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Hamas The Israeli government had encouraged settlers to move to land they occupied after the 1967 war. The occupied territories included land along the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land along the Mediterranean Sea. Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in the late 1980s became known as the First Intifada. Intifada is an Arabic word that means uprising. The violence declined after Israel signed a 1993 peace agreement with some Palestinians that allowed the Palestinians to have limited self-government in the occupied territories. The government in the occupied territories is known as the Palestinian Authority. A Palestinian group known as Hamas objected to the 1993 peace agreement because they did not believe Israel has the right to exist on land they consider to be theirs. Hamas encouraged a second intifada and has sponsored several violent acts against Israel. Radical Palestinians strapped bombs to themselves and detonated the bombs in crowded Israeli areas. Hamas provided financial support to the families of the suicide bombers. In 2006, the Palestinians living in the occupied territories elected Hamas to run their government. International aid to the Palestinians from Israel and most western nations stopped because of Hamas' sponsorship of violence against Israel. Israel ended decades of occupation in the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements in 2005. Many Israelis hope to see a Palestinian nation that can co-exist peacefully with Israel. Other people in Israel believe that withdrawal from the occupied territories will give terrorists more freedom to attack Israel. Israel built fortified barriers along its borders with the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Supporters of the barrier argue that the barriers are a necessary tool to prevent future terrorist attacks on Israel. Opponents argue that the barriers isolate Palestinians and will be the cause of more discontent and violence in the region. |
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