total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,976 GRT/10,978 DWTby type: passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: 1 (Switzerland 1) (2005)
Airports:
1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Gambia, The
Military branches:
Gambian National Army (GNA), Gambian Navy (GN), Presidential Guard,
National Guard
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription
(2001)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 309,279 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 188,117 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.3% (2004)
Transnational Issues Gambia, The
Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and
other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's
Casamance region as well as from conflicts in other west African
states
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Gaza Strip
Introduction Gaza Strip
Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities 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. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
during the transitional period for external and internal security
and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct
negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed
by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian
Authority continued to undermine progress toward a permanent
agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir
ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS
in January 2005 brought about a turning point in the conflict. In
February 2005 the Israeli Government voted to disengage from the
Gaza Strip by dismantling all Israeli settlements and removing all
Israeli settlers. This process was completed in September 2005.
Nonetheless, Israel maintains offshore maritime control as well as
airspace control. The future political status of the Gaza Strip has
yet to be determined.
Geography Gaza Strip
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Israel
Geographic coordinates:
31 25 N, 34 20 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Coastline:
40 km
Maritime claims:
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation
Climate:
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Terrain:
