la Comunità palestinese di Roma e del Lazio, l'Associazione A
mici della Mezzaluna Rossa Palestinese e il Comitato per la Pace del X Muni
cipio, sono lieti di invitarti a partecipare alla Giornata di commemorazione del 64° anniversario della Nakba (la Catastrofe) della tragedia del popolo palestinese: all'inaugurazione della Targa dell'Ulivo per la pace
e la terra in Palestina e al Convegno "Per una giusta pace in Palesti
na", che si terrà a Roma mercoledì 16 maggio, alle or
e 16.30 presso la Sala Rossa del X Municipio, in piazza di Cinecitt&
agrave; 11.
Il Programma previst
o:
Ore 16.30, (nel
giardino)
Inaugurazione della targa che ricorda ai cittadini il senso
e lo spirito dell'Ulivo piantato nei giardini del X Municipio per rico
rdare la Giornata della Terra in Palestina (30 marzo 1976)
Moderatore:
Patrizia Cecconi, Presid
ente dell'Associazione Amici della Mezza Luna Rossa Palestinese
Intervengono:
- Sandro Medi
ci, Presidente del X Municipio;
- Mons. Hilarion Capucci, ex-Arcivesc
ovo di Gerusalemme in esilio;
- i responsabili del Comitato per la Pa
ce del X Municipio e della Mezzaluna Rossa Palestinese
Ore 17.30, Sala Rossa (4° piano)
Con
vegno in commemorazione del 64° anniversario della Nakba del Popolo Pal
estinese
"Per una giusta pace in
Palestina"
Presiede:
- Wajih Salameh, Presidente della Comunità Palestinese
di Roma e del Lazio
Intervengon
o:
- Sandro Medici, Presidente del X Municipio;
- Mons.
Hilarion Capucci, ex-Arcivescovo di Gerusalemme in esilio;
- Giovanni
Russo Spena, Prc;
- Marco Miccoli, Pd;
- Luisa Morgantini, ex-Vic
e Presidente Parlamento Europeo;
- Giampiero Cesario, Pdci;
- Pat
rizia Cecconi, Presidente Associazione Amici della Mezzaluna Rossa Palestin
ese;
- Massimo Cervellini, Sel;
- Bassam Saleh, Associazione Amic
i dei Prigionieri palestinesi;
- Vincenzo Vita, Presidente dell'As
sociazione Nazionale Italia-Palestina;
- Sabri Ateyeh, Ambasciatore P
alestinese a Roma;
- i rappresentanti dei sindacati e dell'Associa
zionismo e del volontariato
Conc
lude:
Yousef Salman, Delegato della Mezzaluna Rossa Palestinese
in Italia
--------------------------------
SGUARDO SUL
MEDIO ORIENTE ON NAKBA :
Palestinian Central B
ureau of Statistics
Special Statistical Bulletin
On t
he 64th Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba
The Nakba:
Ethnic cleansing and displacement of the population
Nakba in literary
terms means a natural catastrophe such as an earthquake, volcano, or hurri
cane. However, the Nakba in Palestine describes a process of ethnic cleansi
ng in which an unarmed nation has been destroyed and its population displac
ed to be replaced systematically by another nation. Unlike a natural catast
rophe, the Palestinian Nakba was the result of a man-made military plan wit
h the agreement of other states, leading to a major tragedy for the Palesti
nian people. The subsequent occupation of the remaining land of Palestine i
n 1967 resulted in additional tragedy.
In 194
8, 1.4 million Palestinians lived in 1,300 Palestinian towns and villages.
More than 800,000 of the population were driven out of their homeland to th
e West Bank and Gaza Strip, neighboring Arab countries, and other countries
of the world. Thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homes bu
t stayed within the Israeli-controlled 1948 territory. According to documen
tary evidence, the Israelis controlled 774 towns and villages and destroyed
531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. The atrocities of Isr
aeli forces also included more than 70 massacres in which 15,000 Palestinia
ns were killed.
The Demographic Reality: Palestinian population
has increased 8-fold since the Nakba
The Palestinian population was 1.
37 million in 1948 but by the end of 2011, the estimated world population o
f Palestinians totaled 11.2 million. This indicates that the number of Pale
stinians worldwide has multiplied eight-fold in the 64 years since the Nakb
a. According to statistics, the total number of Palestinians living in hist
oric Palestine (between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean) by the end
of 2011 was 5.6 million and this number is expected to rise to 7.2 million
by the end of 2020 based on current growth rates.
Statistical da
ta also show that refugees constitute 44.1% of the total Palestinian popula
tion in the Palestinian Territory. UNRWA records at the end of 2011 showed
that there were 5.1 million Palestinian refugees registered, constituting 4
5.6% of the total Palestinian population worldwide. These were distributed
as 59.1% living in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, 17.1% in the West Bank, and
23.8% in Gaza Strip. About 29% of Palestinian registered refugees live in 5
8 refugee camps, of which 10 are in Jordan, nine in Syria, 12 in Lebanon, 1
9 in the West Bank, and eight in Gaza Strip.
These estimates rep
resent the minimum number of Palestinian refugees, given the presence of no
n- registered refugees. These estimates also do not include Palestinians wh
o were displaced between 1949 and the 1967 war, according to the UNRWA defi
nition, and do not include the non-refugees who left or were forced to leav
e as a result of the war in 1967. The number of Palestinians who remained i
n their homeland in the 1948 territory after the Nakba was estimated at 154
thousand persons, now estimated as 1.37 million on the 64rd anniversary of
the Nakba. In the 1948 territories, the sex ratio is 102.2 mal
es per 100 females, while 37.5% of the population are below 15 years of age
and 3.9% are aged 65 years and over, based on available statistics relatin
g to Palestinians living in Israel in 2010. This illustrates that the compo
sition of Palestinians in the 1948 territory is young, as it is in Palestin
ian society as a whole.
The number of the Palestinians in the Pa
lestinian Territory was estimated at 4.2 million at the end of 2011: 2.6 mi
llion in the West Bank and 1.6 million in Gaza Strip. The number of Palesti
nians in the Jerusalem governorate at end of 2011 was around 393 thousand,
of whom 62.1% live in the areas of Jerusalem annexed by force by Israel in
1967 (J1). The fertility rate in the Palestinian Territory is high co
mpared to other countries. The total fertility rate in 2010 was 4.1 births
(3.8 births in the West Bank and 4.9 births in Gaza Strip).
Popu
lation Density: Gaza Strip the most crowded place in the world
The pop
ulation density in the Palestinian Territory at the end of 2011 was 703 ind
ividuals per square kilometer (km2): 462 individuals/km2 in the West Bank a
nd 4,429 individuals/km2 in Gaza Strip. In Israel, the population density o
f Arabs and Jews in 2011 was 362 individuals per km2.
Settlement
s: Most settlers in Jerusalem as part of Israeli Judaization campaign
There were 474 Israeli settlements and military bases in the West Bank at
the end of 2011 and the number Jewish settlers totaled 518,974 at the end o
f 2010. Most settlements are located in the Jerusalem governorate. Accordin
g to data, 262,493 (50.6%) of settlers live in the Jerusalem governorate, o
f whom 196,178 live in Jerusalem (J1). The ratio of Palestinians to settler
s in the West Bank is 20 settlers per 100 Palestinians compared to 68 settl
ers per 100 Palestinians in the Jerusalem governorate.
The
Expansion and Annexation wall swallows about 13% of West Bank area
La
rge areas of West Bank land were confiscated by the Israeli occupation auth
orities to construct the Expansion and Annexation wall. The Wall is 7
57 kilometers in length, of which 92% are inside the West Bank. According t
o this route, 733 km2 of Palestinian land were isolated between the Wall an
d the Green Line in 2010, comprising approximately 13.0% of the West Bank:
around 348 km2 were agricultural land, 110 km2 were confiscated for Israeli
settlements and military bases, 250 km2 were forest and open areas, and 25
km2 were on Palestinian built-up land. The Wall isolated 53 localities and
affected over three hundred thousand people, particularly communities in J
erusalem where 27 localities affected are home to a quarter of a million pe
ople. Moreover, the Wall besieges 165 localities with a population of more
than half a million inhabitants, as witnessed around the city of Qalqilya.
The Jordan Valley makes up 29% of the West Bank; Israel controls approximat
ely 90% of the Jordan Valley. Fewer than 65 thousand Palestinians remain th
ere today while there are 9,500 Israeli settlers.
Historical Pal
estine: Israel controls more than 85% of its land
At the end of 2011,
there were 11.7 million people living in the historical land of Palestine w
ith a land area of 27,000 km2. Jews constitute around 52% of the total popu
lation and utilize more than 85% of the total area of land. Arabs comprise
48% of the total population and utilize less than 15% of the land. A Palest
inian therefore has less than a quarter of the area of land available to an
Israeli.
Water: Realities and challenges
The amount of Pur
chased water from Israeli water company (mekarot) 51 MCM in 2010 for
Domestic use, which constitutes 15% from a yearly available amount of
water, due to the over control of Israel on available water resources and&
nbsp; resale it to the Palestinian with higher prices.
Martyrs:
Continuous efforts to build a state
The number of martyrs killed in t
he al Aqsa Intifada between September 29th, 2000 and December 31st, 2011 wa
s 7,460, up from 7,235 at the end of 2009. Of these, 2,183 were from the We
st Bank (2,059 males and 124 females) and 5,015 were from Gaza Strip (4,601
males and 414 females). The remaining martyrs were from the 1948 ter
ritories and outside the Palestinian Territory. The bloodiest year was 2009
with 1,219 Palestinian martyrs, followed by 2002 with 1,192 martyrs. In ad
dition, 107 martyrs, including nine from a Turkish humanitarian fleet, were
killed during 2010.
Detainees
According to data from the
Ministry of Detainees, around 800 thousand people have been in Israeli dete
ntion since 1967. Of these, around 12 thousand were women, plus many
children, some of whom were detained several times. At present, around 4,61
0 detainees are under arrest in Israeli prisons, including five women and 2
03 children, who represent 4.4% of all detainees. There are 50 detainees wh
o have spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails and 23 detainees who have
spent more than 25 years. During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel detained more
than 70 thousand detainees, of whom
8 thousand were children, 850 we
re women (four of them were pregnant and gave birth in prison), and there w
ere many detainees from among members of the Palestinian Legislative Counci
l and former ministers.
Health
Statistics for 2010 showed t
hat the number of physicians per 1,000 population registered in the Physici
ans’ Union in the West Bank was 1.3 compared to 2.3 in Gaza Strip.&nb
sp; In addition, there were 1.8 nurses per 1,000 population in the West Ban
k compared to 3.8 nurses per 1000 population in Gaza Strip. There were 76 h
ospitals in the Palestinian Territory in 2010: 51 hospitals in the West Ban
k and 25 in Gaza Strip. These were distributed as 25 governmental hos
pitals, 28 non-governmental, 20 private, two hospitals run by military inst
itutions, and one run by UNRWA. There were 5,108 hospital beds: 1.3 beds pe
r 1,000 population and allocated as 3,063 beds in the West Bank and 2,045 i
n Gaza Strip. There were 572 primary health care centers in the West Bank i
n 2010 and 134 centers in Gaza Strip.
Agriculture
Th
e total land area of the Palestinian Territory was 6,020 square kilometers
in 2010, of which 957.2 square kilometers were cultivated land. This compri
sed 15.9% of the Palestinian Territory during the agricultural year 2009/20
10, based on the main results of the Agriculture Census 2010.
Th
e main results covered all agricultural holdings enumerated in the Palestin
ian Territory in the agricultural year 2009/2010. There were 111,310
agricultural holdings in the Palestinian Territory. These were made u
p of 79,176 plant holdings, comprising 71.1% of all holdings in the Palesti
nian Territory: and 17,893 mixed holdings comprising 16.1% of holdings, plu
s 14,241 animal holdings comprising 12.8% of all holdings. There were
33,925 cattle, 567,833 breeding sheep, and 219,364 goats counted in the Pa
lestinian Territory on 01 October 2010.
Housing: Israeli house d
emolitions continue
The Israeli occupation forces destroyed 145
Palestinian houses in the Palestinian Territory during 2010 according to a
study by the PLO Department for National and International Relations. Mean
while, the Israeli authorities granted building permits for 16,497 housing
units for Israelis mostly in and around Jerusalem (J1) and 1,300 housing un
its are currently under construction.
The average number of pers
ons per room in housing units in refugee camps was 1.7 in 2010, while 13.1%
of households in refugee camps in the Palestinian Territory live with a ho
using density of three or more persons per room: 14.4% in West Bank camps a
nd 12.2% in Gaza Strip. About 60.5% of households in camps in the Palestini
an Territory live in housing units measuring less than 120 m2: 67.6% in Wes
t Bank camps and 55.2% in Gaza Strip
Labor Market 2010
The
labor force participation rate in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 was 43
.0%: (40.7% among refugees and 44.3% among non-refugees). The participation
rate in the West Bank was 45.5% (44.4% among refugees and 45.9% among non-
refugees) compared to 38.4% in Gaza Strip (38.2% among refugees and 38.7% a
mong non-refugees). The unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory was
20.9% (26.1% among refugees and 18.0% among non-refugees). The unemployment
rate in the West Bank was 17.3% (21.6% among refugees and 15.9% among non-
refugees) compared to 28.7% in Gaza Strip (29.8% among refugees and 26.8% a
mong non-refugees). The services sector is considered as the largest employ
er of refugees in the West Bank with 35.8% (compared to 60.3% in Gaza Strip
), followed by the trade sector with 21.7% in the West Bank (compared to 15
.9% in Gaza Strip).
Education
According to the primary re
sults of the Education Survey for the 2011/2012 scholastic year, there were
2,704 schools in the Palestinian Territory: 2,016 in the West Bank and 688
in Gaza Strip. These were distributed by supervising authority as follows:
2,004 governmental schools, 341 UNRWA schools, and 359 private schools.&nb
sp; The total number of students in these schools was 1,136,164, of whom 56
7,270 were male and 568,894 female. There were 769,694 students enrolled in
governmental schools, 270,406 enrolled in UNRWA schools, and 96,064 enroll
ed in private schools.
The illiteracy rate among Palestinians a
ged 15 years and above was 4.7% in 2011, distributed as 2.1% of males and 7
.4% of females. In the field of higher education, there are 14 univer
sities and 15 university colleges offering programs leading to a bachelor d
egree: five universities and five university colleges in Gaza Strip and nin
e universities and 10 university colleges in the West Bank. There are 20 in
termediate community colleges: 15 in the West Bank and five in Gaza Strip.<
br />
Macroeconomics: Prices during 2011
Average prices in the Pa
lestinian Territory increased by 2.88% in 2011 compared with 2010: by 4.13%
in Jerusalem (J1), 3.54% in the West Bank and 0.57% in Gaza Strip. In comp
arison with the base year of 2004, average prices in the Palestinian Territ
ory had increased by 32.71%: by 31.16% in the West Bank, 32.55% in Gaza Str
ip and 34.08% in Jerusalem (J1).
Trade: Limited Palestinian expo
rts
Both imports and exports of goods increased in 2010 compared to 2
009. In 2010, the value of imported goods totaled US $3,958.5 million, an i
ncrease of 9.9% compared to 2009. The total value of exports was US $575.5
million, an increase of 11.0% compared to 2009. As a result, the net trade
balance on goods recorded a deficit of US $3,383 million in 2010, an increa
se of 9.8% compared to 2009.
The results ind
icate that only 15.2% of total exports were exported abroad, while 84.8% of
exports were exported to Israel. The limited number of exports abroad was
due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian exports, especially from the Gaz
a Strip.
Information Society
The percentage of households w
ith a computer in the Palestinian Territory is 50.9%: 53.2% in the West Ban
k and 46.5% in Gaza Strip. An Internet connection was available in 30
.4% of households in the Palestinian Territory in 2011: 30.6% in the West B
ank and 30.0% in Gaza Strip. The percentage of households with a satellite
dish in 2011 was 93.9%: 95.9% in the West Bank and 90.1% in Gaza Strip.&nbs
p; The results also indicated that 44.0% of households in the Palestinian T
erritory have a fixed telephone line: 45.3% in the West Bank and 41.6% in G
aza Strip. Meanwhile, 95.0% of households have a mobile phone: 95.1% in the
West Bank and 94.7% in Gaza Strip.
&nb
sp;
Tourism
Tourism in the Palestinian Territory is the sector
most affected by the Israeli occupation since Israeli companies and tourist
offices exert a blanket monopoly on groups and Christian pilgrims to the C
hurch of the Nativity and other historical and religious sites.
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, the number of C
hristian pilgrims in 2011 to the Church of the Nativity alone totaled 1.1 m
illion visitors. Data from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism show that there
were around 3.4 million visitors to Israel in 2011, worth more than 16 bill
ion Israeli shekels to the Israeli economy, while the economic impact of th
ese tourist groups on the occupied Palestinian Territory is limited.
<
br />Environment
The average quantity of water consumed by economic es
tablishments in the Palestinian Territory in 2011 was 4.3 million cubic met
ers per month in all economic activities. The average quantity of wat
er consumed by economic establishments in the West Bank was 3.2 million cub
ic meters per month and 1.1 million cubic meters per month in Gaza Strip.&n
bsp; In 2011, 62.2% of economic establishments in the Palestinian Territory
used the wastewater network to dispose of their wastewater, compared with
15.5% using porous cesspits.
During 2011, economic establishmen
ts in the Palestinian Territory produced 17,026.6 tons of solid waste per m
onth, mostly from the industrial activities sector &
nbsp; (10,945.3 tons per month): 14,738.8 tons were produ
ced in the West Bank and 2,287.8 tons in Gaza Strip.
Data for 20
11 reveal that 47.2% of households in the Palestinian Territory considered
the water quality to be good: 70.9% in the West Bank compared to 5.3% in Ga
za Strip. In 1999, the percentage was 6.8% in Gaza Strip.