Carbaryl is an important and widely used insecticide that pollutes soil and water systems. Bacteria from the local soil ecosystem of the Gaza Strip capable of utilizing carbaryl as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen were isolated and identified as belonging to Bacillus, Morganella, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas and Corynebacterium genera. Carbaryl biodegradation by Bacillus, Morganella and Coryneb...

A high prevalence of dental fluorosis has been identified among children in the Gaza Strip. This study aimed to determine the history of breastfeeding and dietary behaviours among children in the Gaza Strip and to examine potential associations with the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis. A cross-sectional study recruited a stratified cluster random sample of 350 children aged 12-18 ye...

This cross-sectional, community-based, household survey was carried out in Gaza City, Palestine during the first half of 2009 to study the nutritional status of Palestinian preschool children aged 2-5 years under blockade. The response rate was 95.2% from a total sample of 770. The majority (94.4%) of households faced difficulties accessing food, the main cause was the siege and the shortage of...

Higher education in the Gaza Strip has been subjected to four wars and over a decade of blockade. University staff students have killed whilst campus infrastructure attacked, rebuilt, destroyed again. This paper examines opportunities for, limits to, protecting higher from attack Gaza. It presents framework for categorising protection measures empirically explores effectiveness protect since 20...

Water quality in the Gaza Strip has been severely compromised due to increasing salinity, contamination with pollutants, and lack of adequate treatment options. To provide the population of the Gaza Strip with advice on how to mitigate health risks from water we developed recommendations on using water from different sources for different purposes (such as for consumption, hygiene, amenities, a...

On August 5, 2014, after 29 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas accepted an Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour unconditional cease-fire. The cease-fire was meant to provide a calmer environment for direct and indirect talks on stabilizing the relations between Israel and Gaza. Fire was renewed after the agreed three days of quiet did not produce a breakthrough but another ceasefire went into effect...

In total, 2,408 primary school girls (6-14 yr old) in two districts within the Gaza Governorate were examined for the presence of head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer. The localities chosen for the study were the Old Gaza city and the rural village Jabalia. The rate of infestation with lice was 14.1%, and an additional 35% of girls had nits (eggs) only. The prevalence of louse infestati...

Trade Policy and Labor Services: Final Status Options for the West Bank and Gaza This paper considers the policy options of the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) with respect to trade and the exports of labor services. It concludes that i) a non-discriminatory trade policy (NDTP) is unambiguously superior to an FTA with Israel; ii) the WBG should pursue a NDTP with all its neighbors, but only under the ...

Two studies, conducted 3 months before the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and the Northern West Bank, examined whether reminders of death would lead right-wing Israelis to endorse violent resistance against the disengagement plan. More specifically, we hypothesized that this reaction would be particularly strong among participants high in denial--those who were unable to come to terms with...