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Israel History
Israel History
Israel History
he territory came into being when it was controlled by Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, and became a refuge for Palestinians
who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war.[11][12] Later, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the
Gaza Strip, initiating its decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories.[11][12] The mid-1990s Oslo Accords established
the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a limited governing authority, initially led by the secular party Fatah until that party's electoral defeat
in 2006 to the Sunni Islamic Hamas. Hamas would then take over the governance of Gaza in a battle the next year,[13][14][15][16]
subsequently warring with Israel.
In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its military forces from Gaza, dismantled its settlements, and implemented a temporary blockade
of Gaza.[17] The blockade became indefinite after the 2007 Hamas takeover, supported by Egypt through restrictions on its land border
with Gaza.[18][17] Despite the Israeli disengagement, the United Nations (UN), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many
human-rights organizations continue to consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they consider Israel's
effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes that it occupies the territory. [19][20][21] The current blockade prevents people
and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory, leading to Gaza often being called an "open-air prison." [22][23] The UN, as well
as at least 19 human-rights organizations, have urged Israel to lift the blockade.[24] Israel has justified its blockade on the strip with
wanting to stop flow of arms, but Palestinians and rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment and exacerbates dire living
conditions.[25] A tightened blockade since the start of the Israel–Hamas war has contributed to an ongoing famine.