How many of you have heard about the capture of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, the radical Muslim political party in Palestine? It happened on June 15. Hamas has forced Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas into the West Bank, where he has promised to set up an emergency government. He 'fired' Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, putting in his place Salam Fayyad, an economist who's spent most of his adult life in the US. Nevertheless, Abbas' actions will likely have little impact. Even before Hamas seized the Gaza Strip, Abbas, leader of the rival Fatah group, was seen as a weak leader. Hamas has ignored Haniyeh's 'dismissal.'
On Wednesday, Israeli troops raided Gaza City, killing at least twelve, in what has been the bloodiest fighting since the Hamas takeover. President Abbas condemned Israel's actions, while also condemning the agressions of Hamas, which, since the takeover, has fired five rockets and three mortar rounds into Israel.
For more information on the rise of Hamas, read this article.
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