Gaza Strip had broken out in Gaza when, apparently under a U.S.-backed plan, Fatah contested Hamas’s administration. Hamas emerged the victor and expelled Fatah-allied officials and members of the PA's security apparatus from the Strip, and has remained the sole governing power in Gaza since that date. Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire, before it was occupied by the United Kingdom (1918–1948), Egypt (1948–1967), and then Israel, which in 1994 granted the Palestinian Authority in Gaza limited self-governance through the Oslo Accords. Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been "de facto" governed by Hamas, which claims to represent the Palestinian National
Blockade of the Gaza Strip Israel argues that it is not legally responsible for Gaza beyond whatever is necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis. A US Congressional Research Service report claimed 'While there are differing views in Israel concerning the Gaza blockade ... most Israelis equate security with survival and peace. Israel's leaders appear to believe that the blockade of the Gaza Strip [among other security and deterrence measures], have brought about a quiet. ... As of the date of the Gaza flotilla incident, no Israeli had been killed in a terrorist or in a cross-border rocket attack in more than a year. Therefore, the