Here’s a bit of Middle East history, for context; few seem to know or remember how the Islamic Resistance Movement (Harakat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmiyyah, a.k.a. Hamas) came to govern Gaza unilaterally, separate from the West Bank under the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)/Palestinian Authority (PA), which is dominated by the secular-nationalist political party Fatah.
Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after winning the Battle of Gaza (7–15 June 2007), a civil war in which Palestinians fought Palestinians. (Some of the fighting spilled over into the West Bank.)
There had long been tensions and violence between Hamas and Fatah since Hamas’s election victory in Gaza in 2005, which worsened and culminated in the Battle of Gaza, and the fall of the National Unity Government.
After the battle, Hamas carried out a cleanup; Fatah combatants, members and officials were taken as prisoners; some were tortured, publicly tortured, executed (including throwing Fatah members off buildings), or expelled.
See the AP Archive video: Gaza – Fatah-Hamas: The Battle for Gaza:
–RdM