Hamas's 'Executive Force' gains strength in Gaza
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They call themselves the "Executive Force" of the Hamas-led government. Rivals prefer "Black Militia" or "Peshmerga" -- a word that literally means "those who face death" but is used by some Gazans for a gun-for-hire.
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Hamas says it has taken full control of Gaza, hours after Palestinian President Abbas declared an emergency.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank  - Hamas Islamic militants  scored significant successes in Palestinian municipal  elections, the first contested by the group sworn to Israel's  destruction, initial results showed on Friday.
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HAMAS has won significant victories in local elections in the West Bank, the first to have been contested by the Islamic militant movement that is sworn to see Israelâs destruction.
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The ruling Hamas faction deployed armed militants in key parts of the Gaza Strip on Friday, one day after it accused rival Fatah forces of trying to kill Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas sources said.
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Hamas' seizure of the Gaza Strip could be a hollow victory. With Israel in control of Gaza's borders and the international community likely to shun it in favor of the Fatah-controlled West Bank, Hamas will have a hard time providing for the impoverished strip's 1.4 million inhabitants.
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GAZA CITY -- Hamas gunmen attacked bases of Fatah-allied troops with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades early yesterday , part of a four-day campaign by the Islamic militants to weaken the security forces loyal to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
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Abbas dissolves the government, but  Hamas now controls Gaza. For Israel, the choice is between trying to reverse that reality, or dealing  with the Islamists
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The move was an effort to support the emergency government of Mahmoud Abbas after the Muslim militants of Hamas seized control of Gaza 10 days ago.
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Hamas Islamist fighters and forces loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas battled on Wednesday for control of the Gaza Strip in an escalating Palestinian supremacy struggle he described as "madness".
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A little travel has gone a long way toward changing perceptions in Gaza.
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JERUSALEM -- Hamas gunmen consolidated their hold over large swaths of the Gaza Strip yesterday after attacking military posts controlled by the rival Fatah movement, whose own fighters responded with a daylight raid in the West Bank, broadening the civil strife.
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The Hamas-led government is open to the idea of joining a Palestinian task force that would support negotiations with Israel, the deputy prime minister from Hamas said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.
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Militant group Hamas makes a strong showing in Palestinian local council elections in the West Bank.
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Armored vehicles massed on Gaza's border Friday after Israel's security Cabinet approved a large-scale military operation - codenamed "Days of Penitence" - to stop Palestinian rocket fire.    Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz had ordered troops to "exact a price" from the militants, security officials said, after a Hamas rocket killed two children, ages 2 and 4, in an Israeli border town...
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Tens of thousands of Hamas members crammed into a Gaza stadium on Friday in a show of support for the movement's government after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened this week to dissolve the administration.
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BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip  - Palestinians voted on  Thursday in the first municipal elections in the Gaza Strip, a  test of strength between new President Mahmoud Abbas and the  militant Hamas group.