One year on tensions in the Middle East: Hamas attack the biggest escalation in decades
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00:00 September saw clashes between the Israeli military and protesters in the border region
00:04 of the Gaza Strip.
00:07 Protesting the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, the demonstrators had the support
00:11 of Hamas.
00:12 But the main flashpoint in tensions this year did not involve ruling Hamas, but a rival
00:17 nationalist faction, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
00:22 The two sides exchanged fire for five days, a conflict that killed dozens of Palestinians
00:27 and one Israeli.
00:29 Last month in a show of unity, 12 militant nationalist factions held joint military drills
00:33 in Gaza, among them Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
00:38 In power since 2007, Hamas governs the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
00:44 does not seek critical power but military confrontation with Israel.
00:48 Both are classed as terrorist organisations by the US and EU.
00:52 This at a time when Israel has been rocked by months of mass protests over a planned
00:56 judicial reform, which has sown division throughout the society and even threats of rebellion
01:02 within the ranks of the military.
01:04 Israel abandoned its settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005 after a 38-year occupation,
01:10 and two years later imposed a blockade on the territory which has been in place ever
01:14 since.
01:15 Of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza, more than half live below the poverty
01:20 line.
01:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]