Jul 08, 2014 Juan Cole

Gaza by the Numbers: Who the People Are, How They Got There

*Women confronting Israeli forces about mistreatment and arrest of Palestinian youth in Jabalia in the Gaza Strip in 1988. Robert Croma (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)*

Juan Cole

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Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan and the proprietor of the Informed Comment e-zine. He has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in…

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Population of Palestinians of Gaza: 1.7 million

Number of Palestinians in Gaza whose families were expelled as refugees from their homes in what is now southern Israel: 1.2 million

Number of Palestinians in Gaza still living in the 8 recognized refugee camps, “which have one of the highest population densities in the world”: over 500,000

Compensation Palestinians of Gaza have received for the billions of dollars of property taken from them by Israelis in Beersheva, Sderot, etc.: $0

Years since Israel allowed Palestinians of Gaza to export what they produce: 7

Unemployment in Gaza as a result of Israeli blockade on civilians: 38.5%

Estimated unemployment rate in US during the Great Depression: 25%

Percentage of children in Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition: 13.2%

Rate of anemia in Palestinian Children in Gaza: 18.9%

Percentage of water in Gaza that is potable: 10%

Years, according the the UN, before Gaza becomes “uninhabitable”: 6

Number of airports in Gaza rendered inoperable by Israeli airstrikes: 1

Number of airports working in Gaza: 0

Number of ports allowed by Israelis to operate on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast: 0

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