The Gaza Strip : its history and politics : from the pharaohs to the Israeli invasion of 2009 / Nathan Shachar.

The setting : geography, climate, wildlife, and ecology -- Egyptians, Hebrew and Philistines -- Persians, Greeks and Romans -- Freedom of religion and the rise of Christianity -- Arabs and Crusaders, 634-1193 -- Tartars, Mongols and Mamluks -- Ottoman Conquest and rule, 1517-1918 -- The British Conquest and mandate, 1917-1948 -- The Nakba and the first Arab-Israeli War: the all-Palestine government of Gaza, 1947-1950 -- Egyptian military rule, 1948-1967 -- Israeli conquest and occupation, 1967-1971 -- Ariel Sharon's "dirty war": the beginning of Jewish settlement, 1971-1972 -- The quiet years, 1972-1986 -- The outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising, December 1987 -- Economic warfare and the rise of Islamism, 1987-1991 -- Hardship, delusion and desperation: the First Gulf War, 1990-1991 -- Failure at Madrid and success at Oslo, 1991-1993 -- High hopes and new dangers, 1994-1995 -- Exit Rabin, enter Likud, 1995-1999 -- Barak's gamble and the second Palestinian uprising, 1999-2001 -- The return of Sharon: the destruction of Palestinian self-rule, 2001-2003 -- The death of Yasser Arafat: the evacuation of the strip, 2003-2005 -- Sharon's departure: the Hamas election triumph, 2005-2006 -- Civil War and the Hamas takeover, 2007 -- Operation "cast lead", 2008-2009 -- Epilogue: an ideological war of nerves and prestige.

Includes bibliographical references and index.