Who are the key combatants in Gaza?
• The Fatah party and its security forces: the Presidential Guard and National Security Forces. • The Hamas party and its security forces: the Executive Force and the Police and Preventative Security. • Armed militias which are offshoots of Fatah and Hamas. These include the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades respectively.2. What is the Fatah party? Founded in 1957 by the late Yasser Arafat, Fatah is a secular political party whose goal is to establish a Palestinian state. In spite of Hamas’ recent surge in popularity, Fatah remains the most powerful constituent organization within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority – the governing body in the occupied West Bank and Gaza – is a member of Fatah. Its members hold 42 out of the 132 seats within the Palestinian Legislative Council. There are two main security forces affiliated with Fatah: • The Presidential Guard which consists of up to 5,000 personnel, an
