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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

11/20/08
Pakistan: Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq  —Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
11/13/08
The View from Gaza  —Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times journalist in Gaza and Harvard University Nieman Fellow (2005-2006). Interviewed by Middle East Bulletin.
11/04/08
Getting on the Right Track  —Dalia Rabin, chairperson, Rabin Center, and daughter of the late Yitzhak Rabin. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Keeping Focus on Long-Term Objectives

“[W]hile we do need to have a cooperative approach that involves many of our friends and allies in meeting with the Pakistanis, … as we work out with them a rough division of labor, the U.S., I believe, ought to be taking the lead in addressing the issues in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And given the difficulty of doing so, I suspect that we will not have a great deal of difficulty in convincing them to allow us to take the lead there. But as we all know, there is a real tension between our short-term tactical aims in trying to capture or kill terrorists across the border and militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and our longer- term counterinsurgency pacification goals. We very much need to be focusing on the end state. What is it that we want this area to look like? ... In that context we need to have a common agenda with the Pakistani government and very much to include the military on counterinsurgency in that area. There needs to be, therefore, a focus on combining military efforts with economic, development and political development in those areas.”
—Robert L. Grenier, managing director and chairman for Global Security Consulting, Kroll, event, “Partnership for Progress: Advancing a New Strategy for Prosperity and Stability in Pakistan and the Region,” Center for American Progress, November 17, 2008

Middle East Analysis

Palestinian Territories by Numbers

May 27, 2008

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

Demographic information in Palestinian territories
• Population (2007)
o Total: 3,761,646
o West Bank: ~2.4 million
o Gaza Strip: ~1.4 million
• Population growth rate
o 2000: 4.3%
o 2007: 3.3%
• Age of population (2006)
o Below the age of 25: ~65%
o Below the age of 20: ~57%
• Population density (2007)
o West Bank: 464 persons per km2
o Gaza Strip: 3,881 persons per km2
• Incidence of extreme poverty (household income of 1,000 shekels/month per family of two adults and four children in November 2007)
o West Bank: 19% of population
o Gaza Strip: 40% of population
• Literacy rate (ages 15 and above in 2007)
o 92.4% in Palestinian territories compared with Egypt (71.4%), Israel (97.1%), Jordan (91.1%), Saudi Arabia (78.8%) and Syria (80.8%).
• Years of education completed by those in the workforce (2006)
o More than 12 years: 27.4%
o 10-12 years: 31.3%
o 7-9 years: 24.5%

Employment information in Palestinian territories (values in US$)
• Unemployment rates
o 2000: 14.3%
o 2007: 22.2%
• Sector contribution to employment (2007)
o Services sector: 36.4%
o Public sector: 22.5%
o Commerce, restaurants and hotels sector: 19.7%
o Agriculture and fishing sector: 15.3%
o Mining, quarrying and manufacturing sectors: 12.3%
• Average daily wage (2007)
o West Bank: $20.00
o Gaza Strip: $16.20
• Female labor force participation rates (2007)
o West Bank: 18.4%
o Gaza Strip: 10.2%
• Dependency ratio (number of people each worker supported)
o 2000: 4.8 people
o 2007: 5.6 people
• Annual compensation per worker (2006)
o Construction: $5,269
o Industry: $4,328
o Internal trade: $4,066
o Services: $5,354
o Transport and storage: $12,021

Economic information in Palestinian territories (values in US$)
• GDP in constant prices
o 2002: $3,838.9 million
o 2007: $4,135.5 million
• GDP per capita
o 2002: $1,191.3
o 2007: $1,112.8
• Real GDP growth
o 2000: -5.5%
o 2007: -8.0%
• 57% of private, public, and NGO establishments in the Palestinian territories operated in internal trade in 2005

Industrial information in Palestinian territories (values in US$)
• Working establishments in Gaza
o June 2005 (pre-disengagement): 3,900
o July 2007 (post-Hamas-takeover): 780
o End of 2007: 195
• Working employees in Gaza
o June 2005: 35,000
o July 2007: 4,200
o End of 2007: 1,750
• Exports from Gaza (truckloads)
o June 2005: 748
o July 2007: 0
o End of 2007: 34 (recent shipment of strawberries and carnations)
• Total Palestinian exports
o 2000: $401 million
o 2005: $335.4 million
• Total Palestinian exports to Israel
o 2000: $370 million
o 2005: $290.6 million
• Total Palestinian imports
o 2000: $2,382 million
o 2005: $2,666.8 million
• Total Palestinian imports from Israel
o 2000: $1,739 million
o 2005: $1,872 million
• 72% of total Palestinian exports and imports in 2005 made with Israel

Primarily sourced from the "Investment Guide to Palestine" a document of the recent Palestine Investment Conference with additional information from the CIA World Factbook, International Labour Orgainzation (ILO), Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and World Bank.