Thursday, 22 February 2024

HAMAS AND ISRAEL

 

Palestine consists of the West Bank (West of river Jordan) bordering Jordan on the East and Israel in the West and the Gaza Strip which is  a small narrow strip of territory located bordering the East Mediterranean sea. It borders Egypt on the South and West, and Israel on the East. It has a population of about 20 lacs.

The Gaza and the West Bank (west of river Jordan) are claimed by Palestine. They are separated by Israel in between. The West Bank is in Israeli control when it was wrested from Jordan in the 1967 6 day war. The Gaza is controlled by Hamas which is a fundamentalist Islamic organization since 2007 when it won the elections in 2006.

When Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawama al Islamiyya) won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian election, the Fatah of the PLO which opposed them refused to co operate, and a civil war broke out between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza, in which Hamas prevailed and expelled Fatah from the Gaza.

The PLO instituted another government in West Bank while Hamas controlled the Gaza. While the PLO is more egalitarian, the Hamas wants an Islamic government. The Hamas wants to expel the Jews from Israel and unite the Gaza and West Bank to it and form an Islamic Republic.

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