Edited sentence: Citing the fact that Hamas only increased the violence after settlements were removed from Hamas-controlled Gaza, and contrasting that to the experience that settlements in Egypt's Sinai were not an "obstacle" to Israel's peace with Egypt that has lasted since 1979, despite that these settlements were dismantled only after peace with Egypt was concluded, as well as citing the fact that Fatah leaders (West Bank/PLO) rejected Israel's 2000 and 2008 offers to withdraw dozens of settlements and to withdraw from more than 93% of the West Bank respectively, advocates of settlements contend that historically, settlements have not been the real "obstacle" to peace