FQ3: What aspects of Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip have caused most resentment amongst the Palestinian people?
Despite Hamas’s victory during the 2006 Palestinian legislative council elections, aspects of Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip have caused significant resentment amongst the Gazan people. The Gaza Strip is estimated to have a population of 1.9million, many of whom strongly resent the Hamas Government due to their standard of living. Since their election, Hamas has engaged in three wars with Israel that claimed thousands of citizens lives and ravaged much of the Strip’s infrastructure. Due to Hamas’ strong military focus, the Gazan economy has significantly declined. According to Abrams Elliott (2018), a senior fellow for Middle Eastern …show more content…
The Palestinian Territories are currently considered a two-state entity, with the Gaza Strip being governed by Hamas and the West Bank governed by Fatah. However, neither government is fully sovereign as both groups remain subjugated to the Israeli occupying power. Given the current resentment of Hamas amongst the Gazan people and the political status of the government, the future governance of Hamas is increasingly becoming threatened. According to Ehud Yaari (2007), an Israeli journalist, the prospects of the two-state entity are fading. However, this viewpoint should be treated lightly given Yaari’s Israel perception. A political alternative to Hamas, is the implementation of a one-state solution between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas leaders who support a Palestinian reunification, even if it requires “painful” compromises on the part of Hamas (Khaled 2010). In 2017, Hamas supported this alternative, announcing its intention to dissolve its government. Hamas then called upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume responsibility for the Gaza Strip, agreeing to the PA’s demands to hold new parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza for the first time since 2006. The move was followed by talks in Cario between Hamas and the Egyptian Government which resulted in Hamas and Fatah signing a reconciliation agreement to allow the PA to resume control of Gaza by December. However,
Despite Hamas’s victory during the 2006 Palestinian legislative council elections, aspects of Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip have caused significant resentment amongst the Gazan people. The Gaza Strip is estimated to have a population of 1.9million, many of whom strongly resent the Hamas Government due to their standard of living. Since their election, Hamas has engaged in three wars with Israel that claimed thousands of citizens lives and ravaged much of the Strip’s infrastructure. Due to Hamas’ strong military focus, the Gazan economy has significantly declined. According to Abrams Elliott (2018), a senior fellow for Middle Eastern …show more content…
The Palestinian Territories are currently considered a two-state entity, with the Gaza Strip being governed by Hamas and the West Bank governed by Fatah. However, neither government is fully sovereign as both groups remain subjugated to the Israeli occupying power. Given the current resentment of Hamas amongst the Gazan people and the political status of the government, the future governance of Hamas is increasingly becoming threatened. According to Ehud Yaari (2007), an Israeli journalist, the prospects of the two-state entity are fading. However, this viewpoint should be treated lightly given Yaari’s Israel perception. A political alternative to Hamas, is the implementation of a one-state solution between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas leaders who support a Palestinian reunification, even if it requires “painful” compromises on the part of Hamas (Khaled 2010). In 2017, Hamas supported this alternative, announcing its intention to dissolve its government. Hamas then called upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume responsibility for the Gaza Strip, agreeing to the PA’s demands to hold new parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza for the first time since 2006. The move was followed by talks in Cario between Hamas and the Egyptian Government which resulted in Hamas and Fatah signing a reconciliation agreement to allow the PA to resume control of Gaza by December. However,