The Battle for Gaza (Arabic: معركة غزّة) took place between June 12 and June 14, 2007 and resulted in Hamas taking control of the Gaza Strip.^[1] acording to the ICRC "550 people have been wounded and at least 116 killed in the fighting"[2]. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Combatants Hamas Fatah Strength Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades: 15,000 Executive Force: 6,000[1][2] National Security: 30,000 Police and Preventive Security: 30,000 General Intelligence: 5,000 Presidential Guard: 4,200 Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade: Several thousand[3][2] Casualties 62 killed 149 killed 49... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the word Hamas means strength and bravery according to its charter on MidEast web[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Hamas Logo from the Hamas web site: www. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the word Hamas means strength and bravery according to its charter on MidEast web[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ... The Fatah official emblem shows two fists holding rifles and a hand grenade superimposed on a map of the land they claimed as Palestine (roughly, the present State of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). ... Fatah (Arabic: ); a reverse acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (literally: Palestinian National Liberation Movement) is a major secular Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a generally secular multi-party confederation. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the word Hamas means strength and bravery according to its charter on MidEast web[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ...

Background

After the re-ignition of the Fatah-Hamas conflict on June 10 Hamas pledged to purge the Gaza Strip of Fatah activists.^{[citation needed]} Combatants Hamas Fatah Strength Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades: 15,000 Executive Force: 6,000[1][2] National Security: 30,000 Police and Preventive Security: 30,000 General Intelligence: 5,000 Presidential Guard: 4,200 Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade: Several thousand[3][2] Casualties 62 killed 149 killed 49... June 10 is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Fatah (Arabic: ); a reverse acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (literally: Palestinian National Liberation Movement) is a major secular Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a generally secular multi-party confederation. ...

On Sunday the 10th of June, Hamas militants seized several Fatah members and threw one of them, Mohammed Sweirki, an officer in the elite Palestinian Presidential Guard, off the top of the tallest building in Gaza, a 15-story apartment building. In retaliation, Fatah militants attacked and killed the imam of the city's largest mosque, Mohammed al-Rifati. They also opened fire on the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. Just before midnight, a Hamas militant was thrown off a 12-story building.^[2] Not to be confused with the Spanish name Garza or the Egyptian town of Giza. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ismail Haniya (more frequently Haniyeh) (born 1963) (Arabic: إسماعيل هنية) is the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. ...

On June 11, the residences of both Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's leader and the Palestinian Authority president, and of then-Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, had been targeted with gun and shell fire [3]. June 11 is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mahmoud Abbas (Arabic: محمود عباس) (born March 26, 1935), commonly known by the kunya or nom de guerre Abu Mazen (ابو مازن), was elected President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on January 9, 2005, and took office on January 15, 2005. ... The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ... Ismail Haniya (more frequently Haniyeh) (born 1963) (Arabic: إسماعيل هنية) is the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. ...

Attacks

On June 12 the Palestinian group Hamas began attacking posts held by their Fatah faction rivals. Hundreds of Hamas fighters had moved on the positions after giving their occupants two hours to leave.

The Gaza Strip

A major Fatah base in the northern town of Jabaliya fell to Hamas fighters, witnesses told AFP news agency. Heavy fighting also raged around the main Fatah headquarters in Gaza City, with Hamas militants attacking with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. [4] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jabalia (Arabic: جباليا), with a registered population of 103,646 inhabitants (as of June 30 2002), is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in existence. ...

On June 13, Hamas seized the headquarters of the Fatah-controlled National Security Forces in northern Gaza. Gunmen fought for control of high-rise buildings serving as sniper positions and Hamas said it had bulldozed a Fatah outpost controlling Gaza's main north-south road. Also on that day, an explosion wrecked the Khan Younis headquarters of the Fatah-linked Preventive Security force, killing five people. [5] June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... Khan Yunis (Arabic: خان يونس) is a city/refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. ...

On June 14, Hamas gunmen completed the takeover of the central building of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service's headquarters in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas members took over vehicles and weapons in the compound, which was considered the Palestinian Authority's main symbol in the Strip. The Preventive Security Service cooperated with Israel in the past and is identified with Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan. The gunmen who entered the compound held a prayer there and waved a flag on the building's rooftop. At least 10 people were killed. Hamas TV broadcast a display of weapons inside the building, as well as jeeps, mortar shells and bulletproof vests seized in the compound, which according to Hamas, were smuggled to Fatah by Israel and the Americans in the past few months through the border with Egypt. ^[3] Mohammed Dahlan is a Palestinian, born in 1961 in a refugee camp in Khan Younis. ... Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... Mortar has several meanings: Mortar (weapon) fires shells at a much lower velocity and higher ballistic arc than other ordnance Paintball mortar fires paintballs or water balloons filled with paint Mortar (masonry), material used in masonry to fill the gaps between bricks and bind them together Mortar (firestop), hydraulic cementitious... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Hamas members held a prayer in the compound, which they referred to as the "heresy compound." Hamas also changed the name of the neighborhood where the building is located from "Tel al-Hawa" to "Tel al-Islam." ^[3]

Fatah fighters paraded through Gaza City after their surrender on June 14, 2007

On the afternoon of June 14, the Associated Press reported an explosion that rocked Gaza City. According to Fatah officials, security forces withdrew from their post and blew it up in order to not let Hamas take it over. The security forces afterwards repositioned to another location. Later on June 14, Hamas also took control of the southern Gaza Strip city Rafah which lies near an, already closed, border crossing with Egypt, which is monitored by Israeli, Palestinian and European Union security forces. The EU staff had, at that time, already been relocated to the Israeli city of Ashkelon for safety reasons. ^[4] The article is about the Middle Eastern city. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... The article is about the Middle Eastern city. ... Rafah (Arabic: رفح Hebrew: רפיח) is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sinai Peninsula. ... Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן (Standard) AÅ¡qÉ™lon Arabic عسقلان Founded in 1951 Government City Also Spelled Ashqelon (officially) District South Population 105,100 (2004) Jurisdiction 55,000 dunams (55 km²) Mayor Roni Mahatzri Ashkelon (Hebrew: ‎; Tiberian Hebrew ʾAÅ¡qÉ™lôn; Arabic: ‎  ; Latin: Ascalon) is a city in the western Negev, in the...

Human rights violations

Human Rights Watch accused both sides with violations of international humanitarian law, in some cases amounting to war crimes[6],[7]. The alleged violations include the targeting and killing of civilians and prisoners (including al Suwerky, see above), public executions of political opponenets, the killing of unarmed women and children and creating checkpoints and limiting freedom of movement. The International Committee of the Red Cross has denounced attacks in and around two hospitals in the northern part of the Gaza strip.[8] Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-government organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ...

Lootings

During the fighting incidents of looting took place:

1. A crowd took furniture, wall tiles and personal belongings from the villa of the deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat[9].
2. The home of former Fatah strongman in Gaza Mohammed Dahlan was looted[10]: "An AFP correspondent witnessed dozens of Palestinians taking everything they could carry from Dahlan's villa - furniture, pot plants and even the kitchen sink, complete with plumbing fixtures such as taps."
3. At the Muntada, Abbas's seafront presidential compound, witnesses reported seeing Hamas fighters remove computers, documents and guns.[11]

Not to be confused with Yasir Arafat (cricketer). ...

Political consequences

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the current unity government and the declaration of a state of emergency.^[5][6] Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has been dismissed, and Abbas rules Gaza and the West Bank by presidential decree. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded by declaring that President Abbas' decision was "in practical terms...worthless", asserting that Mr. Haniya "remains the head of the government even if it was dissolved by the president".^[7] The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). ... Mahmoud Abbas (Arabic: محمود عباس) (born March 26, 1935), commonly known by the kunya or nom de guerre Abu Mazen (ابو مازن), was elected President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on January 9, 2005, and took office on January 15, 2005. ... In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election. ... A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... The Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority is the head of government of the Palestinian government. ... Ismail Haniya (more frequently Haniyeh) (born 1963) (Arabic: إسماعيل هنية) is the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Sami Abu Zuhri a senior Palestinian spokesman for Hamas was catapulted to notoriety 19 May 2006 when European monitors discovered he had about 900,000 euros concealed in his clothing at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. ...

As a result of the conflict, the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority was de facto divided into two entities: the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, and the West Bank, governed by Fatah.^[1] The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ...

Military consequences

Hamas has captured thousands of assault rifles and scores of combat vehicles supplied by Egypt and Jordan to the Palestinian Authority. [12]

References

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australian (informally referred to as The Oz) is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• In pictures: Hamas takes Gaza (BBC)