Since I try my best to avoid politics in my blogs (one rarely convinces a person holding an opposing view) I thought that rather than share my views, I would simply re-print some information from Wikipedia and from the Associated Press.
People are left to form their own opinions:
The Gaza Strip (/ˈɡɑːzəˈstrɪp/;[1] Arabic: قطاع غزة Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah [qɪˈtˤɑːʕ ˈɣazza]), or simply Gaza, is an
exclave region of Palestine on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border. Gaza makes up part of the Palestinian territories which includes the West Bank and in 2012, the United Nations General Assembly "accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations".[2]
In 1994, Israel granted the right of self-governance to Gaza through the Palestinian Authority. Prior to this, Gaza had been subject to military occupation, most recently by Israel (1967–94) and by Egypt (1948–67), and earlier by Great Britain (1918–48) and Turkey when Gaza had been part of the Ottoman Empire. Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been de-facto governed by Hamas, a Palestinian group claiming to be the representatives of the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian people. Gaza forms a part of the Palestinian territory defined in the Oslo Agreements and UNSC Resolution 1860.[3]
The Gaza Strip acquired its current northern and eastern boundaries at the cessation of fighting in the 1948 war, confirmed by the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement on 24 February 1949.[8] Article V of the Agreement declared that the demarcation line was not to be an international border. At first the Gaza Strip was officially administered by the All-Palestine Government, established by the Arab League in September 1948. All-Palestine in the Gaza Strip was managed under the military authority of Egypt, functioning as puppet state, until it officially merged into the United Arab Republic and dissolved in 1959. From the time of the dissolution of the All-Palestine Government until 1967, the Gaza Strip was directly administered by an Egyptian military governor. Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the Six-Day War in 1967. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, the Palestinian Authority became the administrative body that governed Palestinian population centers while Israel maintained control of the airspace, territorial waters and border crossings with the exception of the land border with Egypt. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip under their unilateral disengagement plan. In July 2007, following the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and the Hamas takeover in 2007, Hamas had functioned as the de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip, forming an alternative Hamas Government in Gaza.
In 2014, following reconciliation talks, Hamas and Fatah formed a Palestinian unity government within the State of Palestine. Rami Hamdallah became the coalition's Prime Minister and has planned for elections in Gaza and the West Bank.[9] In July 2014, a set of lethal incidents between Hamas and Israel led to the Israeli military launching Operation Protective Edge.
Today’s News: (8/8/14)
Israel resumed strikes on targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire from the area shortly after the expiration of a cease-fire between Israel and the terror group Hamas, Israeli military officials said Friday.
The renewed violence threw the Cairo talks on a broader deal into doubt. Hamas officials said they are ready to continue talks, but Israel's government spokesman said Israel will not negotiate under fire.
Hamas wants Israel to open Gaza's borders, following a seven-year closure also enforced by Egypt, but Israel says it will only do so if the Islamic militants disarm or are prevented from re-arming. Hamas has insisted it will never give up its arms.
The rockets appeared to have been an attempt by Hamas to exert pressure on Israel without triggering a major escalation. Smaller Gaza groups claimed responsibility, while there was no word from Hamas rocket squads.
However, Israel said it will not negotiate under such terms.
"When Hamas broke the cease-fire, when Hamas launched rockets and mortar shells at Israel, they broke the premise of the talks," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev, adding that "there will not be negotiations under fire."
Israel and Egypt
imposed the blockade after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, and have since
enforced it to varying degrees.
The closure led to widespread
hardship in the Mediterranean seaside territory, home to 1.8 million people.
Movement in and out of Gaza is limited, the economy has ground to a standstill
and unemployment is over 50 percent.
Israel argues that it needs to keep
Gaza's borders under a blockade as long as Hamas tries to smuggle weapons into
Gaza or manufactures them there.
The militant group has said it is
willing to hand over some power in Gaza to enable its long-time rival,
Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to lead reconstruction
efforts, but that it would not give up its arsenal and control over thousands
of armed men.
The Gaza war grew out of the killing
of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June. Israel blamed the killings on
Hamas and launched a massive arrest campaign, rounding up hundreds of the
group's members in the West Bank, as Hamas and other militants unleashed rocket
fire from Gaza.
The Associated Press contributed to
this report.
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