Fatah – Hamas battle in Gaza The Fatah – Hamas battle in Gaza , also referred to as Hamas ' takeover of Gaza was a short military conflict between Fatah and Hamas , that took place in the Gaza Strip between 10 and 15 June 2007 . It was a climax in the Fatah – Hamas conflict , centered around the struggle for power , after Fatah lost the parliamentary elections of 2006 . Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip and removed Fatah officials . The battle resulted in the dissolution of the unity government and the " de facto " division of the Palestinian territories into two entities , the West Bank governed by the Palestinian National Authority , and Gaza governed by Hamas . In the preceding periode , the US and Israel apparently strengthened Fatah ' s military power to topple Hamas . The ICRC estimated that at least 118 people were killed and more than 550 wounded during the fighting in the week up to June 15 . Background . Palestinian Authority . The conflict between Fatah and Hamas had been simmering since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 . Ahead the elections , Hamas dropped its 1988 call for the destruction of Israel , but said that it had a " " right to act to regain its rights and end the occupation by using all means , including armed resistance " " as part of " " national liberation " " . A Hamas candidate said that a final decision on whether to recognise Israel would be left to future generations . Following the elections , the Quartet ( United States , Russia , United Nations , and European Union ) conditioned future foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority ( PA ) on the future government ' s commitment to non - violence , recognition of the State of Israel , and acceptance of previous agreements . Hamas rejected these demands . In March 2006 , two months after Hamas ' victory in the elections , the party formed a Hamas dominated government headed by Ismail Haniyeh . The Quartet suspended its foreign assistance program and Israel imposed economic sanctions . The US and Israel attempted to undermine Hamas and force it from power while strengthening the position of President Mahmoud Abbas . Russia invited Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks that were intended " " to move toward a situation in which Hamas is a legitimate and useful part of the Middle East peace process " " . On 6 June 2006 , Haniyeh sent a letter to US president Bush , in which he called on the " " American government to have direct negotiations with the elected government " " , offered a longterm truce with Israel , while accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders . He urged to end the international boycott , because it would " encourage violence and chaos in the whole region " . The US government did not respond and maintained its boycott . The Abbas / Fatah plan to replace the government . Under pressure of the international sanctions , Fatah developed a plan to replace the Hamas government . According to the plan , a " National Unity Government " or a " government of technocrats " would be formed to prepare early presidential and legislative elections . If the establishment of a government meeting the Quartet conditions would fail , President Abbas would announce a state of emergency , dismiss the present cabinet and form an emergency government , or call for early elections . The developers of the plan were aware of the problem that an emergency government legally could govern only for 1 month without PLC " vote of confidence " . The plan supposed a strong enlargement of Fatah ' s " Presidential Guard " , internal reform of Fatah , empowering of presidential institutions , resumption of aid by the international community through the President ’ s Office , and end of the illegal withhold of taxes by Israel . On 8 February 2007 , Saudi - sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced agreement on a national unity government , signed by Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas . The new government was called on to achieve Palestinian national goals as approved by the Palestine National Council , the clauses of the Basic Law and the National Reconciliation Document ( the " Prisoners ' Document " ) as well as the decisions of the Arab summit . On 17 March 2007 , the Palestinian Legislative Council established a national unity government , with 83 representatives voting in favor and three against . Government ministers were sworn in by Abu Mazen , the chairman on the Palestinian Authority , at a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah . The Abbas / Fatah plan to take control of the Gaza Strip by military force backfired in June , when Hamas established a separate government , after forcing out Fatah . British involvement . According to former British intelligence officer Alastair Crooke , the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair decided in 2003 to tie UK and EU security policy in the West Bank and Gaza to a US - led counter - insurgency against Hamas . This lead to an internal policy contradiction that pre - empted the EU from mounting any effective foreign policy on the " peace process " alternative to that of the US . At a political level , the EU " talked the talk " of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas , Palestinian state - building and democracy . At the practical level , the EU " walked the walk " of disruption , detention , seizing finances , and destroying the capabilities of one [ Hamas ] of the two factions and prevented the parliament from exercising any function . MI6 , in conjunction with the British government drew up a secret plan for a wide - ranging crackdown on Hamas . In 2004 , the plan was passed to Jibril Rajoub , a senior Fatah official of the PA . The bulk of the plan has since been carried out . The plan was revealed in the Palestine Papers and leaked to the press in 2011 . Objectives were inter alia : " " Degrading the capabilities of the rejectionists – Hamas , PIJ " [ Palestinian Islamic Jihad ] " and the " [ Fatah - linked ] " Al Aqsa Brigades – through the disruption of their leaderships ' communications and command and control capabilities ; the detention of key middle - ranking officers ; and the confiscation of their arsenals and financial resources " " . The plan further said " " We could also explore the temporary internment of leading Hamas and PIJ figures , making sure they are well - treated , with EU funding " " And : " " This will reduce Hamas ' and PIJ ' s popularity and enhance the ability of the PA to take them on . The Roadmap sets out most of the key requirements of Israel : an end to ' deportations , attacks on civilians , confiscation and / or demolition of Palestinian homes and property . . . ( and ) destruction of Palestinian institutions and infrastructure ' . To these we would add assassinations and construction of the wall / fence within the Occupied Territories . " " The Quartet ' s initial role would be " " to press Arab states to move agressively against Hamas funders and infrastructure on their territory " " . According to Crooke , the Quartet conditions for engagement with Hamas , which the EU had endorsed after the 2006 elections , were conditions raised precisely in order to prevent Hamas from meeting them , rather than as guidelines intended to open the path for diplomatic solutions . Then , British and American intelligence services were preparing a " soft " coup to remove Hamas from power in Gaza . US , Israeli and Arab states involvement . Large part of the US aid to the Palestinian Authority aimed at improving the fighting ability of the Fatah - loyal " Presidential Guard " ( PG ) to counter the strength of Hamas . Israel allowed US training and delivery of light arms . The US insisted that all of its aid to the Presidential Guard is " nonlethal " consisting of training , uniforms , and supplies , as well as paying for better infrastructure at Gaza ' s borders . In November 2006 , the US proposed the Quartet to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas ’ s Palestinian security forces with additional guns and fighters , alarming other Western nations , who saw it as supporting one faction in a " potential " civil war . According to The Times , proposals included doubling the size of Abbas ’ s Presidential Guard and persuading Israel to allow thousands of rifles into Gaza . The US view was characterized by an observer as " ‘ If there is going to be a fight , we might as well make sure the right person wins ’ " According to the IISS , the June escalation was triggered by Hamas ' s conviction that the PA ' s Presidential Guard , loyal to Mahmoud Abbas , was being positioned to take control of Gaza . The US had helped build up the Presidential Guard to 3 , 500 men since August 2006 . The US committed $ 59 million for training and non - lethal equipment for the Presidential Guard , and persuaded Arab allies to fund the purchase of further weapons . Jordan and Egypt hosted at least two battalions for training . Israel , too , allowed light arms to flow to members of the Presidential Guard . In December 2006 , Egypt transferred a large quantity of arms and ammunition to PG in the Gaza Strip , with Israel ' s approval . In January 2007 , US officials expected to ask Congress for nearly $ 100 million in aid to help train and supply his expanding Presidential Guard . The Bush administration and Israel coordinated arms shipments to Abbas ' s forces from Egypt . Combatting parties . The main combatting parties were on one side the Fatah - allied forces , and on the other side the Hamas - allied forces . Major Fatah forces were the " National Security Forces " , notably the " Presidential Guard " . Main force of Hamas was the " Executive Force " . The battle . The major conflict in Gaza surfaced in December 2006 centered on Hamas ' " Executive Force " attempts to control Gaza instead of Fatah . After the re - ignition of the Fatah - Hamas conflict on 10 June 2007 , Hamas militants seized several Fatah members and threw one of them , Mohammed Sweirki , an officer in the elite Palestinian Presidential Guard , off the top of the tallest building in Gaza , a 15 - story apartment building . In retaliation , Fatah militants attacked and killed the imam of the city ' s Great Mosque , Mohammed al - Rifati . They also opened fire on the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya . Just before midnight , a Hamas militant was thrown off a 12 - story building . On 11 June , the residences of both Mahmoud Abbas , Fatah ' s leader and the Palestinian Authority president , and of then - Prime Minister Ismail Haniya , of Hamas , were targeted with gun and shell fire . On 12 June , Hamas began attacking posts held by their Fatah faction rivals . Hundreds of Hamas fighters had moved on the positions after giving their occupants two hours to leave . A major Fatah base in the northern town of Jabaliya fell to Hamas fighters , witnesses told AFP news agency . Heavy fighting also raged around the main Fatah headquarters in Gaza City , with Hamas militants attacking with rocket - propelled grenades and automatic weapons . On 13 June , Hamas seized the headquarters of the Fatah - controlled National Security Forces in northern Gaza . Gunmen fought for control of high - rise buildings serving as sniper positions and Hamas said it had bulldozed a Fatah outpost controlling Gaza ' s main north - south road . Also on that day , an explosion wrecked the Khan Younis headquarters of the Fatah - linked Preventive Security Service , killing five people . On 14 June , Hamas gunmen completed the takeover of the central building of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service ' s headquarters in the Gaza Strip . The Hamas members took over vehicles and weapons in the compound , which was considered the Palestinian Authority ' s main symbol in the Strip . The Preventive Security Service cooperated with Israel in the past , and has been armed by the United States . It has been identified with Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan , who has become a figure hated by the Islamists in Gaza . The gunmen who entered the compound held a prayer there and waved a flag on the building ' s rooftop . At least 10 people were killed . Hamas TV broadcast a display of weapons inside the building , as well as jeeps , mortar shells and bulletproof vest s seized in the compound , which according to Hamas , were smuggled to Fatah by Israel and the Americans in the past few months through the border with Egypt . Hamas members held a prayer in the compound , which they referred to as the " heresy compound . " Hamas also changed the name of the neighborhood where the building is located from " Tel al - Hawa " to " Tel al - Islam . " On the afternoon of 14 June , the Associated Press reported an explosion that rocked Gaza City . According to Fatah officials , security forces withdrew from their post and blew it up in order to not let Hamas take it over . The security forces afterwards repositioned to another location . Later on 14 June , Hamas also took control of the southern Gaza Strip city Rafah which lies near an already closed border crossing with Egypt , which is monitored by Israeli , Palestinian and European Union security forces . The EU staff had , at that time , already been relocated to the Israeli city of Ashkelon for safety reasons . On 14 June Abbas dissolved the Palestinian - Hamas unity government , on June 15 , Hamas completed the control over Gaza . Military coup . As a result of the battle , Hamas got complete control of Gaza . The pro - Fatah view is , that it was a plain military coup by Hamas . The pro - Hamas view is , that the US drew up a plan to arm Fatah cadres with the aim of forcefully removing Hamas from power in Gaza . According to the pro - Hamas view , Fatah fighters , led by strongman Mohammed Dahlan with logistical support from the US Central Intelligence Agency , were planning to carry out a bloody coup against Hamas . Then , Hamas pre - emptively took control over Gaza . In an April 2008 article in Vanity Fair magazine , the journalist David Rose published confidential documents , apparently originating from the US State Department , which would prove that the United States collaborated with the Palestinian Authority and Israel to attempt the violent overthrow of Hamas in the Gaza Strip , and that Hamas pre - empted the coup . The documents suggest that a government with Hamas should meet the demands of the Middle East Quartet , otherwise President Mahmoud Abbas should declare a " state of emergency " , which effectively would dissolve the current unity government , or the government should collapse by other means . Rose quotes former Vice President Dick Cheney ’ s chief Middle East adviser David Wurmser , accusing the Bush administration of “ engaging in a dirty war in an effort to provide a corrupt dictatorship [ led by Abbas ] with victory . ” He believes that Hamas had no intention of taking Gaza until Fatah forced its hand . “ It looks to me that what happened wasn ’ t so much a coup by Hamas but an attempted coup by Fatah that was pre - empted before it could happen ” Division of government . On 14 June 2007 , Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the current unity government and the declaration of a state of emergency . Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya was dismissed , and Abbas ruled Gaza and the West Bank by presidential decree . Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded by declaring that President Abbas ' decision was " in practical terms . . . worthless " , asserting that Mr . Haniya " remains the head of the government even if it was dissolved by the president " . Experts in Palestinian law and independent members of the PLC have questioned the legality of the Fayyad government . According to the Palestinian Basic Law , the President can dismiss the Prime Minister but the dismissed government continues to function as a caretaker government until a new government is formed and receives a vote of confidence from an absolute majority of the Palestinian Legislative Council . To date , the Hamas - majority PLC has yet to meet and confirm the Fayyad government . As a result of the conflict , the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority was " de facto " divided into two entities : the Hamas - controlled government of the Gaza Strip , and the West Bank , governed by the Palestinian National Authority . On 18 June key international powers , including the EU , US and Israel showed public support for the new administration without Hamas . The EU and US normalized the tie to the Palestinian National Authority and resumed direct aid . Israel announced it would return frozen tax revenue of about USD800m to the new administration . Violations of international law . Human Rights Watch accused both sides with violations of international humanitarian law , in some cases amounting to war crimes . The accusations include the targeting and killing of civilians , public executions of political opponents and captives , throwing prisoners off high - rise apartment buildings , fighting in hospitals , and shooting from a jeep marked with " TV " insignias . The International Committee of the Red Cross has denounced attacks in and around two hospitals in the northern part of the Gaza strip . During the fighting several incidents of looting took place : a crowd took furniture , wall tiles and personal belongings from the villa of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ; the home of former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan was also looted : " An AFP correspondent witnessed dozens of Palestinians taking everything they could carry from Dahlan ' s villa – furniture , pot plants and even the kitchen sink , complete with plumbing fixtures such as taps , " ; and at the Muntada , Abbas ' s seafront presidential compound , witnesses reported seeing Hamas fighters remove computers , documents and guns . Aftermath . Blockade . After the takeover , Israel and Egypt began a blockade of the Gaza Strip . The border would not reopen until the breach of the Gaza - Egypt border in 2008 . Possible religious consequences . A Hamas spokesman in Gaza , Fouzi Barhoum , said earlier that Hamas was imposing Islamic law in Gaza but this was denied by exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal . Sheik Abu Saqer , leader of Jihadia Salafiya , an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a " military wing " to enforce Muslim law in Gaza . " I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes . They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza . " The sole Christian bookstore in Gaza was attacked and the owner murdered . Weapons . Hamas has captured thousands of small arms and eight armored combat vehicles supplied by the United States , Egypt , and Jordan to the Palestinian Authority . According to Muhammad Abdel - El of the Hamas - allied Popular Resistance Committees , Hamas and its allies have captured quantities of foreign intelligence , including CIA files . Abu Abdullah of Hamas ' " military wing " , the Izz ad - Din al - Qassam Brigades , claims Hamas will make portions of the documents public , in a stated attempt to expose covert relations between the United States and " traitor " Arab countries . While Hamas collected most of the 15 , 000 weapons registered to the former security forces , it failed to collect more than a fraction of the 400 , 000 weapons that are in the hands of various clans , and said that it would not touch weapons used for fighting Israel , only those that might be used against Hamas .