“”””. “For many, it is no secret that Gaza has been an open-air prison””””
It is not easy to find population numbers for the Gaza Strip since it became a self governing entity in 2005.
Here what I have found:
2012 = 1.6 million population
2017 = 1.8 million population
2023 = 2.2 million population
This ‘open air prison’ must be a great place to live.
Especially for the Muslim terrorists from many parts of the world who can live in GAZA and be treated like little kings.
Wow. 2.2 Million people in 141 square miles. That’s 15,603 people per square mile.
The US state with the highest population density is New Jersey at 1,248 people per square mile.
The earliest specific usage I can find of Gaza being described as an open-air prison is from British prime minister David Cameron in 2010, which is just three years after Israel instituted its permanent blockade after the Strip.
As for the population increase, I imagine it has to do with (based on what stats I could find) a fertility rate of 4+ children per woman (one of those paradoxical scenarios of a poor region having a very high birth rate). With over 2 million people in an area of under 370 square kilometers, I imagine it's not a great place at all. (And I think very few people across the political spectrum would describe it as such. Who they would blame for those conditions will naturally vary much more wildly.)
In addition, over 40% of the known population are under the age of 14; over 60% are under the age of 24.
So it's likely that the majority of Palestinians in Gaza have literally known nothing but life under blockade.