Gaza-strip before 1967

Was the Gaza strip officially part of Egypt before 1967 or was it just occupied? Also, was the border between the Gaza strip and Egypt open, so that people could freely
 
It was officially just occupied, until Nasser pushed through with the United Arab Republic and annexed it more officially. I think it varied on if they left Palestinians enter Egypt or not.
 
The Israelis tried to give it back to Egypt but the Egyptians wouldn't take it, smart move on their part.

Although later on they started putting settlers there. Strategically it would have been a huge advantage for Israel if Egypt had accepted to take it, as it is a small area with a huge Arab population. Of course the "Holy Land"-idea leads to some religious fanatics wanting to annex the idea, but if one wants to keep Israel as a Jewish majority state without starting all over again with ethnic cleansing, the idea of making the Gaza-strip part of Israel is insane.
 
Although later on they started putting settlers there. Strategically it would have been a huge advantage for Israel if Egypt had accepted to take it, as it is a small area with a huge Arab population. Of course the "Holy Land"-idea leads to some religious fanatics wanting to annex the idea, but if one wants to keep Israel as a Jewish majority state without starting all over again with ethnic cleansing, the idea of making the Gaza-strip part of Israel is insane.
The the Israelis wanted the neighboring states to annex chunks of land that were majority Palestinians so it is no wonder they would want their neighbors to take the land. Means they disavow Palestine as being a seperate state, plus Israel could more easily push out their remaining Palestinians. Depends how things were arranged.
 
Was the Gaza strip officially part of Egypt before 1967 or was it just occupied? Also, was the border between the Gaza strip and Egypt open, so that people could freely

Clandango is partially correct. It was administered by the "All Palestine Government" until Egypt and Syria merged into the United Arab Republic, at which point the Gaza Strip was also legally absorbed and brought under direct control from Cairo. After the UAR collapsed, Egypt kept direct control of Gaza until it was taken in 1967. It's worth noting that when the PLO was established in 1964, Nasser said that he would give them Gaza, but did not.

I have no idea if the border was free. I'd presume yes, though there's also the fact that Israel was paranoid about fedayeen raids from Gaza and the UNEF was in Sinai, so it's possibly that there was some sort of checkpoint system to prevent the transfer of weapons. There's also the fact that Egypt never gave most Gazans citizenship, even after taking the territory under direct control, so it's not necessarily a given that they would have had freedom of movement. Actually, for that matter, I don't know how much freedom of movement the average Egyptian had in the 50s and 60s.
 
The the Israelis wanted the neighboring states to annex chunks of land that were majority Palestinians so it is no wonder they would want their neighbors to take the land. Means they disavow Palestine as being a seperate state, plus Israel could more easily push out their remaining Palestinians. Depends how things were arranged.

That´s my point. Especialy when it comes to the Gaza-strip it would rationally be far better for Israel if it became part of Egypt than it would be for them to make it part of Israel. Still, Israeli governments did for some time allow settlers in the Gaza-strip in addition to those on the West Bank. Of course, when you mix religion and politics, the result is not always rational.
 
Wasn´t it overcrowded from the 1948-war, when it was filled with refugees from the area that was to become Israel?

What does "overcrowded" mean?

It's very difficult to say the exact population of the Gaza Strip before partition because it wasn't any kind of subdivision. There was a subdivision that included all of the Gaza Strip, but it also included a bit more, including further up along the coast past what is today Ashdod and a little bit further inland. A UN report from 1946 indicates that this area has a little more than 100,000 people; I've seen estimates that the population of the what would be the Gaza Strip was probably about 80,000. This rose to over 300,000 by 1950.

But what does overcrowded mean? So before, we're looking at a population density of say 200-220 people per square kilometer, similar to modern Germany or the Dominican Republic, and after of between 850 and 900 people per square kilometer, similar to modern Bangladesh (precise numbers for the population are hard to find). Note that Bangladesh is the densest non-city-state in the world. So certainly the Gaza Strip after 1949 was very crowded, but I don't know that it was overcrowded, per se. Certainly it wasn't able to feed itself, and infrastructure was terrible, but that's more a product of enormous population inflow rather than necessarily being an unsustainable level. With intense agriculture, Gaza could probably have fed itself, though obviously it didn't have the money or expertise to implement that. Probably the consumption at an unsustainable rate of water from the aquifer began around that time, though considering the relatively low rainfall and lack of major rivers to the area, it's actually very possible that use was unsustainable even before the massive spike from the displaced population.

I actually think I've convinced myself that overcrowded is a good word to use.
 
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