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The latest bout of intra-Palestinian fighting culminated June 15 in the Gaza Strip, where at least 200 Fatah police fled, the Egyptian diplomatic mission was evacuated and Hamas forces gained de facto full security control.
Hamas and Fatah, the two dominant factions within the Palestinian National Authority, have been struggling for supremacy for years. Hamas is the newcomer, having been an Islamist militant organization that gradually eased into political life; it managed to take control of the government in elections in early 2006. Fatah, formed by the late Yasser Arafat, is the more established and secular of the two factions. Hamas has always been stronger in Gaza -- and Fatah stronger in the West Bank -- and now Hamas' control over Gaza is complete.
The political strategies and organizational quirks of all of the players in this drama are as complex as they are convoluted, but luckily there are some clear points available for digestion. The three major players -- Hamas, Fatah and Israel -- have their own sets of very clear strategic goals they will be working to achieve in the days ahead that will shape the political future of the southern Levant for years.
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