Blockade of the Gaza Strip Israel and Egypt closed the border crossings with Gaza, marking the start of the blockade of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, international relations and aid to the Fatah-led government in the West Bank resumed and the economic sanctions lifted. Israel has been controlling and restricting the entry of Palestinians into Israel for some time. When the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out in September 2000 Israel put trade restrictions on the Gaza Strip and closed the Gaza International Airport. The economic effects worsened after the creation of a ‘buffer zone’ in September 2001, that would seal all entry and exit
Governorates of the Gaza Strip Governorates of the Gaza Strip The Governorates of the Gaza Strip are 5 administrative districts, ruled since 2007 by the Hamas Government in Gaza. After the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided into three areas (Area A, Area B, and Area C) and 16 governorates under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, enlarging the administered Palestinian territories in that region. In 2007, following the War of Brothers in the Gaza Strip between Fatah and Hamas, the later took