Hamas Bolsters Its Hold In Gaza
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JERUSALEM, June 13 -- Hamas gunmen consolidated their hold over large swaths of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after attacking military posts controlled by the rival Fatah movement, whose own fighters responded with a daylight raid in the West Bank, broadening the civil strife.
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Security forces from the Hamas Islamist movement took up positions in the Gaza Strip on Friday ahead of possible rallies by the rival Fatah faction, in defiance of a ban imposed after clashes in recent weeks.
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In the month since Hamas took over Gaza, the 1.5 million Palestinians there have become more isolated than ever.
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Hamas kept up rocket fire into Israel on Monday in defiance of a ceasefire call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli threats to escalate military strikes in the Gaza Strip.
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Hamas security forces armed with rifles and clubs beat Fatah supporters trying to hold street prayers to protest the Islamic group's rule in Gaza, witnesses said. Hamas men also assaulted at least seven Palestinian journalists and detained five.
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Hamas declared itself a significant political force after West Bank local election results were announced yesterday. It was the first time the Islamic movement, branded a terrorist
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The militant group Hamas will accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a long-term truce with Israel, a leader said Friday, apparently softening Hamas' hardline stance and boosting hopes for renewed peace efforts after Yasser Arafat's death.
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Preliminary election results from the West Bank indicate the mainstream Fatah faction is leading in the first Palestinian municipal elections since 1976 despite a strong showing by the militant Islamic group Hamas.
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Israeli troops in the West Bank arrested more than 30 senior Hamas members early Thursday, including a Cabinet minister, legislators and mayors &#151; pressing forward with an offensive against the Islamic militant group.
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Israel pounded Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least four fighters, and seized a minister in Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's cabinet, stepping up a campaign against the ruling Islamists.
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Hamas swept seven out of 10 councils in  first-ever Gaza Strip local elections seen as a test of  strength between the Islamic militant group and new President  Mahmoud Abbas, final results showed on Friday.
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Hamas gunmen on Tuesday took up position around the stronghold of the kidnappers of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, as the Islamist movement hinted it could use force to secure the newsman&#39;s release.
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The radical Hamas movement made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results obtained Friday, signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah movement ahead of next month's presidential poll.
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Hamas fighters on Thursday raised the green flags of the Islamist movement over one of the last Gaza City bastions of forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, witnesses said.
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BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip -- Despite promises from Hamas leaders that their victory over rival Fatah forces has ushered in an era of security for the Gaza Strip, residents expressed more concern than hope yesterday about the future of their impoverished coastal territory.
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The Hamas-led government sent its private militia back into the streets of Gaza on Saturday, a day after withdrawing the force to help calm an increasingly bloody standoff with forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today that Israel was strengthening its military presence in the northern Gaza Strip.