A Gaza History Lesson

[Anglojew]

Gaza:



Gaza is a territory between Israel and Egypt. It was formally part of Ottoman Syrian, specifically part of the Mutasarrifiyya of Jerusalem province:



After the defeat of the Ottomans it was part of the British Mandate of Palestine:



After Britain gave up control to the UN it was to be given to the Palestinians under the 1947 partition plan. 78% of Palestine was given to the Arabs in 1921 and called "(Trans)Jordan". The Palestinians rejected this plan and 5 Arab armies attacked Israel:



In the aftermath of this war, it was ruled by Egypt between 1948 and 1967, as this Egyptian stamp shows:



After Egypt's defeat in 1967 it was ruled by Israel:



In 2005 Israel withdrew entirely from the Gaza strip, including displacing all Jews living there:



In 2007 Hamas took over Gaza having won a Palestinian election the previous year. Elected for a four year term, a power struggle resulted between Fatah and Hamas until:

The Battle of Gaza, also referred to as Hamas' takeover of Gaza was a short military conflict between Fatah and Hamas, that took place in the Gaza Strip between 10 and 15 June 2007. It was a climax in the Fatah–Hamas conflict, centered around the struggle for power, after Fatah lost the parliamentary elections of 2006. Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip and removed Fatah officials. The battle resulted in the dissolution of the unity government and the de facto division of the Palestinian territories into two entities, the West Bank governed by the Palestinian National Authority, and Gaza governed by Hamas.

In the preceding period, the US and Israel apparently strengthened Fatah's military power to topple Hamas.

The ICRC estimated that at least 118 people were killed and more than 550 wounded during the fighting in the week up to June 15...

By 2007 Hamas was unable to manage the government and pay the salaries and get recognition from the European donor countries and international organisations. This led to the clashes between Hamas and Fatah.[7] In the last month of 2006, factional fighting has left 33 people dead. In January 7, 2007, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the Hamas-led Interior Ministry's paramilitary police force, the most powerful armed unit outside his control in factional fighting, to be incorporated into the security apparatus loyal to him. The ministry responded with defiance, announcing plans to double the size of its force. The dueling announcements raised the prospect of an intensified armed standoff. Abbas's only means of enforcing the order appeared to be coercive action by police and security units under his command, but they are relatively weak in the Gaza Strip, Hamas's stronghold

So today Hamas retains power in Gaza, and no further elections have taken place, meaning Hamas has ruled for 4 years illegally.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli...ment_from_Gaza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaza_%282007%29