Can someone explain to me what happened over in the Gaza strip?

Question

I thought that I about had things figured out with the difference between Sunni's and Shiites.. But now, I found myself somewhwat perplexed with what happened over in Gaza. Are these religious or politcal factions, concerning Fatah and Hamas.. So. My question is. can someone tell who had control over Gaza before Hamas came over.. But I read somewhere, it will not be Hamas lead government but something else. But I thought Israel was fighting with Hamas over in Beirut.. So why is this good.? From what I read.. Israel and U.S. seem to happy with new arrangement or at least not as distraught.. So.. So please, in detail, somebody explain to me the facts of all that has transpired, and the difference of these factions, political, and or religious. With out political or religious angst, would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 1

Fatah and Hamas are the two big political parties in the Palestinian territories (which are made up of Gaza and what most people call the West Bank). Hamas are terrorists and Fatah are more moderate. It's not a matter of Sunni vs. Shiite. They had elections and both parties won some seats, but they keep fighting with each other. Hamas recently took over in Gaza, but Fatah is still in control of the West Bank. Israel and the US are sad about Gaza, but happy about the West Bank. Beirut (which is the capital of Lebanon, which is a separate country) is a different matter. The terrorist group there is called Hezbollah.

Answer 2

The long and short of it is that the land is contested, Israel believes it to be theirs but the people of Gaza want to be self-determining and appear to have been granted this right (or are on the verge of it) by the UN which would make Palestinia a recognised nation. Palestinians aren't totally blameless in this exchange, though - there's been a LOT of bloodshed from both sides. Hamas especially has been barbaric, often their victims being children and babies deliberately executed as a political message. But Israel's bombed the territory several times, so it's not black and white. Best thing is probably to look at the Wikipedia page.

Answer 3

The Iranian backed Hamas over threw the Fatah party. And now they're in control. No one has no idea what's going to happen next except that Hamas can now get weapons from Iran to pick fights with Isreal.

Answer 4

after half a century of teaching hate, the locals in Gaza as well as the Iranian backed Hamas faction are now reaping the whirlwind they've sown.

Hamas, of course, is trying to make things as much worse as possible without triggering Israel into taking drastic action to wipe them out. They are bolder than before, since Israel failed to wipe out Hezbollah in Lebanon [another Iranian phoney front].

Will they succeed and divert world attention from other problems [Iran's possible nuclear bomb?]?

Or will they simply corner Israel into taking some other action that, so far, Israel hasn't been willing to take? {Example: shelling Gaza on a 10 for 1 basis after each and every Hamas missile fired into Israel.}

Stay tuned ... Hamas wants you to and will do virtually anything to capture your attention.

:/

Answer 5

In ancient times, the Gaza Strip was located on the territory of Philistia. The territory subsequently changed hands several times. The name Palestine is derived from Philistia and Philistines via Greek and Latin.

The Strip's present borders were defined by the armistice lines between Egypt and Israel after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which followed the dissolution of the British mandate of Palestine. It was occupied by Egypt (except for four months of Israeli occupation during the Suez Crisis) until it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1993, after the Palestinian-Israeli agreements known as the Oslo Accords, much of the Strip came under limited Palestinian Authority control. In February 2005, the Israeli government voted to implement Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip beginning on August 15, 2005. The plan required the dismantling of all Israeli settlements there, and the removal of all Israeli settlers and military bases from the Strip, a process that was completed on September 12, 2005 as the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to military rule in the Gaza Strip after 38 years of control. Israel also withdrew from the "Philadelphi Route" that is adjacent to the Strip's border with Egypt after an agreement with the latter to secure its side of the border.

In June 2007, the Palestinian Civil War between Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) and Fatah (Palestine Liberation Movement) intensified. Hamas routed Fatah in the Gaza Strip and by 14 June 2007 the Gaza Strip was almost completely overtaken by Hamas, resulting in a Gaza Strip Government separated from the Palestinian National Authority. Retaliation by Fatah against Hamas in the West Bank led to the opposite result there, leading to fears of a partition of the Palestinian territories into two political entities.


Status:
As of June 13, 2007, the Gaza strip is controlled by Hamas. There have been no Israeli settlements or military bases in the Gaza strip since September 2005. Hamas controls the strip and also operates the Strip's international Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt under EU BAM Rafah supervision. Israel controls Erez and Karni crossing in the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier.

However, the radical Israeli human rights organization B'tselem says "the broad scope of Israeli control in the Gaza Strip creates a strong case for the claim that Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip continue, along with an obligation to ensure the welfare of the civilian population."[1]

University of London law professor Iain Scobbie notes that "Israel retains absolute authority over Gaza’s airspace and territorial sea. It is manifestly exercising governmental authority in these areas. [...] it is clear that Israeli withdrawal of land forces did not terminate occupation."[2]

According to the Palestinians, Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip continues. "They control the water, the sky and the passages. How can you say occupation is over?" says Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.[3] Similar viewpoints have been presented by many other Palestinian organizations and leaders.[4][5] [6] The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights also argues that the Gaza Strip remains occupied by Israel.[7]

Prior to Israel's unilateral withdrawal, the United States considered the Gaza Strip to be Israel-occupied territory. Following the withdrawal, no official government statement has been made on the present status of the Strip. However, the CIA World Factbook, last updated in March 2007, continues to define the Gaza strip as "Israeli-occupied".[8]

For more info on Gaza--->
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_strip

Answer 6

"I believe this way! Join me or die!"
"I believe that way! Change your views or die!"
"Never will I change!"
"Never will I join!"
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"Those who believed that way are dead! Join us or die!"