Blockade of the Gaza Strip the recognition of Israel, disavowal violent actions, and acceptance the previous agreements between Israel and the PA. In March 2007, Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government headed by Ismail Haniya. Shortly after, in June, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip during the Battle of Gaza. Hamas seized government institutions and replaced Fatah and other government officials with Hamas members. Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely closed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled the Strip and was no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side. Egypt was worried that Hamas
Gaza Strip settlements in Gaza, comprising 20% of the total territory. The economic growth rate from 1967 to 1982 averaged roughly 9.7 percent per annum, due in good part to expanded income from work opportunities inside Israel, which had a major utility for the latter by supplying the country with a large reserve of unskilled and semi-skilled manpower. Gaza's agricultural sector was adversely affected as one-third of the Strip was appropriated by Israel, competition for scarce water resources stiffened, and the lucrative cultivation of citrus declined with the advent of Israeli policies, such as prohibitions on planting new trees and taxation that