Theoccupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic began in 1959 following the dissolution of theAll-Palestine Protectorate, which had ruled theGaza Strip as a client state ofEgypt since the1948 Arab–Israeli War, and its merger with theUnited Arab Republic.

Gaza Strip قطاع غزة‎ Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah
1959–1967
Flag Coat of arms
Map of the Gaza Strip after the1949 Armistice Agreements, which established theGreen Line betweenIsrael and theArab countries
Status	Territoryoccupied by theUnited Arab Republic
Capital	Cairo
Common languages	Arabic
Religion	Sunni Islam (majority) Eastern Orthodox Christianity (minority)
Demonym(s)	Arab Palestinian Gazan
Historical era	Cold War
• Merged with the United Arab Republic	1959
• Six-Day War	1967
• Egypt–Israel peace treaty	1979
Currency	Egyptian pound
Preceded by Succeeded by All-Palestine Protectorate Israeli Military Governorate
Today part of	Gaza Strip

The1949 Armistice Agreements, which ended the Arab–Israeli War by delineating theGreen Line as the armistice line betweenIsrael and theArab countries, left theKingdom of Egypt in control of a small swath of territory that it had captured and occupied in the formerBritish Mandate for Palestine, namely theGaza Strip. This period saw the creation of theAll-Palestine Government within theAll-Palestine Protectorate, an Egyptian client state that lasted until 1959, a year after theRepublic of Egypt and theSecond Syrian Republic merged to form a single sovereign state known as theUnited Arab Republic. The Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip was briefly subsumed by Israel during the 1956Suez Crisis and ended entirely during the 1967Six-Day War, after which the territory becameoccupied by Israel with the establishment of theIsraeli Military Governorate.

Ultimately dissolved by Egyptian presidentGamal Abdel Nasser in 1959, the All-Palestine Government was largely symbolic since it was established in 1948, but nonetheless garnered diplomatic recognition from most members of theArab League. Since the1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the official Egyptian position has supported the creation of an independentPalestinian state that encompasses the Gaza Strip in addition to theIsraeli-occupied West Bank.

After theFirst World War, theLeague of Nations granted theUnited Kingdom authority over theMandate for Palestine composed of formerOttoman territory, including theGaza Strip.^[1] What became known as theBritish Mandate for Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of theLeague of Nations on 24 July 1922 and which came into effect on 26 September 1923.^[2]

On 15 May 1948, just over three years after the end of theSecond World War inEurope, theBritish Mandate for Palestine ended. Prior to this, on 29 November 1947, theUnited Nations General Assembly approved the1947 UN Partition Plan to create in Palestine two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine broke out in response. On 14 May 1948,David Ben-Gurion issued theIsraeli Declaration of Independence and the following day the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria declared war and invaded, aided by soldiers sent from theHashemite Kingdom of Iraq, starting the1948 Arab–Israeli War. Egypt made gains early in the war, but these were reversed in late December 1948 when the Israeli army, in "Operation Horev", drove Egyptian forces out of theNegev Desert and encircled the Egyptian forces in theGaza Strip, forcing Egypt to withdraw and accept a ceasefire. On 7 January 1949, a truce was achieved. Israeli forces proceeded to withdraw from Sinai and Gaza, leaving them to be occupied by Egypt.

TheAll-Palestine Protectorate was an entity established by theArab League on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, purportedly to provide Palestinian governance for Palestine. After the war, the Gaza Strip was the only former-Mandate territory under the jurisdiction of theAll-Palestine Government. However, the members of the Government were consequently removed toCairo, and had little or no influence over events in the Gaza Strip.^[3]

On 24 February 1949, theIsrael–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed inRhodes. Under the agreement, the armistice line was drawn along theinternational border (dating from 1906) except near theMediterranean Sea, where theKingdom of Egypt remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as theGaza Strip.^[4] (See1949 Armistice Agreements.)

According to Avi Shlaim:

[T]he contrast between the pretensions of the All-Palestine Government and its capability quickly reduced it to the level of farce. It claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Palestine, yet it had no administration, no civil service, no money, and no real army of its own. Even in the small enclave around the town of Gaza its writ ran only by the grace of the Egyptian authorities. Taking advantage of the new government's dependence on them for funds and protection, the Egyptian paymasters manipulated it to undermine Abdullah's claim to represent the Palestinians in the Arab League and in international forums. Ostensibly the embryo for an independent Palestinian state, the new government, from the moment of its inception, was thus reduced to the unhappy role of ashuttlecock in the ongoing power struggle between Cairo and Amman.^[3]

The Egyptian monarchy was abolished in June 1953, with theKingdom of Egypt being superseded by the Arab Republic of Egypt. In 1956, Egypt blockaded theGulf of Aqaba, assumed national control of theSuez Canal, and blocked it to Israeli shipping—both threatening the young State of Israel and violating theConvention of Constantinople of 1888.France and theUnited Kingdom supported Israel in its determination that the canal should remain open to all nations as per the convention.

On 29 October 1956, Israel, France and the United Kingdom invaded the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula initiating the1956 Suez War. Under international pressure, the Anglo-French Task Force withdrew before the end of 1956, and the Israeli army withdrew from the Sinai and Gaza in March 1957.

In 1959, the Gaza Strip was officially merged into the short livedUnited Arab Republic (UAR, which united Egypt andSyria). In September 1961, Syria became an independent state again by withdrawing from the UAR. However, Egypt continued to be officially called the UAR up until 1971, when it was officially renamed as the Arab Republic of Egypt once again. In 1962, the UAR government established aPalestinian Legislative Council elected by the population. The constitutional document began with the following:^[5]

The Gaza Strip is an indivisible part of the land of Palestine and its people are part of the Arab Nation. The Palestinians in the GazaStrip shall form a National Union composed of all Palestinians wherever they may be - its aim being the joint work to recover the usurped lands of Palestine, and the participation in fulfilling the call of Arab Nationalism. The National Union shall be organised by a decree from the Governor-General.

When thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964, Nasser proclaimed that it would hold authority over Gaza, but that power was never granted in practice.^[6] A year later, conscription was instituted for thePalestinian Liberation Army (PLA).^[6]

On 5 June 1967, weeks after Egypt blockaded theStraits of Tiran and cut off Israeli shipping, Israel attacked Egypt, initiating theSix-Day War. It quickly defeated the surrounding Arab states and occupied the Gaza Strip, along with theWest Bank and other territory, ending Egypt's occupation.

In 1978, Israel and Egypt signed the historicCamp David Accords which brought an official end to the strife between them. The second part of the accords was a framework for the establishment of an autonomous regime in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Arab Republic of Egypt thus renounced any territorial claims over the Gaza Strip.

In 1979, theEgypt–Israel peace treaty was signed. Egypt became the first Arab country torecognize Israel's sovereignty and has since supported thetwo-state solution, advocating the creation of anindependent Palestinian state encompassing theWest Bank and theGaza Strip, both of which have been underIsraeli occupation since the 1967 war.

The influx of over 200,000 refugees into Gaza during the 1948 war resulted in a dramatic decrease in the standard of living. Because the Egyptian government restricted movement to and from the Gaza Strip, its inhabitants could not look elsewhere for gainful employment.^[7] In 1955, one observer (a member of the United Nations Secretariat) noted that "For all practical purposes it would be true to say that for the last six years in Gaza over 300,000 poverty stricken people have been physically confined to an area the size of a large city park."^[7]

• Jordanian annexation of the West Bank

• Storobin, David (13 November 2004). "Legal Status of West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem",Global Politician
• Gaza Strip (background)
• Gaza Strip (history)