External constraints on manufacturing development in Israeli‐occupied Gaza

Abstract

The signing of the peace accord between the Israeli government and representatives of the Palestinians in September 1993 marked the end of 27 years of total control, by Israel, over the affairs of the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza. The latter had been under the control of Egypt between 1948 and 1967 but the Egyptians had done little to promote economic development in the territory, 1 it being populated very largely by Palestinian refugees. Indeed, Egypt ruled Gaza as a separate entity2 because it never regarded it as an integral part of Egypt. Between 1967 and the implementation of the peace accord in 1994 the Israeli authorities' control over political and economic affairs in Gaza was absolute. The aim of this article is to assess the effects of Israel's policy towards Gaza on the development of the territory's manufacturing sector. The study is based on analysis of statistical data, published material …