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This article describes transport in the State of Palestine, which consists of two non-contiguous territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, different parts of which are administered by Palestinian National Authority, Hamas Administration in Gaza and Israel.
There are no operating railways in the Palestinian territories.[ citation needed ]
The Camp David agreements, and repeated in statements made by Israel in 2005, there was a proposal to link the two Palestinian territories with a high speed rail line. This would involve extending the Heletz railway to Tarqumiyah (thus providing a rail link from Erez Crossing to the West Bank) and building a spur for the future Eastern Railway to Tulkarm, as well as rebuilding the old railway branch from a renewed Jezreel Valley Railway to Jenin. These links might be extended later through to Egypt and Jordan.[ citation needed ]
As of February 2012 [update] , a plan for a 475-kilometer rail network, establishing 11 new rail lines in West Bank, was confirmed by Israeli Transportation Ministry. The West Bank network would include one line running through Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem and Hebron. Another would provide service along the Jordanian border from Eilat to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Beit She'an and from there toward Haifa in the west and in also in a northeasterly direction. The proposed scheme also calls for shorter routes, such as between Nablus and Tulkarm in the West Bank, and from Ramallah to the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan. [1]
The Gaza Strip had a standard-gauge railway running 34 kilometers along its length from north to south, which was built in 1916. Prior to 1948 and from about 1972 until an unknown date the line connected to what then became the Israeli system to the north. It also connected to the Egyptian railway system to the south from 1916 to 1967. The line has now been dismantled.[ citation needed ]
In the West Bank, a narrow-gauge railway operated until the 1940s from Jenin to Tulkarm and Nablus, which was built during Ottoman rule, and connected to the Hejaz Railway on a 1,050 mm (3 ft 5+11⁄32 in) gauge.[ citation needed ]
Several defunct railways in the Palestinian territories were previously used to link with adjacent countries:
see Israel 
Egypt - defunct (Gaza)
In 2010, the West Bank and Gaza Strip together had 4,686 km (2,912 mi) of roadways. [2]
Salah al-Din Road, also known as the Salah ad-Deen Highway, is the main highway of the Gaza Strip. It is 45 kilometers long, and runs the entire length of the Gaza Strip from the Erez Crossing to Israel in the north to the Rafah Crossing to Egypt in the south. [3]
The West Bank is landlocked and has no ports.
The Port of Gaza is a small port near the Rimal district of Gaza City. [4] It is the home port of Palestinian fishing-boats and the base of the Palestinian Naval Police, a branch of the Palestinian National Security Forces. Under the Oslo II Accord, the activities of the Palestinian Naval Police are restricted to 6 nautical miles from the coast. [5] The Port of Gaza has been under naval blockade since 2007, and activities at the port have been restricted to small-scale fishing.[ citation needed ]
Construction of the Gaza Seaport had begun in the Gaza Strip, but the building was destroyed and the project abandoned after the outbreak of the Second Intifada in September 2000. There are no ships in the Gaza Strip over 1,000 gross tons.[ citation needed ]
There are three defunct airports in the Palestinian territories. The Yasser Arafat International Airport (previously called Gaza International Airport), located in the Gaza Strip, was opened on 24 November 1998 as part of the Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum. The airport was closed in October 2000 by Israeli order after the breakout of the Second Intifada. [6]
West Bank Palestinians traveling abroad can use the Allenby Bridge to enter Jordan and then use the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, or the Eilat-Ramon Airport in Be'er Ora to fly abroad. [7]
The Allenby Bridge, also known as the Al-Karameh Bridge and the King Hussein Bridge, is a bridge that crosses the Jordan River near the city of Jericho, and connects the West Bank with Jordan. The bridge is currently the sole designated exit/entry point for West Bank Palestinians traveling abroad. Since the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, the Allenby Bridge Terminal has been operated by the Israel Airports Authority. [8]
The Erez Crossing is the only crossing on the Israel-Gaza Strip barrier between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and has been affected by the Israeli Blockade of the Gaza Strip.[ citation needed ]
The Rafah Crossing is the only land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. There exists also the Kerem Shalom Crossing, managed by Israel, but used exclusively for the crossing of goods from Egypt into Gaza.
The year 2000 in Israel and Palestine marked the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, leading to a number of Palestinian and Israeli deaths.
Note: This compilation includes only those attacks that resulted in casualties. Attacks which did not kill or wound are not included.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004.
The Gaza–Israel barrier is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. The Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, is the only crossing point for people and goods coming from Israel into the Gaza Strip; there exists a second crossing point in the barrier, called the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which is exclusive for the crossing of goods coming from Egypt, as Israel does not allow goods to go directly from Egypt into Gaza through the Egypt–Gaza border.
The Fatah Hawks is the name of two Palestinian militant groups. One is a popular movement of Palestinian youth in the West Bank and Gaza in the 1980s. The other is an offshoot of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades which has links to the dominant Fatah movement. The group has carried out attacks against Israeli military personnel in the Gaza Strip and were regarded as Yasser Arafat's "own troops".
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005.
The Karni Crossing was a cargo terminal on the Israel-Gaza Strip barrier located in the north-eastern end of the Gaza Strip that existed between 1994 and 2011 and used for the export and import of goods from/to the Gaza Strip. This was done as a 'back-to-back' transfer, meaning that Palestinian products meant for export were removed from a Palestinian truck and placed in an Israeli truck, and vice versa for incoming goods. The Karni Crossing was also used by the residents of Netzarim since the Karni road was the only route to that isolated Israeli settlement on which Jewish travel was allowed after the 1994 implementation of the Oslo Accords. The crossing has been affected by the Israeli Blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The Allenby Bridge, known officially in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge, and also called the Al-Karameh Bridge or simply Al-Jisr by Palestinian Arabs, is a bridge that crosses the Jordan River near the city of Jericho in the West Bank and the town of Al-Karameh in Jordan.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories is a unit in the Israeli Ministry of Defense that engages in coordinating civilian issues between the Government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, international organizations, diplomats, and the Palestinian Authority. It is the main organ remaining of the mostly defunct Israeli Civil Administration, which had governed the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 1981 and 1994.
Highway 60 or is a south–north intercity road in Israel and the Palestinian West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.
The Erez Crossing, also known as the Beit Hanoun Crossing, is a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, between the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine:
Highway 57 is an east–west highway through central Israel and the West Bank. In the past, it was an uninterrupted road from Netanya, a city on the Mediterranean coast in the west, to Damia Bridge across the Jordan River in the east. The road existed at full length from the time of the British Mandate, and parts of it are even older. Today, the road is separated into three unconnected parts: the first from Netanya to Nitzanei Oz interchange at Highway 6, the second from there to an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint in Beka'ot in the northeastern West Bank, and the third from there until Damia Bridge. The middle portion of the road between Nitzanei Oz and Beka'ot passes through Tulkarm and Nablus. Most of it is located in Area A and Area B controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Various restrictions on traffic exist in these areas.
A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip since Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison".
The Palestinian National Authority requires their residents register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates. There are two different registration systems in use: one for West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.
Tourism in the Palestinian territories is tourism in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In 2010, 4.6 million people visited the Palestinian territories, compared to 2.6 million in 2009. Of that number, 2.2 million were foreign tourists while 2.7 million were domestic. In the last quarter of 2012 over 150,000 guests stayed in West Bank hotels; 40% were European and 9% were from the United States and Canada. Major travel guides write that "the West Bank is not the easiest place in which to travel but the effort is richly rewarded."
Events in the year 2002 in Israel.
The visa policy of Palestine refers to specific entry conditions a visitor must meet to enter the Palestinian territories. There are no visa conditions imposed on foreign nationals other than those imposed by the visa policy of Israel.
The Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) was an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) signed on 15 November 2005 aimed at improving Palestinian freedom of movement and economic activity within the Palestinian territories, and open the Rafah Crossing on the Gaza–Egypt border. AMA was described as: ″an agreement on facilitating the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian Territories and on opening an international crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border that will put the Palestinians in control of the entry and exit of people.″ Part of the agreement was the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing.
Palestine produces no oil or natural gas and is predominantly dependent on the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for electricity. According to UNCTAD, the Palestinian Territory "lies above sizeable reservoirs of oil and natural gas wealth" but "occupation continues to prevent Palestinians from developing their energy fields so as to exploit and benefit from such assets." In 2012, electricity available in West Bank and Gaza was 5,370 GW-hour, while the annual per capita consumption of electricity was 950 kWh. National sources only produce 445 GWh of electricity, supplying less than 10% of demand. The only domestic source of energy is the disputed Gaza Marine gas field, which has not yet been developed. Palestinian energy demand increased rapidly, increasing by 6.4% annually between 1999 and 2005. Future consumption of electricity is expected to reach 8,400 GWh by 2020 on the expectation that consumption will increase by 6% annually.
