Israeli Policy toward the Gaza Strip

With the disengagement in the summer of 2005, Israel hoped to be freed of the burden of the Gaza Strip, which today has a population of almost two million. The disengagement also sought to confront the Palestinians with the challenge of state-building and establishing a functional, responsible political entity, and to bring about a fundamental change in the nature of the ongoing conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. The effects of the disengagement, however, did not meet these expectations. Approximately half a year after the withdrawal, Hamas emerged victorious in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. The following year, the organization seized control of the Gaza Strip; economic and civil projects that were planned as part of building a Palestinian state failed; and violence and terrorism against Israel from within the Gaza Strip continued. Since then, Hamas has also grown significantly stronger in the military realm.