The geography of Palestine refers to the geographic, climatic and other properties of the areas claimed by Palestine. It is the 163rd largest country in the world, in terms of claimed areas. The country is bordered by Israel to the east, north and west, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the southwest and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The country also shares maritime borders with Israel, Cyprus and Egypt. Located in the Levant, Palestine is part of the Middle Eastern region in Asia.
The terrain of the Gaza Strip is flat or rolling, with dunes near the coast. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda), at 105 m (344 ft) above sea level.
The terrain of the West Bank is mostly rugged dissected upland, with some vegetation in the west, but somewhat barren in the east. The elevation span reaches from a low on the northern shore of the Dead Sea at 429 m (1,407 ft) below sea level,[citation needed] to the highest point at Mount Nabi Yunis at 1,030 m (3,380 ft) above sea level.[1] The area of the West Bank is landlocked; the highlands are the main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers.
Geology
The coastal plain of Gaza is composed of sand dunes and fertile sandy sediments. Except for a porous calcareoussandstone called kurkar in Arabic, there are no other rocks in this region. In contrast, the West Bank is dominated by low mountains: Mount Gerizim (881m), Nabi Samwil (890m), and Mount Scopus (826m). The rocks are principally composed of marine sediments (limestone and dolomite). The porosity of these rocks permits water to filter down to the non-porous strata, which supply water to the numerous aquifers in the region.[2]
The tectonic disposition of Palestine on the margin of the Dead Sea Transform has left it exposed to relatively frequent earthquakes, the most destructive of which were those of 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033. For a detailed list see here.
Rivers and lakes
The River Jordan is the largest river in Palestine, forming the eastern boundary of the West Bank, until it flows into the Dead Sea. Friends of the Earth Middle East reports that on the one hand up to 96% of the river's fresh water is diverted by Israel, Jordan and Syria, while on the other hand large quantities of untreated sewage are being discharged into the river.[4]
The climate in the West Bank is mostly Mediterranean, slightly cooler at elevated areas compared with the shoreline, west to the area. In the east, the West Bank includes much of the Judean Desert, including the western shoreline of the Dead Sea, characterised by dry and hot climate.
Gaza has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) with mild winters and dry hot summers.[7] Spring arrives around March–April and the hottest months are July and August, with the average high being 33 °C (91 °F). The coldest month is January with temperatures usually at 7 °C (45 °F). Rain is scarce and generally falls between November and March, with annual precipitation rates approximately at 4.57 inches (116 mm).[8]
Natural resources of Palestine include mud extracts from the Dead Sea,[14] such as magnesium, potash and bromine. However, these resources are monopolised by Israeli settlements; the Palestinian policy network Al-Shabaka reported in 2015 that the added value access to these natural resources could have delivered to the economy was $918 million per annum.[15]
^Palestine & Palestinians. Beit Sahour, Palestine: Alternative Tourism Group. 2008. p. 18. ISBN978-9950-319-01-1.
^Ferry M.; Meghraoui M.; Karaki A.A.; Al-Taj M.; Amoush H.; Al-Dhaisat S.; Barjous M. (2008). "A 48-kyr-long slip rate history for the Jordan Valley segment of the Dead Sea Fault". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 260 (3–4): 394–406. Bibcode:2007E&PSL.260..394F. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.05.049.
^"Israel's Unlawful Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". Al Haq. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2016. By granting substantial financial benefits to the settlers, as well as by licensing Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd., 44.5 per cent of whose shares are owned by the settlements of 'Mitzpe Shalem' and 'Kalia,' to mine and manufacture products that utilise the mud extracted from the occupied Dead Sea area, Israel is openly in violation of its obligations as an Occupying Power in the OPT. It is encouraging and facilitating the exploitation of Palestinian natural resources and actively assisting their pillaging by private actors.
^"Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy"(PDF). World Bank. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2016. The Dead Sea abounds in valuable minerals, principally large deposits of potash and bromine. Israel and Jordan together derive some USD 4.2 billion in annual sales of these products, and account for 6 percent of the world's supply of potash and fully 73 percent of global bromine output. Demand for both these products is projected to remain strong, with the Dead Sea a cheap and easily exploited source. There is no reason to suppose that Palestinian investors along with prospective international partners would not be able to reap the benefits of this market, provided they were able to access the resource. Taking as a benchmark the average value added by these industries to the Jordanian and the Israeli economies, the Palestinian economy could derive up to USD 918 million per annum –equal to 9 percent of 2011 GDP, almost equivalent to the size of the entire Palestinian manufacturing sector