Gaza Strip | ||||||||||
قطاع غزة Qiṭā‘ Ghazza |
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Area occupied by the United Arab Republic/Arab Republic of Egypt | ||||||||||
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Gaza Strip after the 1950 Armistice.
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Capital | Gaza | |||||||||
Languages | Arabic | |||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | |||||||||
Government | Military occupation | |||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | |||||||||
• | Established | 1959 | ||||||||
• | Disestablished | 1967 | ||||||||
• | Egyptian claim relinquished | 17 September 1978 | ||||||||
Currency | Egyptian pound | |||||||||
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Today part of | Gaza Strip |
The occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt occurred between 1948 and October 1956 and again from March 1957 to June 1967. From September 1948, until its dissolution by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1959, the Gaza Strip was officially administered by the All-Palestine Government. Although largely symbolic, the government was recognized by most members of the Arab League. Following its dissolution, Egypt did not annex the Gaza Strip but left it under military rule pending a resolution of the Palestine question.
After World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain authority over certain former Ottoman territories, including the Gaza Strip. What became known as the 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.
After World War II, the British Mandate of Palestine came to an end. The surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from colonial rule. Egypt, while nominally independent, signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 that included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. From 1945, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, which was viewed as a humiliating vestige of colonialism.
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. (See 1947 UN Partition Plan.) In the immediate aftermath of the adoption of this plan, civil war broke out in the Mandate territory. (See 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine.)