The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later.

In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward.

In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip.

A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA.

Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 1,376,289 note: in addition, there are more than 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2005 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 48.5% (male 342,186/female 325,899) 15-64 years: 48.8% (male 342,927/female 329,354) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,036/female 20,887) (2005 est.)

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Median age: total: 15.65 years male: 15.5 years female: 15.81 years (2005 est.)

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Population growth rate: 3.77% (2005 est.)

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Birth rate: 40.03 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Death rate: 3.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Net migration rate: 1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 22.93 deaths/1,000 live births male: 24.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.79 years male: 70.5 years female: 73.15 years (2005 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 5.91 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA

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Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

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Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

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Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

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Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

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Population: 2,385,615 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.4% (male 530,197/female 504,794) 15-64 years: 53.2% (male 649,610/female 619,335) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 34,803/female 46,876) (2005 est.)

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Median age: total: 18.14 years male: 17.99 years female: 18.3 years (2005 est.)

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Population growth rate: 3.13% (2005 est.)

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Birth rate: 32.37 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Death rate: 3.99 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Net migration rate: 2.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 19.62 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.08 years male: 71.33 years female: 74.95 years (2005 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 4.4 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA

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Ethnic groups: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

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Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

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Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

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Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority - even more degraded than in the West Bank. An anticipated Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 may offer some medium-term opportunities for economic growth. The beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed in response to security interests in Israel, disrupted labor and commodity relationships with the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. Meanwhile unemployment has continued at half the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves open more political options that could affect the economy.

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GDP: purchasing power parity - $768 million (2003 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 4.5% (2003 est.)

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GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

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Labor force: 725,000 (2004)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 14%, industry 19%, services 66% (2004)

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Unemployment rate: 50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 81% (2004 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $676.6 million expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA; note - these budget data include West Bank (2003)

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Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

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Industries: generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center

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Industrial production growth rate: NA

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Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

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Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)

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Electricity - imports: NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel (2001)

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Exports: $205 million f.o.b., includes West Bank (2002)

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Exports - commodities: citrus, flowers

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Exports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank

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Imports: $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes West Bank (2002)

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Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials

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Imports - partners: Israel, Egypt, West Bank Debt - external: $108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $2 billion (includes West Bank) (2004 est.) Currency (code): new Israeli shekel (ILS)

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Currency code: ILS

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Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000)

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Fiscal year: calendar year

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The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestine Authority - has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestine Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. Meanwhile, unemployment has continued at more than half the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves open more political options that could affect the economy.

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GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.8 billion (2003 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2003 est.)

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GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)

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Labor force: 364,000 (2004)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 15%, industry 25%, services 60% (2004 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 27.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2004 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 59% (2004 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $676.6 million expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2003)

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Agriculture - products: olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

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Industrial production growth rate: NA

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Electricity - production: NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

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Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

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Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

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Electricity - imports: NA kWh

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Exports: $205 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip (2002)

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Exports - commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

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Exports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

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Imports: $1.5 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip (2002)

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Imports - commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials

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Imports - partners: Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)

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Debt - external: $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2004 est.)

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Currency (code): new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

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Currency code: ILS; JOD

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Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000)

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Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)