Snapshot+-+Social,+political+and+economic+unrest+-+Palestine

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND GOVERNANCE Historically, in ancient times, the regions now known as Palestine and Israel and parts of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, were all one area called Palestine. In 1948 the state of Israel was created and 750,000 Palestinians who had occupied ancient Palestine for hundreds of years, either fled in terror or were forced out by what was then Israeli militia. During the period 1948 until 1966, whilst the world saw the creation of Israel, the indigenous Palestinians were governed by Israeli military rule. The United Nations took control in 1947 after the British ended the Palestinian Mandate. Palestine was divided into 45% for the Palestinian state and 55% for the Jewish state leaving Jerusalem as a separate body under international control. The 1967 June War saw Israel take over Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem which are now identified as occupied territories. This Israeli occupation has meant that Israel has complete control over every facet of Palestinian civil and economic life within the occupied territories allocated to the Palestinian people under the United Nations territorial division. The July 2000 Middle East Peace Summit which took place at Camp David between the United States, Israel and Palestinian leaders, saw a collapse of talks between the leaders on what was hoped to have been a settlement to the conflict occurring between Israel and Palestine. It was in September 2000 that violence broke out between Israel and Palestine again in what was to be called the “Second Intifada” or “al-Aqsa Intifada” which has resulted in conflict and Israeli occupation of Palestine over the identification of the State of Palestine ever since. The governing body in Palestine is the Palestinian National Authority which was formed in 1994 as the administrative organization that governs the State of Palestine as it stands – composed of the West Bank and Gaza. In January 2006 Hamas, the socio-political organization of Islamic Palestinians, took power within the Palestinian National Authority by way of vote through the Palestinian elections between Hamas and rival party Fatah. However the Hamas officials were eventually ousted from the administration's office in the West Bank.

It is the conflict that exists over territorial borders, military occupation and governmental rule that has created atrocious conditions within which many of the Palestinian citizens live. The next two sections in this page describe some of the social and economic effects of the Israeli occupation of these regions.

//Reference Sources: Wikipedia (2010) and Bennis (2007).//

ECONOMIC SITUATION The World Bank Palestinian Economic Crisis Report (October 2004, P.9 – 10) states that Palestinian incomes fell by almost 40% during the first two years of the Second Intifada which started in September 2000. World Bank estimates set unemployment in the second quarter of 2009 at 21% in the West Bank and in Gaza 42%. Poverty levels as reported in the 2007 household survey detail a level of 30% in Gaza and 19% in the West Bank but may have increased due to the Gaza blockade imposed by the Israelis allowing only a restricted amount of humanitarian aid through to the region. The GoI (Government of Israel) has all but banned the exporting of goods from Gaza excepting 147 trucks of flowers and strawberries according to the 2009 World Bank report. This ban has meant an almost collapse of the private sector of the Gazan economy forcing the region to depend upon humanitarian aid and donor funding and goods that arrive via the tunnels on the Egyptian border. GoI constraints on shipping, air and transportation corridors have affected delivery of goods into the region (World Bank report “Palestinian State in Two Years: Institutions for Economic Revival”, September 2009, p. 8-19).

According to Mikki and Jondi (2010) spending on education within the Palestinian territories is represented as approximately “20% of total budget”. It is the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) who took control of the Palestinian education system in 1994. Mikki and Jondi state that “international organizations and donors contribute to the funding of Palestinian education as well.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS The social conditions within Palestine are perhaps best described as massive destruction to assets and human life, constant endangerment suffered through military activities and the Israeli occupation, a shortage of the basic commodities of life and in the school environment, lack of supplies and materials, classroom assets, computers and even access to heating and power. BROADBAND ACCESS According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) the 2010 statistics for internet useage in the Palestinian Territories (Gaza and the West Bank) are 14.2% of the population represented as 356,000 users in a population base of 2,514,845. The 2010 report by the ITU indicates that in the 2008-2009 year the learner to computer ratio at the ISCED level 1-3 in the total schools in the Palestinian Territories was approximately 35 students to 1 computer. During the same period and at the same ISCED level 25% of all public schools had internet access compared to the WSIS median of 77% (World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report 2010. Monitering the WSIS Targets – A mid-term review. P. 36, 39).