How will America and Israel deal with this new development? The International Herald Tribune reported:"For two years, the
United States try to choke off Hamas, the militant Islamic group that has been ascendant in Gaza and the West Bank, while throwing limited aid and support Fatah.
The Hamas victors has arrogantly proclaimed a new era of Islamic rule in Gaza, overturning Fatah's more secular rule. The future looks bleak for
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who, now effectively exiled to the West Bank, was forced to dissolve the government and weakly call for new elections. Hamastan appears to be the new reality in Gaza, with Fatah in control in the West Bank.
How Israel will react is another matter. If Hamas continues its cross-border rocket and other attacks against Israeli settlements, military intervention seems almost certain-- especially since the Israelis will no longer be constrained by concerns about undermining the authority of President Abbas.
Hamas Islamic hardliners now dominate the Gaza Strip after a short and bloody showdown with Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction. Recall that Israel voluntarily left Gaza in 2005 and the next day Palestinians burned down four synagogues in abandoned Jewish settlements.