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2009 DST End Date for West Bank and Gaza Strip

Daylight saving time (DST) is set to end in West Bank and Gaza Strip at 1am (01:00) on Friday, September 4, 2009. The clocks will move one hour back, at this time, to midnight (00:00) between September 3 and 4, 2009.

Arab village at West Bank.

2009 DST End Date for West Bank and Gaza Strip

©iStockphoto.com/Amit Erez

The time in West Bank and Gaza Strip will change from being three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+3 hours) to UTC+2 hours at this time.

DST End Date Confirmed

West Bank and Gaza Strip will wind the clocks one hour back from UTC+3 hours to UTC+2 hours on Friday, September 4, 2009. The Palestinian Council of Ministers met in Ramallah, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem, on Monday, August 31, 2009, to discuss the matter about the time zone changes. The council decided that DST would end at 1am (01:00) on Friday, September 4, when the clocks would turn back one hour to midnight (00:00) between September 3 and 4.

Some sources confirmed on August 31 and September 1, 2009, that the time change would definitely apply to West Bank but there was uncertainty about Gaza Strip. However, new information recently became available from other sources on September 2, 2009. According to these sources, Gaza Strip would also end its DST schedule at 1am (01:00) on Friday, September 4, 2009.

Time Zone in Gaza Strip and West Bank

Both territories – Gaza Strip and West Bank – observe Eastern European Time (EET), which is UTC+2 hours, when they are not on daylight saving time. They both observe Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), or UTC+3 hours, during the daylight saving schedule. However, the two territories did not change their clocks at the same time in previous years.

Gaza Strip and West Bank Background

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the north and east. The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city. It has about 1.4 million Palestinian (or Gazan) residents.

The West Bank is a landlocked territory on the west bank of the Jordan River in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the mainland Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the country of Jordan. Since 1967 most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation. The Palestinian Authority (PA) was established in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in 1994, although its authority is limited, especially in Gaza.