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15 may 2015 (three pages)
Three Palestinians were injured by live fire during a Nakba Day demonstration in the Gaza Strip on Friday, witnesses said.
Locals told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers opened fire on peaceful demonstrators east of Gaza City, hitting three men in the legs.
Dozens of Palestinians were taking part in the march to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the mass displacment of Palestinians during Israel's creation.
An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an there were "about 100 rioters in the area" during the incident, confirming three direct hits by live fire after Israeli forces opened fire at the lower extremities of five individuals who approached the "security fence," and did not halt on order of the Israeli forces.
Locals told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers opened fire on peaceful demonstrators east of Gaza City, hitting three men in the legs.
Dozens of Palestinians were taking part in the march to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the mass displacment of Palestinians during Israel's creation.
An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an there were "about 100 rioters in the area" during the incident, confirming three direct hits by live fire after Israeli forces opened fire at the lower extremities of five individuals who approached the "security fence," and did not halt on order of the Israeli forces.
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Sounds limp, but I shook all day after the “Committee for Justice in Palestine at The Ohio State University” forwarded OSU College Republicans’ invitation to hear David Horowitz pontificate on “Why Israel is the Victim on April 22. But I had to film Horowitz, because he and CAMERA wield ridiculous power in U.S. schools. As my friend Sami Mubarak told me:
Many minority students, especially Muslim and Arabs, are feeling unsafe that David Horowitz is allowed to speak on our campus. He claimed responsibility for the hateful anti-SJP posters found in Smith-Steeb dorm on our campus a couple months ago. Though I’m a member, I’d no clue that OSU’s CJP had been among those targeted, because CJP chose not to distract from its work at a crucial time. (More about that soon.) Mubarak reminded me that Horowitz had “funded an Islamophobic ad in The Lantern back in 2012″–a fact I’d reported at the time–full of calumnies Horowitz repeated that night. Readers of this site know David Horowitz’s efforts at hate-mongering on campus, last week and a couple months ago. Ben Norton has also debunked Horowitz’s lies, so I’ll point out a few lowlights and post the whole, in six parts, for context. (Sorry for the background noise, and that my video wobbles, whenever I was asked to move.) From his rancid start (2, 0:30) to his abrupt departure, Horowitz’s venom stunned. He skipped the courtesies, like thanks or a nod to Earth Day, dear to many. Instead, Horowitz made sure everyone could hear him, then griped, “I understand that we have people here from several groups that support the terrorist regimes in Gaza and the West Bank (#2, 0:20).” People gasped. When one, then two, clapped in mock shock, Horowitz lapsed into sarcasm: “Great day for America when you support terrorists.” David Horowitz crackled radioactive hypocrisy. He demonized the Muslim Students Association and CJP (#2, 5:09, 14:00) through guilt by association to Nazis, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas–casting even Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas as “literally Nazis”(#2, 21:36), yet obscured the Israel’s use of all–including the fact that Israel helped start Hamas to divide the PLO (see also this and that). He claimed that the Holy Land Foundation, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Hatem Bazian all plot “the destruction of Western Civilization,” based on one supposed secret memo (#3, 13:55), but could scarcely be less civilized himself. Worse, he ignored miscarriage of justice involved the Holy Land Foundation trial and convictions. He accused opponents of supporting terrorism, but elided Israel’s own terrorism from the King David bombing to the Nakba onward. He tried to swell his credibility using his status as a former “Communist” and “Leftist,” yet projected his ideology onto us. He whined that he had the right to be heard without listeners leaving in protest. He exclaimed that Jews are victims of “Jew-hatred,” yet scorned the “Victims studies,” that he claims “this University like every other university has (#4, 1:25).” He moaned that people “put words into my mouth that I didn’t say, they omit every qualification” (#4, 10:30), yet that’s precisely how he misrepresents those who criticize Israel. He alleged that four “Disappearing Palestine” maps “is a Hamas map….The map is one big lie” (#3, 15:18). Paradoxically, those pictures of the ongoing theft of Palestine were the one good thing Horowitz provided: they overshadowed his harangue. Among other nonsensical claims: “Students for Justice in Palestine, the Committee for Justice in Palestine has only one agenda: the destruction of the only Jewish state (#2, 16:25)….The Jews didn’t expel the Arabs when they attacked them in 1948, nor did they… in the 1967 war or in the 1973 war. Turns out that this generosity on the part of the Jews was a mistake; these people are not grateful, they’re fanatics, they’re driven by hate. Four hundred years is a long time: the American Indians have a greater claim on the U.S. than the Arabs have either on Israel or on the West Bank (#2: 19:00).” At least he admitted here that the West Bank is not part of Israel. But he resorted to long-discredited hasbara, asserting that the people of Palestine had no right to their own homes, because there was “no national movement of the Palestinians” (#2, 19:41)–that is, that if people did not claim a land precisely as “the Jews” had done on the basis of an eminently-debatable brand of national identity, they forfeited the ground they owned. He announced, “Occupation is one huge lie…. because if you think the Jews stole the land, then you don’t pay attention to all the amazing things Israelis have done to contribute to YOUR health…cell phones, you owe the Israelis that (#2, 25:00). |
He asserted that “The second lie is that Israel is an Apartheid state” (#2, 26:00): “The only state that’s safe for women, gays, and Christians is Israel” (#2, 27:40). Excuse me if I quote from the the Kairos Document that declares,
“The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli occupation, is an evil that must be resisted…. Christian love invites us to resist it. However, love puts an end to evil by walking in the ways of justice.”
He alleged that if you’re a woman “in the [other] countries of the Middle East, “you’re just chattel,” and the merriment that greeted it was priceless (#2, 26:45). And piled up equally laughable falsities about Gaza next (#3, 0:01):
If you want to know why Palestinians are poor,…why they are suffering,…why they get killed in wars, it’s Hamas that’s reponsible, because Hamas is the aggressor. The Jews weren’t firing rockets into Gaza (#3, 6:00).
When Sami Mubarak and a friend asked,”When will the hate end, David?,” as they held up the sign (3, 6:48),” Horowitz barked,
“You tell me. You’re obviously the–. Do you guys want to identify yourselves? Are you MSA or the CJP or some other leftist hate group?”
A whimsical voice quipped, “It’s the Chess Club.”
What an entrancing spirit to return drollery for malice. Horowitz, however, grumbled as people stood to leave, “I don’t know how you guys live with your consciences.” But CJP, MSA, and other groups do know: they had already started a hashtag campaign called ‘EndHateOSU.”
A “representative of Student Government” offered more comic relief about “sinister acts like food and dancing” (#26:45). Nevertheless, Horowitz posed as an innocent threatened by us: “If the police weren’t here, who knows what would happen!” (#4, 0:15), “You haven’t been attacked on campus. I have! (#4, 0:20).” And he yelled at others: “You’re just stupid! You have no brains (#4, 2:50).” Or this abuse:
“You’re on a different planet from me. I don’t understand how you got all that crap in your head and spew it out at me….[I refuse to waste any more life transcribing poison] (#4: 5:50).”
At last, but too soon for students to debate, Horowitz closed his talk: “It’s a sad, sad performance. Now, [mumbling] we’re finished. Thank you all, even the people who disagreed with me in a civil….[unintelligible].”
He then lingered less than twelve minutes for civil chitchat, seemingly scared off by a question he couldn’t answer. A friend of mine asked why so many Holocaust survivors “condemn Israel’s actions (8:41).” He smeared such critics who’d lived through the death camps, saying, “Some of the Jews shoveled the bodies….ovens….” before waving her off: “You’re just being sarcastic.”
Then he went off Stage Right with a parting curse: “F— Off” (#6, 9:00).
The obscenity was so startling that I–stuck behind my lens–assumed he’d involuntarily yelped at my friend. Only in the video could I see him direct it straight into my camera.
Still, I wonder: How has Horowitz retained respectability, when he acts so—-unimaginably? For the College Republicans’ applause seemed keen (#4, 10:55). And the CR leaders were polite to visitors. Still, I can’t understand the moderator’s double standard about protecting “civilized discourse”: allowing Horowitz to denigrate the audience but not the latter to respond.
Why ever the CR did invite the infamous Horowitz when Hillel’s Buckeyes for Israel pointedly did not? OSUCR recently supported several Israel-centric events, but Buckeyes for Israel did not co-sponsor Horowitz’s visit. I can only assume that Hillel and BfI at last calculate that Horowitz’s grotesquery will do anything but pump up Israel’s popularity. And this person has shaped academic debate?
Meanwhile, what’s with CR’s urging “anyone who felt personally subjugated by Mr. Horowitz’s comments to contact the Office of Counseling…Services“? Many have justly condemned that condescension.
I think psychological care is a great thing. As one flawed human to another, I feel for David Horowitz, because paranoid vigilantism is a sad life. Short of getting professional help, though, we can all hang out with good people who radiate sanity, spreading resilience all round. A week ago, comradely sumud helped me creep into the hate-fest I dreaded. So now I call out to #EndHateOSU, “Thanks.”
“The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli occupation, is an evil that must be resisted…. Christian love invites us to resist it. However, love puts an end to evil by walking in the ways of justice.”
He alleged that if you’re a woman “in the [other] countries of the Middle East, “you’re just chattel,” and the merriment that greeted it was priceless (#2, 26:45). And piled up equally laughable falsities about Gaza next (#3, 0:01):
If you want to know why Palestinians are poor,…why they are suffering,…why they get killed in wars, it’s Hamas that’s reponsible, because Hamas is the aggressor. The Jews weren’t firing rockets into Gaza (#3, 6:00).
When Sami Mubarak and a friend asked,”When will the hate end, David?,” as they held up the sign (3, 6:48),” Horowitz barked,
“You tell me. You’re obviously the–. Do you guys want to identify yourselves? Are you MSA or the CJP or some other leftist hate group?”
A whimsical voice quipped, “It’s the Chess Club.”
What an entrancing spirit to return drollery for malice. Horowitz, however, grumbled as people stood to leave, “I don’t know how you guys live with your consciences.” But CJP, MSA, and other groups do know: they had already started a hashtag campaign called ‘EndHateOSU.”
A “representative of Student Government” offered more comic relief about “sinister acts like food and dancing” (#26:45). Nevertheless, Horowitz posed as an innocent threatened by us: “If the police weren’t here, who knows what would happen!” (#4, 0:15), “You haven’t been attacked on campus. I have! (#4, 0:20).” And he yelled at others: “You’re just stupid! You have no brains (#4, 2:50).” Or this abuse:
“You’re on a different planet from me. I don’t understand how you got all that crap in your head and spew it out at me….[I refuse to waste any more life transcribing poison] (#4: 5:50).”
At last, but too soon for students to debate, Horowitz closed his talk: “It’s a sad, sad performance. Now, [mumbling] we’re finished. Thank you all, even the people who disagreed with me in a civil….[unintelligible].”
He then lingered less than twelve minutes for civil chitchat, seemingly scared off by a question he couldn’t answer. A friend of mine asked why so many Holocaust survivors “condemn Israel’s actions (8:41).” He smeared such critics who’d lived through the death camps, saying, “Some of the Jews shoveled the bodies….ovens….” before waving her off: “You’re just being sarcastic.”
Then he went off Stage Right with a parting curse: “F— Off” (#6, 9:00).
The obscenity was so startling that I–stuck behind my lens–assumed he’d involuntarily yelped at my friend. Only in the video could I see him direct it straight into my camera.
Still, I wonder: How has Horowitz retained respectability, when he acts so—-unimaginably? For the College Republicans’ applause seemed keen (#4, 10:55). And the CR leaders were polite to visitors. Still, I can’t understand the moderator’s double standard about protecting “civilized discourse”: allowing Horowitz to denigrate the audience but not the latter to respond.
Why ever the CR did invite the infamous Horowitz when Hillel’s Buckeyes for Israel pointedly did not? OSUCR recently supported several Israel-centric events, but Buckeyes for Israel did not co-sponsor Horowitz’s visit. I can only assume that Hillel and BfI at last calculate that Horowitz’s grotesquery will do anything but pump up Israel’s popularity. And this person has shaped academic debate?
Meanwhile, what’s with CR’s urging “anyone who felt personally subjugated by Mr. Horowitz’s comments to contact the Office of Counseling…Services“? Many have justly condemned that condescension.
I think psychological care is a great thing. As one flawed human to another, I feel for David Horowitz, because paranoid vigilantism is a sad life. Short of getting professional help, though, we can all hang out with good people who radiate sanity, spreading resilience all round. A week ago, comradely sumud helped me creep into the hate-fest I dreaded. So now I call out to #EndHateOSU, “Thanks.”
Special Statistical Bulletin by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Nakba literally means a natural disaster such as an earthquake, volcano, or hurricane. However, the Nakba in Palestine is a process of destroying unarmed indigenous nation to replace it by another ‘grouped-up’ nation.
In 1948, 1.4 million Palestinians lived in 1,300 Palestinian towns and villages spreading over all of historic Palestine. More than 800 thousand of them were forcibly displaced from their original towns and cities into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, neighboring Arab countries, and other countries of the world. Along with the displaced, some thousands remained in their hometowns in the so-called ‘1948 areas’. Documentary evidence shows that the Zionist troupes laid hand on 774 towns and villages and destroyed 531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. The atrocities of Israeli Zionist forces also included over 70 massacres in which 15 thousand Palestinians were killed.
The Demographic Reality: Palestinian population has increased about 9-fold since the Nakba
The estimated of Palestinian population in the world totaled 12.1 million by the end of 2014. This indicates that the number of Palestinians worldwide has multiplied 8.6-fold in the 67 years since the Nakba. According to statistics, the total number of Palestinians living in historic Palestine (between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean) by the end of 2014 was 6.1 million and this number is expected to rise to 7.1 million by the end of 2020 based on current growth rates.
Statistical data also show that refugees constitute 43.1% of the total Palestinian population in State of Palestine. UNRWA records showed that there were 5.49 million Palestinian refugees registered in mid-2014. Around 29.0% of Palestinian registered refugees live in 58 refugee camps, of which 10 are in Jordan, 9 in Syria, 12 in Lebanon, 19 in the West Bank, and 8 in Gaza Strip.
These estimates represent the minimum number of Palestinian refugees, given the presence of non- registered refugees. These estimates also do not include Palestinians who were displaced between 1949 and the 1967 war, according to the UNRWA definition, and do not include the non-refugees who left or were forced to leave in the aftermath of the war in 1967. The number of Palestinians who remained in their homeland in the 1948 territory after the Nakba was estimated at 154 thousand persons, now in 2014 estimated to be 1.5 million on the 67th anniversary of the Nakba. In the 1948 territories, the sex ratio is 102.2 males per 100 females, while 35.4% of the population are below 15 years of age and 4.3% are aged 65 years and over, based on available statistics relating to Palestinians living in Israel in 2013. This illustrates that the composition of the Palestinian population in the 1948 territory is young, as it is in Palestinian society as a whole.
The number of Palestinians in State of Palestine was estimated at 4.6 million at the end of 2014: 2.8 million in the West Bank and 1.8 million in Gaza Strip. The number of Palestinians in Jerusalem governorate at the end of 2014 was around 415 thousand, of whom 62.1% live in the areas of Jerusalem illegally annexed by Israel in 1967 (J1). The fertility rate in Palestine is high, compared to other countries. The total fertility rate in the period 2011-2013 was 4.1 births (3.7 births in the West Bank and 4.5 births in Gaza Strip).
Population Density: Gaza Strip the most crowded place in the world
The population density in State of Palestine at the end of 2014 was 767 individuals per square kilometer (km2): 500 individuals/km2 in the West Bank and 4,904 individuals/km2 in Gaza Strip. In Israel, the population density of Arabs and Jews in 2014 was 383 individuals/km2.
Settlements: Most settlers live in Jerusalem as part of Israeli Judaization policy
There were 409 Israeli settlements and military bases in the West Bank at the end of 2013 and the number settlers was around 580,801 at the end of the same year. Most settlements are located in the Jerusalem governorate. According to data, about 281,684 (48.5%) settlers live in Jerusalem governorate, of whom 206,705 live in Jerusalem (J1). The ratio of settlers to Palestinians in the West Bank is 21 settlers per 100 Palestinians compared to 69 settlers per 100 Palestinians in Jerusalem governorate.
Israeli Settlers Use More Than 50 Million m3 of Water from the Palestinians Water to Cultivate the Land Seized by the Israeli Occupation
Data from the Ministry of Planning on the national strategic framework for the development of policies and interventions in the Area C, based on World Bank report indicates that the total cultivated area in Israeli settlements in the West Bank during 2013 was about 100 km2. The majority of the land is irrigated using more than 50 million m3 of the Palestinians ground water. Irrigated areas cultivated by Palestinians 2011, are about 78 km2.
Historical Palestine: Israel controls more than 85% of its land
The area of the historical land of Palestine totals about 27,000 km2. Jews exploit more than 85% of the total area of land. Palestinian comprise 48% of the total population in historical Palestine and exploit less than 15% of the land. A Palestinian therefore has less than one fifth of the area available to an Israeli.
Water crisis in Palestine
The situation of water in Palestine differs from other countries in terms of water shortage and the limited water sources that include only the groundwater and surface water. The amount of groundwater pumped in Palestine in 2013 was 262.9 MCM and the water discharged from Palestinian springs was 39.5 MCM in the West Bank for the same year.
The amount of water obtained for Palestinians from groundwater aquifers is estimated at only 15%, while 85% is drawn by Israel. To cover the shortage the Palestinians are forced to purchase water from Israeli Water Company “Mekorot” at quantities totaling 63.3 MCM in 2013.
The daily allocation per capita from consumed water for domestic use in 2013: 78.8 Litter/capita/day (l/c/d) in the West Bank and 91.3 l/c/d in Gaza Strip. However, 95% of drinking water in Gaza Strip doesn’t meet WHO standards and is also less than the minimum quantities recommended by WHO (100 l/c/d).
Martyrs: Continuous efforts to build a state
The number of martyrs killed in the al Aqsa Intifada between September 29, 2000 and December 31, 2014 was 10,062. The highest toll was in 2014 with 2,240 Palestinian martyrs, followed by 2009 with 1,219 martyrs. In addition, 306 martyrs, were killed during 2012, 15 of them from the West Bank, and 291 from Gaza Strip; 189 of them were killed during the Israeli attack on Gaza Strip in November 2012, and 56 martyrs, were killed during 2013, 42 of them from the West Bank, and 14 from Gaza Strip.
Detainees
Data from the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees show that Israel has arrested more than 850 thousand Palestinians since 1967: more than 85 thousand were arrested since the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Know there are around 6,500 Palestinians in detention. Of these, 24 detainees are female, 200 are children, about 500 Palestinians are held under administrative detention (without trial) and 480 detainees are serving life sentences. Israel arrested 6,059 detainees during 2014. Since 1967, 206 Palestinians have died in Israeli jails as a result of torture, denial of health treatment or deliberate killing
Health
Statistics for 2013 showed that the number of physicians per 1,000 population registered in the Physicians’ Union in the West Bank was 1.3 and 2.1 in Gaza Strip. In addition, there were 2.1 nurses per 1,000 population in the West Bank and 4.5 nurses per 1000 population in Gaza Strip in 2013. There were 80 hospitals in Palestine in 2012: 50 hospitals in the West Bank and 30 in Gaza Strip. These included 25 governmental hospitals, 34 non-governmental, 17 private and 3 hospitals run by military institutions, and one run by UNRWA. There were 5,619 hospital beds: 1.3 beds per 1,000 population and allocated as 3,263 beds in the West Bank and 2,356 in Gaza Strip. There were 622 primary health care centers in the West Bank in 2013 and 137 centers in the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalem; Systematically Judaizing
The Israeli occupation authorities don’t only demolish Palestinian houses but also hinder the issuance of any building licenses for Palestinians in Jerusalem and its boundaries.
According to Al-Maqdisi Institute, between 2000 and 2014, the Israeli authorities demolished 1,342 Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem (the areas annexed by Israel in 1967). This has resulted in the displacement of 5,760 people.
Data show an increase in the cases of residents forced to demolish their own houses: 340 people were forced to demolish their own homes during the period between 2000 and 2014, the highest rate of which was recorded in 2010 with 70 demolitions and 49 in 2009.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2014
Data indicate that the number of completely destroyed housing units during the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip in summer 2014 was about 9 thousand units. Moreover, 47 thousand housing units suffered partial destruction. Furthermorer, 327 schools were completely destroyed, 50% of which served double shifts. In addition, six universities were partially destroyed. Holy places didn’t survive the attack either with the destruction of 71 mosques and some churches. 20 government buildings were completely destroyed, in addition to the damage caused to 29 hospitals and primary health care centers.
Labor Market 2014
The labor force participation rate in Palestine in 2014 was 45.8%: 45.7% among refugees and 45.8% among non-refugees. The participation rate in the West Bank was 46.6% (47.6% among refugees and 46.2% among non-refugees) compared with 44.4% in Gaza Strip for both refugees and non-refugees. The unemployment rate in Palestine was 26.9% (33.7% among refugees and 22.3% among non-refugees). The unemployment rate in the West Bank was 17.7% (19.3% among refugees and 17.1% among non-refugees) compared with 43.9% in Gaza Strip (44.0% among refugees and 43.5% among non-refugees).
Education
According to the primary results of the Education data the 2014/2015 scholastic year, there were 2,843 schools in Palestine: 2,145 in the West Bank and 698 in Gaza Strip. Their distribution according to the supervisory authority was follows: 2,096 governmental schools, 349 UNRWA schools and 398 private schools. The total number of students in these schools exceeded 1.177 million, of whom 586 thousand were male and 591 thousand female. There were 778 thousand students enrolled in governmental schools, 290 thousand enrolled in UNRWA schools, and 109 thousand enrolled in private schools.
The illiteracy rate among Palestinians aged 15 years and above was 3.6% in 2014, distributed as 1.6% of males and 5.6% of females. It was 3.3% among refugees and 3.8% among non-refugees. In the field of higher education, there are 14 universities: 5 universities in Gaza Strip and nine universities in the West Bank, in addition to 19 colleges that grant bachelor’s degrees: 6 in Gaza Strip, and 13 in the West Bank. while, there is only University for Open Education has 15 centers in the West Bank and 5 centers in the Gaza Strip, while there are 18 community colleges: 11 in the West Bank and 7 in the Gaza Strip.
Macroeconomics: Consumer Price Index during 2014
The Palestinian Consumer Price Index increased by 1.73% in 2014 compared with 2013: by 3.84% in Gaza Strip, 2.85% in Jerusalem (J1), and by 1.20% in the West Bank. In comparison with the base year of 2010, the Consumer Price Index in Palestine increased by 9.42%: by 13.65% in Jerusalem (J1), 12.44% in the West Bank, and 3.14% in Gaza Strip.
Trade: Limited Palestinian exports
Both imports and exports of registered goods increased in 2013 over 2012. In 2013, the value of imported goods totaled USD 5,163.9 million, an increase of 9.9% compared with 2012. The total value of exports was USD 900.6 million, and increased by 15.1% compared with 2012. As a result, the net trade balance in goods recorded a deficit of USD 4,263.3 million in 2013, an increase of 8.9% over 2012.
The results indicate that 87.3% of exports destination was Israel, while only 12.7% of total exports reached other countries excluding Israel. The limited value of exports to other countries was due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian exports, especially from the Gaza Strip.
Information Society
The percentage of households that have a computer in the State of Palestine, 63.1% for 2014, by 66.9% in the West Bank and 55.6% in Gaza Strip, compared with 50.9% of households in 2011. The results show that 48.3% of households in the state of Palestine has a connection to the Internet in 2014, compared with 30.4% in 2011.
Nakba literally means a natural disaster such as an earthquake, volcano, or hurricane. However, the Nakba in Palestine is a process of destroying unarmed indigenous nation to replace it by another ‘grouped-up’ nation.
In 1948, 1.4 million Palestinians lived in 1,300 Palestinian towns and villages spreading over all of historic Palestine. More than 800 thousand of them were forcibly displaced from their original towns and cities into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, neighboring Arab countries, and other countries of the world. Along with the displaced, some thousands remained in their hometowns in the so-called ‘1948 areas’. Documentary evidence shows that the Zionist troupes laid hand on 774 towns and villages and destroyed 531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. The atrocities of Israeli Zionist forces also included over 70 massacres in which 15 thousand Palestinians were killed.
The Demographic Reality: Palestinian population has increased about 9-fold since the Nakba
The estimated of Palestinian population in the world totaled 12.1 million by the end of 2014. This indicates that the number of Palestinians worldwide has multiplied 8.6-fold in the 67 years since the Nakba. According to statistics, the total number of Palestinians living in historic Palestine (between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean) by the end of 2014 was 6.1 million and this number is expected to rise to 7.1 million by the end of 2020 based on current growth rates.
Statistical data also show that refugees constitute 43.1% of the total Palestinian population in State of Palestine. UNRWA records showed that there were 5.49 million Palestinian refugees registered in mid-2014. Around 29.0% of Palestinian registered refugees live in 58 refugee camps, of which 10 are in Jordan, 9 in Syria, 12 in Lebanon, 19 in the West Bank, and 8 in Gaza Strip.
These estimates represent the minimum number of Palestinian refugees, given the presence of non- registered refugees. These estimates also do not include Palestinians who were displaced between 1949 and the 1967 war, according to the UNRWA definition, and do not include the non-refugees who left or were forced to leave in the aftermath of the war in 1967. The number of Palestinians who remained in their homeland in the 1948 territory after the Nakba was estimated at 154 thousand persons, now in 2014 estimated to be 1.5 million on the 67th anniversary of the Nakba. In the 1948 territories, the sex ratio is 102.2 males per 100 females, while 35.4% of the population are below 15 years of age and 4.3% are aged 65 years and over, based on available statistics relating to Palestinians living in Israel in 2013. This illustrates that the composition of the Palestinian population in the 1948 territory is young, as it is in Palestinian society as a whole.
The number of Palestinians in State of Palestine was estimated at 4.6 million at the end of 2014: 2.8 million in the West Bank and 1.8 million in Gaza Strip. The number of Palestinians in Jerusalem governorate at the end of 2014 was around 415 thousand, of whom 62.1% live in the areas of Jerusalem illegally annexed by Israel in 1967 (J1). The fertility rate in Palestine is high, compared to other countries. The total fertility rate in the period 2011-2013 was 4.1 births (3.7 births in the West Bank and 4.5 births in Gaza Strip).
Population Density: Gaza Strip the most crowded place in the world
The population density in State of Palestine at the end of 2014 was 767 individuals per square kilometer (km2): 500 individuals/km2 in the West Bank and 4,904 individuals/km2 in Gaza Strip. In Israel, the population density of Arabs and Jews in 2014 was 383 individuals/km2.
Settlements: Most settlers live in Jerusalem as part of Israeli Judaization policy
There were 409 Israeli settlements and military bases in the West Bank at the end of 2013 and the number settlers was around 580,801 at the end of the same year. Most settlements are located in the Jerusalem governorate. According to data, about 281,684 (48.5%) settlers live in Jerusalem governorate, of whom 206,705 live in Jerusalem (J1). The ratio of settlers to Palestinians in the West Bank is 21 settlers per 100 Palestinians compared to 69 settlers per 100 Palestinians in Jerusalem governorate.
Israeli Settlers Use More Than 50 Million m3 of Water from the Palestinians Water to Cultivate the Land Seized by the Israeli Occupation
Data from the Ministry of Planning on the national strategic framework for the development of policies and interventions in the Area C, based on World Bank report indicates that the total cultivated area in Israeli settlements in the West Bank during 2013 was about 100 km2. The majority of the land is irrigated using more than 50 million m3 of the Palestinians ground water. Irrigated areas cultivated by Palestinians 2011, are about 78 km2.
Historical Palestine: Israel controls more than 85% of its land
The area of the historical land of Palestine totals about 27,000 km2. Jews exploit more than 85% of the total area of land. Palestinian comprise 48% of the total population in historical Palestine and exploit less than 15% of the land. A Palestinian therefore has less than one fifth of the area available to an Israeli.
Water crisis in Palestine
The situation of water in Palestine differs from other countries in terms of water shortage and the limited water sources that include only the groundwater and surface water. The amount of groundwater pumped in Palestine in 2013 was 262.9 MCM and the water discharged from Palestinian springs was 39.5 MCM in the West Bank for the same year.
The amount of water obtained for Palestinians from groundwater aquifers is estimated at only 15%, while 85% is drawn by Israel. To cover the shortage the Palestinians are forced to purchase water from Israeli Water Company “Mekorot” at quantities totaling 63.3 MCM in 2013.
The daily allocation per capita from consumed water for domestic use in 2013: 78.8 Litter/capita/day (l/c/d) in the West Bank and 91.3 l/c/d in Gaza Strip. However, 95% of drinking water in Gaza Strip doesn’t meet WHO standards and is also less than the minimum quantities recommended by WHO (100 l/c/d).
Martyrs: Continuous efforts to build a state
The number of martyrs killed in the al Aqsa Intifada between September 29, 2000 and December 31, 2014 was 10,062. The highest toll was in 2014 with 2,240 Palestinian martyrs, followed by 2009 with 1,219 martyrs. In addition, 306 martyrs, were killed during 2012, 15 of them from the West Bank, and 291 from Gaza Strip; 189 of them were killed during the Israeli attack on Gaza Strip in November 2012, and 56 martyrs, were killed during 2013, 42 of them from the West Bank, and 14 from Gaza Strip.
Detainees
Data from the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees show that Israel has arrested more than 850 thousand Palestinians since 1967: more than 85 thousand were arrested since the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Know there are around 6,500 Palestinians in detention. Of these, 24 detainees are female, 200 are children, about 500 Palestinians are held under administrative detention (without trial) and 480 detainees are serving life sentences. Israel arrested 6,059 detainees during 2014. Since 1967, 206 Palestinians have died in Israeli jails as a result of torture, denial of health treatment or deliberate killing
Health
Statistics for 2013 showed that the number of physicians per 1,000 population registered in the Physicians’ Union in the West Bank was 1.3 and 2.1 in Gaza Strip. In addition, there were 2.1 nurses per 1,000 population in the West Bank and 4.5 nurses per 1000 population in Gaza Strip in 2013. There were 80 hospitals in Palestine in 2012: 50 hospitals in the West Bank and 30 in Gaza Strip. These included 25 governmental hospitals, 34 non-governmental, 17 private and 3 hospitals run by military institutions, and one run by UNRWA. There were 5,619 hospital beds: 1.3 beds per 1,000 population and allocated as 3,263 beds in the West Bank and 2,356 in Gaza Strip. There were 622 primary health care centers in the West Bank in 2013 and 137 centers in the Gaza Strip.
Jerusalem; Systematically Judaizing
The Israeli occupation authorities don’t only demolish Palestinian houses but also hinder the issuance of any building licenses for Palestinians in Jerusalem and its boundaries.
According to Al-Maqdisi Institute, between 2000 and 2014, the Israeli authorities demolished 1,342 Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem (the areas annexed by Israel in 1967). This has resulted in the displacement of 5,760 people.
Data show an increase in the cases of residents forced to demolish their own houses: 340 people were forced to demolish their own homes during the period between 2000 and 2014, the highest rate of which was recorded in 2010 with 70 demolitions and 49 in 2009.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2014
Data indicate that the number of completely destroyed housing units during the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip in summer 2014 was about 9 thousand units. Moreover, 47 thousand housing units suffered partial destruction. Furthermorer, 327 schools were completely destroyed, 50% of which served double shifts. In addition, six universities were partially destroyed. Holy places didn’t survive the attack either with the destruction of 71 mosques and some churches. 20 government buildings were completely destroyed, in addition to the damage caused to 29 hospitals and primary health care centers.
Labor Market 2014
The labor force participation rate in Palestine in 2014 was 45.8%: 45.7% among refugees and 45.8% among non-refugees. The participation rate in the West Bank was 46.6% (47.6% among refugees and 46.2% among non-refugees) compared with 44.4% in Gaza Strip for both refugees and non-refugees. The unemployment rate in Palestine was 26.9% (33.7% among refugees and 22.3% among non-refugees). The unemployment rate in the West Bank was 17.7% (19.3% among refugees and 17.1% among non-refugees) compared with 43.9% in Gaza Strip (44.0% among refugees and 43.5% among non-refugees).
Education
According to the primary results of the Education data the 2014/2015 scholastic year, there were 2,843 schools in Palestine: 2,145 in the West Bank and 698 in Gaza Strip. Their distribution according to the supervisory authority was follows: 2,096 governmental schools, 349 UNRWA schools and 398 private schools. The total number of students in these schools exceeded 1.177 million, of whom 586 thousand were male and 591 thousand female. There were 778 thousand students enrolled in governmental schools, 290 thousand enrolled in UNRWA schools, and 109 thousand enrolled in private schools.
The illiteracy rate among Palestinians aged 15 years and above was 3.6% in 2014, distributed as 1.6% of males and 5.6% of females. It was 3.3% among refugees and 3.8% among non-refugees. In the field of higher education, there are 14 universities: 5 universities in Gaza Strip and nine universities in the West Bank, in addition to 19 colleges that grant bachelor’s degrees: 6 in Gaza Strip, and 13 in the West Bank. while, there is only University for Open Education has 15 centers in the West Bank and 5 centers in the Gaza Strip, while there are 18 community colleges: 11 in the West Bank and 7 in the Gaza Strip.
Macroeconomics: Consumer Price Index during 2014
The Palestinian Consumer Price Index increased by 1.73% in 2014 compared with 2013: by 3.84% in Gaza Strip, 2.85% in Jerusalem (J1), and by 1.20% in the West Bank. In comparison with the base year of 2010, the Consumer Price Index in Palestine increased by 9.42%: by 13.65% in Jerusalem (J1), 12.44% in the West Bank, and 3.14% in Gaza Strip.
Trade: Limited Palestinian exports
Both imports and exports of registered goods increased in 2013 over 2012. In 2013, the value of imported goods totaled USD 5,163.9 million, an increase of 9.9% compared with 2012. The total value of exports was USD 900.6 million, and increased by 15.1% compared with 2012. As a result, the net trade balance in goods recorded a deficit of USD 4,263.3 million in 2013, an increase of 8.9% over 2012.
The results indicate that 87.3% of exports destination was Israel, while only 12.7% of total exports reached other countries excluding Israel. The limited value of exports to other countries was due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian exports, especially from the Gaza Strip.
Information Society
The percentage of households that have a computer in the State of Palestine, 63.1% for 2014, by 66.9% in the West Bank and 55.6% in Gaza Strip, compared with 50.9% of households in 2011. The results show that 48.3% of households in the state of Palestine has a connection to the Internet in 2014, compared with 30.4% in 2011.
