“The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993, agreed that the Gaza Strip would be part of the Palestinian Authority, along with the West Bank; a potential corridor connecting the two would eventually form a Palestinian state. Yasser Arafat was the leader of both regions, and two main political parties, Hamas and Fatah, vied for the loyalties of Palestinians. Fatah was more dominant in the West Bank. Hamas, headquartered in Gaza and founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Bro...therhood, preached an ideology based on Palestinian nationalism, Islamism and religious nationalism. Like Fatah, its name comes from an acronym of the Arabic words that make up the full name of the organization: “Islamic Resistance Movement.” Hamas got most of its support from Gazans, and it was Hamas that launched the suicide bombings in April 1993 (and only renounced them in April 2006). In September 2005, Israeli settlers were withdrawn from Gaza, fulfilling a promise from the Israeli government that the territory would be controlled by Palestinians.MoreLessRead More Read Less
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