Gaza is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula and southwest of Jerusalem. The city is the home of religious and historical importance. Gaza has been disputed since ancient times along with the rest of the Gaza Strip; Gaza came under Israeli occupation in 1967. In May 1994 the city became the headquarters of the new Palestinian Authority, which administers Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Gaza's population is composed of entirely Muslim Palestinian Arabs.