EXAMINING THE ISSUE OF HAMAS GOVERNANCE OVER GAZA AND THE END OF THE TWO-STATE PROCESS IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Abstract

The present study examines the sequence of prominent events between 2006 and 2024 through an explanatory approach, focusing on the obstacles to the realization of an independent Palestinian state. The data collection method is documentary. These events coincide with Hamas’s victory in the Palestinian elections, which occurred contrary to expectations and led to Hamas taking control of the executive government. This event became a turning point in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, effectively bringing the process of reconciliation to a complete deadlock. Ultimately, the consequences of this event included the sanctioning of the Palestinian Authority, the Hamas–Fatah civil conflict, and the separation of Gaza from the West Bank. In this study, an attempt is made to explain the causes of the failure of agreements, the roots of intra-Palestinian factional conflict, and the reasons for the failure of mediating initiatives by moderate Arab states, which introduced proposals such as the Riyadh Summit and the Annapolis Conference. Finally, the study examines how the failure of these mediation efforts led to four bloody wars between Gaza and Israel, the last of which occurred on October 7, 2023. The present research emphasizes the necessity of a fundamental revision of international approaches—an approach that goes beyond punitive sanctions and symbolic initiatives and instead relies on transitional justice, Palestinian national unity, and binding pressure on Israel —to enable a sustainable peace that recognizes the historical and human rights of both sides.