View source for Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic

{{Short description|Egyptian military rule over the Gaza Strip (1949–1967)}}
{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{nobold|{{lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|قطاع غزة}}|rtl=yes}}<br />{{Transliteration|ar|Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Gaza Strip
| era                    = Cold War
| status                 = Territory occupied by [[Egypt]] (and briefly by [[Israel]] in 1956)
| government_type        = [[Military occupation]]
| image_map              = Gaza Strip 2011-01-20.gif
| image_map_alt          = Gaza Strip after 1949 Armistice.
| image_map_caption      = Map of the Gaza Strip after the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], which established the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]] between [[Israel]] and the [[Arab countries]]
| flag                   = Flag of Egypt
| image_flag             = Flag of Syria.svg
| symbol                 = Coat of arms of the United Arab Republic
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of United Arab Republic (Syria 1958-61, Egypt 1958-1971).svg
| capital                = [[Gaza City]]
| common_languages       = [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
| currency               = [[Egyptian pound]]
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]]
| demonym                = {{hlist|Gazan|[[Palestinians|Palestinian]]}}
| year_start             = 1948
| year_end               = 1967
| event_start            = [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|First Arab–Israeli War]]
| event1                 = [[1949 Armistice Agreements]]
| date_event1            = 1949
| event2                 = [[Suez Crisis]]
| date_event2            = 1956
| event_end              = [[Six-Day War|Third Arab–Israeli War]]
| event_post             = [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]]
| date_post              = 1979
| p1                     = Mandatory Palestine
| flag_p1                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| s1                     = Israeli Military Governorate
| flag_s1                = Flag of Israel.svg
| today                  = [[Gaza Strip]]
}}
{{Politics of Egypt}}
The [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], which ended the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] by delineating the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]] as the legal boundary between [[Israel]] and the [[Arab world|Arab countries]], left the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] in control of a small swath of territory that it had captured and occupied in the former [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]]: the [[Gaza Strip]]. This period saw the creation of the [[All-Palestine Government]] within the [[All-Palestine Protectorate]], an Egyptian client state that lasted until 1959, a year after the [[Republic of Egypt (1953)|Republic of Egypt]] and the [[Second Syrian Republic]] merged to form a single sovereign state known as the [[United Arab Republic]]. The Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip was briefly subsumed by Israel during the [[Suez Crisis|1956 Suez Crisis]] and ended entirely during the [[Six-Day War|1967 Arab–Israeli War]], after which the territory became [[Israeli-occupied territories | occupied by Israel]] with the establishment of the [[Israeli Military Governorate]].
Ultimately dissolved by Egyptian president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] in 1959, the All-Palestine Government was largely symbolic since it was established in 1948, but nonetheless garnered diplomatic recognition from most members of the [[Arab League]]. Since the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty|1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty]], the official Egyptian position has supported the creation of an independent Palestinian state that encompasses the Gaza Strip in addition to the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli-occupied West Bank]].
== Background ==
=== British Mandate ===
After the [[First World War]], the [[League of Nations]] granted the [[United Kingdom]] authority over the [[Mandate for Palestine]] composed of former [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] territory, including the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Beinin |first1=Joel |last2=Hajjar |first2=Lisa |title=Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Primer |url=https://merip.org/palestine-israel-primer/ |access-date= |website=[[Middle East Research and Information Project]] |language=en-US}}</ref> What became known as the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]] was formally confirmed by the Council of the [[League of Nations]] on 24 July 1922 and which came into effect on 26 September 1923.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/88A6BF6F1BD82405852574CD006C457F |title=Palestine Royal Commission Report Presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Parliament by Command of His Majesty |date=July 1937 |publisher=His Majesty’s Stationery Office |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127035141/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/88A6BF6F1BD82405852574CD006C457F |archive-date=27 January 2012 }}</ref>
=== 1948 Arab–Israeli War ===
On 15 May 1948, just over three years after the end of the [[Second World War]] in [[Europe]], the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]] ended. Prior to this, on 29 November 1947, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] approved the [[1947 UN Partition Plan]] to create in Palestine two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The [[1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine]] broke out in response. On 14 May 1948, [[David Ben-Gurion]] issued the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence]] and the following day the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria declared war and invaded, aided by soldiers sent from the [[Kingdom of Iraq|Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq]], starting the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. Egypt made gains early in the war, but these were reversed in late December 1948 when the Israeli army, in "[[Operation Horev]]", drove Egyptian forces out of the [[Negev Desert]] and encircled the Egyptian forces in the [[Gaza Strip]], forcing Egypt to withdraw and accept a ceasefire. On 7 January 1949, a truce was achieved. Israeli forces proceeded to withdraw from Sinai and Gaza, leaving them to be occupied by Egypt.
=== Egypt's All-Palestine Protectorate (1948–1959) ===
The [[All-Palestine Protectorate]] was an entity established by the [[Arab League]] on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, purportedly to provide Palestinian governance for Palestine. After the war, the Gaza Strip was the only former-Mandate territory under the jurisdiction of the [[All-Palestine Government]]. However, the members of the Government were consequently removed to [[Cairo]], and had little or no influence over events in the Gaza Strip.<ref name=Shalim1990 />
On 24 February 1949, the [[Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement]] was signed in [[Rhodes]]. Under the agreement, the armistice line was drawn along the [[international border]] (dating from 1906) except near the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref>[https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/9EC4A332E2FF9A128525643D007702E6 Egypt Israel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525024736/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/9EC4A332E2FF9A128525643D007702E6 |date=25 May 2014 }} Armistice Agreement UN Doc S/1264/Corr.1 23 February 1949</ref> (See [[1949 Armistice Agreements]].)
According to Avi Shlaim:<blockquote>[T]he contrast between the pretensions of the All-Palestine Government and its capability quickly reduced it to the level of farce. It claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Palestine, yet it had no administration, no civil service, no money, and no real army of its own. Even in the small enclave around the town of Gaza its writ ran only by the grace of the Egyptian authorities. Taking advantage of the new government's dependence on them for funds and protection, the Egyptian paymasters manipulated it to undermine Abdullah's claim to represent the Palestinians in the Arab League and in international forums. Ostensibly the embryo for an independent Palestinian state, the new government, from the moment of its inception, was thus reduced to the unhappy role of a [[Shuttle diplomacy|shuttlecock]] in the ongoing power struggle between Cairo and Amman.<ref name=Shalim1990>{{cite journal |last=Shlaim |first=Avi |year=1990 |title=The rise and fall of the All-Palestine Government in Gaza |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=20 |pages=37–53 |doi=10.1525/jps.1990.20.1.00p0044q}}</ref></blockquote>
==== Suez Crisis (1956) ====
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - The newly appointed mayor of gaza.jpg|thumb|The newly appointed mayor of Gaza, [[Rushdi al-Shawwa]], speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Gaza municipal council, 26 November 1956]]
The Egyptian monarchy was abolished in June 1953, with the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] being superseded by the Arab Republic of Egypt. In 1956, Egypt blockaded the [[Gulf of Aqaba]], assumed national control of the [[Suez Canal]], and blocked it to Israeli shipping—both threatening the young State of Israel and violating the [[Convention of Constantinople]] of 1888. [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]] supported Israel in its determination that the canal should remain open to all nations as per the convention.
On 29 October 1956, Israel, France and the United Kingdom invaded the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula initiating the [[1956 Suez War]]. Under international pressure, the Anglo-French Task Force withdrew before the end of 1956, and the Israeli army withdrew from the Sinai and Gaza in March 1957.
==History==
=== United Arab Republic (1958–1971) ===
In 1959, the Gaza Strip was officially merged into the short lived [[United Arab Republic]] (UAR, which united Egypt and [[Syria]]). In September 1961, Syria became an independent state again by withdrawing from the UAR. However, Egypt continued to be officially called the UAR up until 1971, when it was officially renamed as the Arab Republic of Egypt once again. In 1962, the UAR government established a [[Palestinian Legislative Council (Egyptian sponsored)|Palestinian Legislative Council]] elected by the population. The constitutional document began with the following:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=al-Nāṣir |first=Jamāl 'Abd |date=1963 |title=Republican Decree Announcing Constitutional System of Gaza Sector March 9, 1962 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4323560 |journal=[[The Middle East Journal]] |volume=17 |issue=1/2 |pages=156–161 |jstor=4323560 |issn=0026-3141}}</ref>
<blockquote>The Gaza Strip is an indivisible part of the land of Palestine and its people are part of the Arab Nation. The Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip shall form a National Union composed of all Palestinians wherever they may be - its aim being the joint work to recover the usurped lands of Palestine, and the participation in fulfilling the call of Arab Nationalism. The National Union shall be organised by a decree from the Governor-General.</blockquote>
When the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]] (PLO) was founded in 1964, Nasser proclaimed that it would hold authority over Gaza, but that power was never granted in practice.<ref name="Feldman">{{citation |last1=Feldman |first1=Ilana |title=Governing Gaza: Bureaucracy, Authority, and the Work of Rule, 1917–1967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0bEoa0a_YsC&q=Governing+Gaza |year=2008 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8223-4240-3}}</ref> A year later, conscription was instituted for the [[Palestinian Liberation Army]] (PLA).<ref name="Feldman"/>
==== 1967 Arab–Israeli War ====
On 5 June 1967, weeks after Egypt blockaded the [[Straits of Tiran]] and cut off Israeli shipping, Israel attacked Egypt, initiating the [[Six-Day War]]. It quickly defeated the surrounding Arab states and occupied the Gaza Strip, along with the [[West Bank]] and other territory, ending Egypt's occupation.
=== Camp David Accords (1978) ===
In 1978, Israel and Egypt signed the historic [[Camp David Accords]] which brought an official end to the strife between them. The second part of the accords was a framework for the establishment of an autonomous regime in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Arab Republic of Egypt thus renounced any territorial claims over the Gaza Strip.
=== Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979) ===
In 1979, the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]] was signed. Egypt became the first Arab country to [[International recognition of Israel|recognize Israel's sovereignty]] and has since supported the [[two-state solution]], advocating the creation of an [[History of the State of Palestine|independent Palestinian state]] encompassing the [[West Bank]] and the [[Gaza Strip]], both of which have been under [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli occupation]] since the 1967 war.
== Economy and demographics ==
The influx of over 200,000 refugees into Gaza during the 1948 war resulted in a dramatic decrease in the standard of living.  Because the Egyptian government restricted movement to and from the Gaza Strip, its inhabitants could not look elsewhere for gainful employment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Baster |first=James |date=1955 |title=Economic Problems in the Gaza Strip |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322725 |journal=[[The Middle East Journal]] |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=323–327 |jstor=4322725 |issn=0026-3141}}</ref> In 1955, one observer (a member of the United Nations Secretariat) noted that "For all practical purposes it would be true to say that for the last six years in Gaza over 300,000 poverty stricken people have been physically confined to an area the size of a large city park."<ref name=":0" />
== See also ==
* [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041205142353/http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=132 Storobin, David (13 November 2004). "Legal Status of West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem", ''Global Politician'']
*[http://i-cias.com/e.o/gazastrp.htm Gaza Strip (background)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050111030119/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/history/hiscountries/G/gazastrip.html Gaza Strip (history)]
{{Egypt–Israel relations}}
[[Category:1959 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1967 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1959]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1967]]
[[Category:20th century in Egypt]]
[[Category:History of the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:Military occupation]]
[[Category:United Arab Republic]]
[[Category:Egypt in the Arab–Israeli conflict]]
[[Category:Egypt–State of Palestine relations]]
[[Category:Israel–Syria relations]]
[[Category:State of Palestine–Syria relations]]