crops; some of the citrus fruit is exported to European countries. The region also contains some light industry, most of it centered in the city of Gaza, which also maintains a small port for the region’s fishing fleets.

During the Israeli occupation, which began in 1967, the Gaza Strip became increasingly dependent on Israel, which is now the region’s primary trading partner and the site of many Gazan jobs. About 40 percent of Gazans commute daily to jobs in Israel, and earnings from these workers provide for more than one-third of gross national product (GNP) in the Gaza Strip. Family income is earned primarily by adult men and older boys, many of whom work in construction, service industries, agriculture, and a variety of industrial occupations. Gazan women are generally restricted to homemaking or local cottage industries.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians led the Israeli government to impose periodic border restrictions on Palestinians working in Israel. These restrictions have resulted in extreme unemployment and economic hardship for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. Poverty, overcrowding, crime, and poor sanitation have become pervasive. Internationally sponsored projects to create local jobs and improve the quality of life in the region, which include the construction of new housing and a sewage treatment system, have not materialized.