151 Marianne Heiberg and Geir Øvensen et. al.

Palestinian Society

in Gaza, West Bank and Arab Jerusalem A Survey of Living Conditions

Electronic version at Al Mashriq

A fragile but highly encouraging peace process has been inaugurated in the Middle East. At the same time the Intifada in the occupied territories continues. Present uncertainties and prospects bring the living conditions of Palestinians in the occupied territories more sharply into focus than ever before.

This baseline report portrays the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Arab Jerusalem using a broad canvas. The study is based on interviews of a representative sample of the Palestinian population carried out in the summer of 1992. It explores such dimensions as employment, health, housing, economic resources, the specific conditions of women, opinions and attitudes, education and social status. The report aims to present the facts of contemporary social and economic life as dispassionately, accurately and candidly as possible. Addressing many of the underlying issues in the debate on the future of the occupied territories, it also sheds light on the wider question of regional security and stability.

“Palestinian Society” has been conceived, planned and written by Palestinian and Norwegian scholars, working closely together during all stages of work. Authors are: Marianne Heiberg, Geir Øvensen, Hasan Abu-Libdeh, Helge Brunborg, Rita Giacaman, Rema Hammami, Neil Hawkins, Camilla Stoltenberg, Salim Tamari, Steinar Tamsfoss, Ole Fredrik Ugland and Lars Weiseth.

Contents

1. Preface
2. Introduction
3. The Gaza, West Bank and Arab Jerusalem survey
4. Chapter 1 The Transformation of Palestinian Society: Fragmentation and Occupation
5. Chapter 2 Population Characteristics and Trends
6. Chapter 3 Housing
7. Chapter 4 Health
8. Chapter 5 Education
9. Chapter 6 Household Income and Wealth
10. Chapter 7 Employment and Under-utilization of Labour
11. Chapter 8 Aspects of Social Stratification
12. Chapter 9 Opinions and Attitudes
13. Chapter 10 Women in Palestinian Society
14. Appendix A Sampling Strategy
15. Appendix B Recruitment, Training and Organisation of the Field Work
16. Appendix C Processing of Data