Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic

Long ago, a place called Gaza changed.

Egypt took control of the land. This happened after a big war. Many people moved to Gaza then. Life became very hard for them. They could not leave easily to find work. Later, Egypt and Syria joined as one land. This new group was the United Arab Republic. This change lasted for a few years. It was a very busy time in history.

The Gaza Strip is a small piece of land. After a war in 1948, Egypt took control of it. This area became known as the Gaza Strip. Egypt first set up a group called the All-Palestine Government. This group was meant to rule for the Palestinian people. However, the leaders lived in Cairo. They had very little power in Gaza.

In 1959, things changed again. Egypt and Syria joined to make one state. This new state was the United Arab Republic. Gaza was part of this new group.

Life was very hard for people in Gaza. Many refugees moved there after the war. People could not leave the area to find work. This made many people very poor.

There was also a short war in 1956. Israel, France, and the United Kingdom moved into Gaza. They left a few months later. In 1967, another war happened. This war ended Egypt's rule. After that, Israel took control of the land.

[Caption: The newly appointed mayor of Gaza, Rushdi al-Shawwa, in 1956.]

The Gaza Strip is a small piece of land near the sea. It has a long and changing history involving many different leaders. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt took control of this area. This land became known as the Gaza Strip. At first, Egypt helped run a group called the All-Palestine Government. This group was meant to govern the Palestinian people. However, the leaders lived in Cairo and had very little real power.

In 1959, the way Gaza was ruled changed once more. Egypt and Syria had joined together to form one large state. This new country was called the United Arab Republic. Because of this merger, the Gaza Strip officially became part of the United Arab Republic. In 1962, the government even set up a Palestinian Legislative Council. This council was elected by the people living there. Later, the Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964. Egypt's leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, said they would have authority, but this did not happen in practice.

There were several times when the control of Gaza changed due to conflict. In 1956, a war called the Suez Crisis broke out. During this time, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom moved into the Gaza Strip. They stayed for a few months but left by March 1957. Another major change happened during the Six-Day War in June 1967. This war ended Egypt's rule over the territory. After the war, Israel began to occupy the Gaza Strip.

Life for the people living in Gaza was very difficult during these years. During the 1948 war, over 200,000 refugees moved into the area. This caused the standard of living to drop very quickly. The Egyptian government also restricted movement in and out of the strip. This meant people could not leave to find new jobs. One observer in 1955 said that 300,000 people were living in poverty. They were confined to an area no larger than a big city park.

Eventually, the relationship between Egypt and Israel began to change. In 1978, the two countries signed the Camp David Accords. This was a historic step toward ending their long struggle. In 1979, they signed a formal peace treaty. Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel. Since then, Egypt has supported a two-state solution. This plan includes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic refers to a specific period in Middle Eastern history. From 1959 until 1967, the Gaza Strip was officially part of the United Arab Republic (UAR). The UAR was a single sovereign state formed by the merger of Egypt and the Second Syrian Republic. This period followed the rule of the All-Palestine Protectorate. Understanding this era helps explain how borders and governments changed in the region. It also shows how different nations interacted during the mid-20th century.

The process of this occupation began with several historical shifts. After the First World War, the United Kingdom held authority over the Mandate for Palestine. This territory included the Gaza Strip. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved the 1947 UN Partition Plan. This plan suggested creating two states: one Jewish and one Arab. However, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War broke out following the end of the British Mandate. During this war, Egypt gained control of a coastal swath of land. This territory became known as the Gaza Strip.

There were different stages of governance during the Egyptian era. First, the Arab League established the All-Palestine Government in September 1948. This group was intended to provide Palestinian governance. However, the government was largely symbolic because its members were moved to Cairo. They had little actual influence over the Gaza Strip. In 1959, President Gamal Abdel Nasser dissolved this government. At that same time, Egypt and Syria had merged into the United Arab Republic. Consequently, the Gaza Strip was officially merged into the UAR.

The UAR administration introduced new political structures to the region. In 1962, the UAR government established a Palestinian Legislative Council. This was a body elected by the local population. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded. President Nasser proclaimed that the PLO would hold authority over Gaza. In practice, however, this authority was never actually granted. A year later, the government instituted conscription for the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA). These steps show how the UAR attempted to manage the territory.

Control of the Gaza Strip was not constant due to military conflicts. In 1956, the Suez Crisis began when Egypt blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba. Egypt also took national control of the Suez Canal. This led Israel, France, and the United Kingdom to invade the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. This occupation lasted for four months. The international pressure eventually forced the Anglo-French Task Force to withdraw. By March 1957, the Israeli army also withdrew from the area. The Egyptian occupation then resumed until the Six-Day War in 1967.

The 1967 Six-Day War brought a major change to the region. This conflict ended the Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip. Following the war, Israel occupied the territory. They established the Israeli Military Governorate to manage the area. This period marked a significant shift in who controlled the land and its people. The political landscape of the Gaza Strip remained different from the UAR era for many years following this event.

Life for the people in the Gaza Strip was very difficult during the Egyptian period. The 1948 war caused over 200,000 refugees to enter the strip. This influx led to a dramatic decrease in the standard of living. Because the Egyptian government restricted movement, residents could not leave to find work. In 1955, a United Nations observer noted the extreme poverty in the area. The observer stated that 300,000 poverty-stricken people were confined to an area the size of a large city park.

Eventually, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Israel changed significantly. In 1978, the two nations signed the Camp David Accords. This agreement provided a framework for an autonomous regime in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 1979, the Egypt–Israel peace treaty was signed. This made Egypt the first Arab country to recognize Israel's sovereignty. Since then, Egypt has officially supported a two-state solution. This position advocates for an independent Palestinian state encompassing the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.