In 2005, after 38 years on the ground, Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in a move that many hoped would usher in a new era for this small strip of Palestinian territory along the Mediterranean Sea and possibly for Israeli-Palestinian peace. For a variety of reasons, including missteps on both sides and attacks by Hamas and other factions against Israel, Gaza descended into chaos. Two years later, Hamas, an armed Palestinian group formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement and considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and others, seized control and expelled the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, who had controlled Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal.
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