The political status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is one of the most violently disputed issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Various conferences and negotiations have been conducted to determine the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (see "Palestinian territories").
The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of Israeli settlements and citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by the al-Aqsa Intifada that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement.
The GazaStrip is a narrow coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean, in the Middle East.
Geographically, the Strip forms the westernmost portion of the Palestinian territories in Southwest Asia, having land borders with Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the north and east.
GazaStrip industries are generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center.
GazaStrip, region in southwestern Asia, bordered on the south by Egypt, on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north and east by Israel.
The area of the GazaStrip is 378 sq km (146 sq mi); its shape and size were determined by the armistice agreement signed by Israel and Egypt after the first Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949).
The GazaStrip is a narrow territory extending from the northern Sinai Peninsula into Israel's Mediterranean coastal plain.
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