In 2007, we stood on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing , where we tried and failed to get into the Gaza Strip. Inside, a Palestinian civil war was taking place, pitting political and philosophical rivals Hamas and Fatah against each other. After a succession of assassinations, kidnappings and street battles, Hamas took complete control of Gaza, and for the first time in its history, had to figure out how to run a government. In 2011, when the post-Mubarak government of Egypt decided to start letting small numbers of folks into Gaza through their Rafah crossing, we knew it was our chance to finally get a rare glimpse of the embattled Gaza Strip and to see what life was like under the rule of Hamas.