Thread by @PorazDan

Now with the ceasefire, its important to remember that the fighting began 11 days ago, with Hamas taking a decision to fire rockets at Israel's capital.
Also important to refute claims that Hamas fired because of "the occupation".
There is no occupation in #Gaza.
THREAD >>

On September 2005, the Israeli government carried out a FULL withdrawal, both military and civil, from the #Gaza Strip.
The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ended a 38 year long Israeli presence in the strip >>

Jews have been living in #Gaza for centuries. Some of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 joined the already established Jewish community in Gaza >>

A 6th century AD synagogue was discovered in #Gaza in 1965. In ‘67 Gaza fell under Israeli control and the ancient synagogue was used as a visitor center. In ‘94, as part of Oslo Accords, governance over Gaza went to the PLO and Jews were forbidden from visiting the synagogue >>

Jewish presence in #Gaza brutally ended in 1929 after violent riots forced all Jews to flee the city >>

The 1929 anti-Jewish riots weren't limited to #Gaza. Jews were murdered in Jerusalem, Tz’fat, Tel Aviv and Haifa. In Hebron it was the worst with 67 Jews murdered by an incited Arab mob. Here’s a testimony from a 92 year old Palestinian woman who remembers >>

In 1967, Israel gained control over the Egyptian territory of the #Gaza Strip. The first Israeli settlement in the strip was founded in 1973. Over the years, 21 different villages, agricultural communities and Kibbutzim were established, most in the southern part of the strip >>

For 38 years, these communities, known as the ‘Gush Katif’ block, had a flourishing economy, especially in the agricultural industry.
Gush Katif farmers had thousands of greenhouses, producing around 140 million dollars worth of agricultural produce annually >>

The Gush Katif agricultural industry also provided livelihood to thousands of Palestinians from #Gaza and their families. The greenhouses were working places where Jews and Arabs coexisted in real life >>

On the eve of the disengagement from #Gaza, there were 8,600 Jews living in the 21 different communities in the Strip.
During August 2005, they were all evacuated from their homes in what turned to be one of the biggest traumas in modern Jewish History >>

This time, the ethnic cleansing of thousands of Jews from the area, was not a result of pogroms or violence but rather done by the Israeli government out of the belief that the move was a right step towards a peaceful future.
It wasn’t.
📷 Oded Balilty >>

As a gesture of good will and out of hope for prosperity for the people of #Gaza, the Israeli decision was to leave the thousands of greenhouses intact.
Hours after the withdrawal, Palestinian mobs stormed all that remained, including all greenhouses.
Everything was ravaged >>

After the IDF withdrew all forces out of the strip (11/9/05), the Palestinian Authority started having trouble controlling armed militias in #Gaza, namely #Hamas and #PIJ.
Violent clashes between Palestinian policemen and Hamas militants began to be more frequent >>

On January 2006 the Palestinian Authority had, for the first time since 1996, parliamentary elections.
#Hamas, a genocidal terror organization who’s stated goal is to destroy Israel, won an overwhelming majority of seats.
There haven’t been elections since >>

The tensions between Abbas’s Fatah, and #Hamas, increased further after the elections.
In June 2007, Hamas seized control over #Gaza after a violent military coup during which hundreds of Palestinians, from both sides, were killed.
Hamas has ruled Gaza ever since >>

Since then, many thousands of rockets have been fired from #Gaza at Israeli communities, towns and cities.
Hamas has forced Israel into 4 military operations: in 2008, 2012, 2014 and recently now. The operations had weakened Hamas, but failed in crippling its rocket apparatus >>

#Hamas has been ruling #Gaza, with its population of two million, for 14 years now.
Apart from enhancing poverty, misery and despair among the people of Gaza, it has achieved absolutely NOTHING.
END THREAD.