ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, we discussed the division of Palestine into Gaza Strip and West Bank in the aftermath of the Islamic movement Hamas’s landslide victory in the 2006 elections. The United States, Israel, and the EU were shocked by Hamas’s victory, as they were very sure that Fatah would win. Consequently, all states boycotted Hamas’s victory and imposed economic sanctions on Hamas’s government, wanting to punish the Palestinian people for supporting Hamas’s agenda against the United States and Israel in regional politics. After the Hamas victory, the Quartet supported Fatah against Hamas, thus helping to lead Palestine into civil war in 2007. During the June war, Hamas conquered the Gaza Strip, while Fatah remained in the West Bank. Due to the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, the Palestinian Question has been ignored. But the Arab Spring brought some hope for Palestinians to end armed conflict between Hamas and Fatah because it had a great impact on regional politics.
