Everything about Hamas totally explained
Ḥamas (; acronym:, or
Ḥarakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or "Islamic Resistance Movement" is a
Palestinian Sunni Islamist
Hamas was created in 1987 by Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin of the
Gaza wing of the
Muslim Brotherhood at the beginning of the
First Intifada. While its military wing is known for multiple
suicide bombings and other attacks directed against civilians and
Israeli military and security forces targets, Hamas also runs extensive social services throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian
Islamic state in the area that's now Israel, the
West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip. Although Hamas claims its conflict with
Israel is political and not religious a charge the organisation itself rejects.
Hamas is listed as a
terrorist organization by
Canada,
Israel,
Japan, and the
United States, and is banned in
Jordan.
Australia and the
United Kingdom list only the military wing of Hamas, the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organization. The
European Union lists Hamas as a group 'involved in terrorist attacks' and has implemented restrictive measures against Hamas.
Since the death of
Palestine Liberation Organization leader
Yasser Arafat, Hamas's political wing has won many local elections in Gaza,
Qalqilya, and
Nablus. In January 2006, Hamas won a surprise victory in the Palestinian
parliamentary elections, taking 76 of the 132 seats in the chamber, while the ruling
Fatah party took 43. The Hamas charter states: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through
Jihad," and this stance has found a receptive audience among Palestinians; many perceived the preceding Fatah government as corrupt and ineffective, and Hamas's supporters see it as an "
armed resistance" movement defending Palestinians from the
Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territories. However, since Hamas's election victory, particularly sharp infighting has occurred between Hamas and Fatah, leading to many Palestinian deaths.
Following the
Battle for Gaza in June 2007, elected Hamas officials were ousted from their positions in the
Palestinian National Authority government in the
West Bank, replaced by rival
Fatah members and independents. On June 18, 2007, Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas (
Fatah) issued a decree outlawing the Hamas militia and executive force.
(External Link
)(External Link)
According to the
US State Department, the group is funded by
Saudi Arabia,
Iran, Palestinian expatriates, and private benefactors in other Arab states. The initial consonant isn't the ordinary /h/ of English, but a slightly more rasping sound, the
voiceless pharyngeal fricative transcribed as <ḥ>.
The military wing of Hamas, formed in 1992, is known as the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to commemorate Sheikh
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the father of modern Arab resistance, killed by the British in 1935. Armed Hamas cells also sometimes refer to themselves as "Students of Ayyash", "Students of the Engineer", or "Yahya Ayyash Units", to commemorate
Yahya Ayyash, an early Hamas bomb-maker killed in 1996.
History
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founded Hamas in 1987 as an offshoot him of
Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood. The acronym "Hamas" first appeared in 1987 in a leaflet that accused the Israeli
intelligence services of undermining the moral fiber of Palestinian youth as part of
Mossad's recruitment of what Hamas termed "
collaborators". The
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military branch, was created in 1992, a year before the
Oslo Accords.
During the 1990s and 2000s it became best known in the
Western world for its
suicide bombings and other attacks directed against civilians, including the
Dolphinarium and the
Passover suicide bombings.
On
January 26 2004, senior Hamas official
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi offered a 10-year truce, or
hudna, in return for a complete withdrawal by Israel from the
territories captured in the
Six Day War, and the establishment of a Palestinian state (it remade the same offer after winning the majority in the
PLC, accepting the 2002
Arab Peace Initiative). Hamas leader Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin stated that the group could accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Rantissi confirmed that Hamas had come to the conclusion that it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation." He said the truce could last 10 years, though "not more than 10 years".
From the time of an attack on the Israeli southern town of
Be'er Sheva in August 2004, in which 15 people were killed and 125 wounded, the truce was generally observed. Hamas violated once, in August 2005, with an attack on the same bus station, wounding seven. Also in 2005, a group claiming to be aligned with Hamas were involved in several attacks on Israelis in the Hebron area of the West Bank, killing six.
While Hamas had boycotted the
January 2005 presidential election, during which
Mahmoud Abbas was elected to replace
Yasser Arafat, it did participate in the
municipal elections held between January and May 2005, in which it took control of
Beit Lahia and
Rafah in the Gaza Strip and
Qalqilyah in the West Bank. The
January 2006 legislative elections marked another victory for Hamas, which gained the majority of seats in the first fair and democratic elections held in Palestine, defeating the ruling
Fatah party. The "List of Change and Reform", as Hamas presented itself, obtained 42.9% of the vote and 74 of the 132 seats.
Hamas omitted its call for the destruction of Israel from its election manifesto, calling instead for "the establishment of an independent state whose capital is
Jerusalem."
On February 13, 2006, in an interview in Russian newspaper
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the same Khaled Mashal declared that if Israel wants "peace", it must recognize the 1967 borders, withdraw itself from all
Palestinian occupied territories (including the West Bank and
East Jerusalem) and recognize Palestinian rights that would include the "right of return". Mashal wouldn't acknowledge the
Road map for peace, adopted by the Quartet in June 2003, because "The problem isn't Hamas' stance, but Israel's stance. It is in fact not honoring the Road Map". The Road map projected the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in 2005.
In May 2006, during demonstrations in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip in support of Hamas and agains US-led sanctions, Hamas leaders threatened a new Intifada, as well as to "chop off" the head of anyone who tried to bring down their cabinet. Furthermore, Hamas took a flexible stance that renewed support for the 2002 Arab peace initiative offering to restore normal relations with Israel in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state.
After the formation of the Hamas cabinet on March 20, 2006, tensions have progressively risen in the Gaza strip between Fatah and Hamas militants, leading to demonstrations and violence, along with repeated attempts at a truce.
On
June 27,
2006 Hamas and
Fatah reached an agreement which included the forming of a national unity government. On
February 8,
2007, Hamas and Fatah signed a deal to end
factional warfare that had killed nearly 200 Palestinians and to form a coalition, hoping this would lead Western powers to lift crippling sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led government.
The events leading to the
2006 Israel-Gaza conflict began on
June 9,
2006. During an Israeli artillery operation,
an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians.
It was initially assumed that Israeli shellings were responsible for the killings, although Israeli government officials later denied this. Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month
ceasefire on
June 10, taking responsibility for the subsequent Qassam rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.
(External Link)
On
June 29, Israel captured 64 Hamas officials. Amongst them were eight
Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and up to twenty members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council, as well as heads of regional councils, and the mayor of
Qalqilyah and his deputy. At least a third of the Hamas cabinet was captured and held by Israel.
On
6 August Israeli forces detained the Hamas'
Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council,
Aziz Dweik, at his home in the West Bank.
In June, renewed fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah. As of
June 14,
2007, the current Palestinian government has been dissolved. President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government.
(External Link).
There was a brief war in which
Hamas seized control of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority was effectively split in two: Hamas controlling of Gaza and Fatah controlling the West Bank. It is reported that violence continued as of
June 16th, 2007.
Leaders of Hamas and Fatah met in the
Yemeni capital
San‘a’ on
23 March,
2008 and agreed to the tentative "Sana'a Declaration" to resume concillatory talks.
Beliefs
Founded in 1987, Hamas was the
Gaza Strip affiliate of the
Islamic
Muslim Brotherhood movement founded in Egypt.
Hamas, whose members largely come from the squalid refugee camps of Gaza from persons displaced from Israel's 1948 war of independence, has been far less accommodating with the occupation than has their competitor Fatah, with one Hamas parliamentarian denouncing the 1993
Oslo Accords as "not a peace process" and "a process of deception and cheating, lies which enabled Israel to truncate our homeland with settlements, separation walls, roadblocks, and closed military zones." In 2004 Hamas offered a 10-year truce, or
hudna, in exchange for several conditions including a complete withdrawal from
Israeli-occupied territories (
see below) this call was also mentioned in an interview with Hamas leader
Khaled Meshaal in
Foreign Policy Magazine, Meshaal stated that
"Hamas is prepared to offer a hudna [broadcease-fire] to Israel if it [Israel] withdraws from the lands occupied in 1967 and respects all the Palestinian rights."
Hamas considers all of pre-1948 Palestine to be the Palestinian homeland. This includes present-day State of Israel — as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — as an inalienable Islamic
waqf or religious bequest, which can never be surrendered to
non-Muslims. It asserts that struggle (
jihad) to regain control of the land from Israel is the religious duty of every Muslim (
fard `ain).
Hamas doesn't recognize Israel as a sovereign state, unlike the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which recognizes it since 1988. Its charter calls for an end to Israel. During the election campaign, Hamas didn't mention its call for the destruction of Israel in its electoral manifesto. But several Hamas candidates insist that the charter is still in force and often called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" in campaign speeches. On January 25, 2006, after winning the Palestinian elections, Hamas leader
Mahmoud al-Zahar gave an interview to
Al-Manar TV denouncing foreign demands that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist. After the establishment of Hamas government, Dr Al-Zahar stated his "dreams of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which doesn't show Israel on it...I hope that our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine (including Israel). This dream will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there's no place for the state of Israel on this land". He also "didn't rule out the possibility of having Jews, Muslims and Christians living under the sovereignty of an Islamic state, adding that the Palestinians never hated the Jews and that only the Israeli occupation was their enemy".
Hamas's charter calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic Republic in their historic homeland of Palestine, in place of Israel. Hamas sees this view as an Islamic religious duty and prophesy that comes directly from
Hadith. In 1999, late Hamas co-founder
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin mentioned the year 2027 as the possible date for the "disappearance" of Israel. The group hasn't issued a clear statement about how it would deal with the current population of Israel, should it succeed in overthrowing Israeli and secular Palestinian government.
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, one of its co-founders, stated that the movement's goal is "to remove Israel from the map". On
February 13,
2005, Hamas leader
Khaled Mashal declared that Hamas would stop
armed struggle against Israel if Israel recognized the
1967 borders, withdrew from all Palestinian territories and accept the demand for Palestinian "
Right of Return" (
see below).
According to the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Hamas views the
Arab-Israeli conflict as "a religious struggle between
Islam and
Judaism that can only be resolved by the destruction of the State of Israel".. Hamas uses both political activities and violence to pursue its goal of establishing an Islamic
Palestinian state in place of Israel and the secular
Palestinian Authority. Israeli military operations during the
al-Aqsa Intifada in 2002 put pressure on Hamas in the West Bank following several bombings in Israel for which Hamas claimed responsibility. Hamas has also engaged in peaceful political activities, including running candidates in West Bank
Chamber of commerce elections.
During the election campaign the organization toned down criticism of Israel in its election manifesto, stating only that it was prepared to use "armed resistance to end the occupation".
The slogan of Hamas is "God is its target,
the Prophet is its model, the
Qur'an its
constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of God is the loftiest of its wishes." Hamas states that its objective is to support the oppressed and wronged and "to bring about justice and defeat injustice, in word and deed." Hamas believes that "the land of Palestine is an Islamic
Waqf (trust) consecrated for future Muslim generations until
Judgement Day," and as such, the land can't be negotiated away by any political leader. Hamas rejects "so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences" as "in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement", stating "there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through
Jihad".
The Possibility of a Ceasefire with Israel
Hamas omitted its call for the destruction of Israel from its election manifesto, calling instead for "the establishment of an independent state whose capital is
Jerusalem." On
February 8, Hamas head
Khaled Mashal speaking in Cairo had clarified that "Anyone who thinks Hamas will change is wrong", stating that while Hamas is willing for a ceasefire with Israel, its long term goal remains: Israel must withdraw from all land occupied in 1967.
On February 13, 2006, in an interview in Russian newspaper
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Mashal declared that Hamas would stop armed struggle against Israel if it recognized the 1967 borders, withdrew itself from all
Palestinian occupied territories (including the West Bank and
East Jerusalem) and recognized Palestinian rights that would include the "right of return". He reaffirmed this stance in a March 5, 2008 interview with
Al Jazeera English, citing Hamas's signing of the
2005 Cairo Declaration and the
National Reconciliation Document, and denied any rejectionist stance. Critics of this offer suggest that Israel would never accept the Palestinian refugees right of return, as it would create a demographic majority to Muslims in Israel, and thus cancel its Jewish nature. Hamas doesn't feel bound by the "Road Map to Peace" promoted by the
Diplomatic Quartet, since in its view Israel isn't abiding by it. Hamas rejects the establishment of a "Palestinian entity [...] with no true sovereignty, whose principal duty is to maintain Israel's security." Hamas also declared a unilateral ceasefire with Israel which, after Israeli air strikes in response to Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza, was formally renounced.
According to the New York Times Steven Erlanger, Hamas excludes the possibility of long term reconciliation with Israel. "Since the Prophet Muhammad made a temporary
hudna, or truce, with the Jews about 1,400 years ago, Hamas allows the idea. But no one in Hamas says he'd make a peace treaty with Israel or permanently give up any part of Palestine."
(External Link). Mkhaimer Abusada, a political scientist at Al Azhar University explains that “They (Hamas) talk of
hudna, not of peace or reconciliation with Israel. They believe over time that'll be strong enough to liberate all historic Palestine.”
(External Link)
On April 21st, 2008, former U.S. President and 2002
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Jimmy Carter met with Hamas Leader
Khaled Meshal and reached an agreement that Hamas will respect the creation of a Palestinian state in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip areas seized by Israel in the
Six-Day War of 1967, provided this be ratified by the Palestinian people in a referendum. Carter had made several other requests, but these were turned down. Hamas later announced publicly an offer for a 10 year
hudna with Israel, should they decide to return to their 1967 borders and allow the return of all Palestinian refugees. Several nations originally rejected the plan, but Israel is yet to respond.
The Covenant of Hamas
The 1988 (or Charter) states that the organization's goal is to "raise the banner of
God over every inch of Palestine," in order to establish an
Islamic Republic.
The thirty-six articles of the Covenant detail the movement's Islamist beliefs regarding the primacy of Islam in all aspects of life. The Covenant identifies Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and considers its members to be Muslims who "fear God and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors." Hamas describes resisting and quelling the enemy as the individual duty of every Muslim and prescribes vigilant roles for all members of society; including men and women, professionals, scientists and students.
The Covenant outlines the organization's position on various issues, including social and economic development and ideological influences, education, as well as its position regarding Israel. Amongst many other things, it reiterates the group's rejection of the coexistence principle of the
peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Activities
Provision of social welfare and education
Hamas is particularly popular among Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip, though it also has a following in the
West Bank, and to a lesser extent in other Middle Eastern countries. Since its formation in 1987, Hamas has conducted numerous social, political, and military actions. Its popularity stems in part from its
welfare and social services to Palestinians in the
occupied territories, including school and hospital construction. The group devotes much of its estimated $70 million annual budget to an extensive social services network, running many relief and education programs, and funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues. According to the Israeli scholar
Reuven Paz "approximately 90 percent of the organization's work is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities".
In 1973, the Islamic center 'Mujamma' was established in Gaza and started to offer clinics, blood banks, day care, medical treatment, meals and youth clubs. The centre plays an important role for providing social care to the people, particularly those living in refugee camps. It also extended financial aid and scholarships to young people who wanted to study in Saudi Arabia and the West.
In particular, Hamas funded health services where people could receive free or inexpensive medical treatment. Hamas greatly contributed to the health sector, and facilitated hospital and physician services in the Palestinian territory. On the other hand, Hamas’s use of hospitals is sometimes criticised as purportedly serving the promotion of suicide bombings and other forms of violence against Israel.
Hamas also funded education as well as the health service, and built Islamic charities, libraries, mosques, education centers for women. They also built nurseries, kindergartens and supervised religious schools that provide free meals to children. When children attend their schools and mosques, parents are required to sign oaths of allegiance.
Refugees, as well as those left without homes, are able to claim financial and technical assistance from Hamas.
In any case, Hamas has significantly increased literacy in areas where it's active. Hamas also funds a number of other charitable activities, primarily in the Gaza Strip. These include religious institutions, medical facilities, and social needs of the area's residents. The work of Hamas in these fields supplements that provided by the
United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). Hamas is also well regarded by Palestinians for its efficiency and perceived lack of corruption compared to Fatah.
Funding
The majority of Hamas funding comes from
Saudi Arabia. According to the
U.S. State Dept, Various sources, among them
United Press International,
Le Canard enchaîné, Bill Baar,
Gérard Chaliand and
L'Humanité have highlighted that Hamas' early growth had been supported by the
Mossad as a "counterbalance to the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)". Furthermore, the French investigative newspaper
Le Canard enchaîné stated that
Shin Bet had also supported Hamas as a counterweight to the PLO and Fatah, in an attempt to give "a religious slant to the conflict, in order to make the West believe that the conflict was between Jews and Muslims", thus supporting the controversial thesis of a "
clash of civilizations".
The
charitable trust Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was accused in December 2001 of funding Hamas.
Other
The main website of Hamas provides translations of official communiqués in
Persian language,
Urdu,
Malay,
Russian,
English, and
Arabic.
In 2005, Hamas announced its intention to launch an experimental TV channel, "
Al-Aqsa". The station was launched on January 7, 2006, less than three weeks before the
Palestinian legislative elections. It included a TV show for children.
Controversies
Antisemitism
Article 22 of the Hamas Covenant claims that the French revolution, the Russian revolution, colonialism and both world wars were created by the Zionists. It also claims the Freemasons and Rotary clubs are Zionist fronts.
You may speak as much as you want about regional and world wars. They were behind World War I, when they were able to destroy the Islamic Caliphate, making financial gains and controlling resources. They obtained the Balfour Declaration, formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them. There is no war going on anywhere, without having their finger in it.
Furthermore, Article 32 of the Covenant makes reference to
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:
Today it's Palestine, tomorrow it'll be one country or another. The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When that'll have digested the region they overtook, that'll aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we're saying.
However, in 1998, Esther Webman of the Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the
Tel Aviv University wrote:
....the anti-Semitic rhetoric in Hamas leaflets is frequent and intense. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism isn't the main tenet of Hamas ideology. Generally no differentiation was made in the leaflets between Jew and Zionist, in as much as Judaism was perceived as embracing Zionism, although in other Hamas publications and in interviews with its leaders attempts at this differentiation have been made."
In an editorial in
The Guardian in January 2006,
Khaled Meshaal, the chief of Hamas's political bureau denied antisemitism:
"Our message to the Israelis is this: We don't fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture. Jews have lived in the Muslim world for 13 centuries in peace and harmony; they're in our religion "the people of the book" who have a covenant from God and his messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), to be respected and protected."
"Our conflict with you isn't religious but political. We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us — our problem is with those who came to our land, imposed themselves on us by force, destroyed our society and banished our people."
Children's web site
Al Fateh is Hamas' web site for children. The site says it's for "the young builders of the future" and it has a link to the official web site. Several Israeli reviews and news coverages of the site describe it as hate-mongering and accuse it of glorifying death and suicide for God
According to
CAMERA and others, "Issue number 38 of Al-Fateh, includes a photograph of the decapitated head of a female suicide bomber."
Hamas members have also been harassing and arresting Palestinian journalists in Gaza
(External Link),
(External Link). On
August 29,
2007 Palestinian health officials reported that Hamas had been shutting down Gaza clinics in retaliation for doctor strikes - Hamas confirmed that "punitive measure against doctors" who, according to Hamas, "incite others to strike and suspend services" have been taken.
(External Link)
On September 3rd, 2007 Hamas disbanded the Gaza Strip branch of the pro-
Fatah Union of Palestinian Journalists, a move that was criticised by
Reporters without borders.
On September 7th, 2007 Hamas banned public prayers, after
Fatah supporters began holding worship sessions that quickly escalated into raucous protests against Hamas rule. Hamas security forces beat several gathering supporters and journalists.
On November 14, 2007 Hamas arrested a British journalist and canceled all press cards in Gaza. No news photography is allowed without a license from Hamas.
(External Link),
(External Link)
On Feb 8, 2008 Hamas banned distribution of Al-Ayyam newspaper and closure of its offices in the Gaza Strip due to a caricature that mocked legislators loyal to Hamas
(External Link),
(External Link). Hamas had later issued an arrest request for the editor
(External Link).
Militancy and terrorism
Suicide attacks
Suicide attacks are the main element of what the group sees as its
asymmetric warfare against Israel. Since the group considers all Israel to be a "
militarized society" Hamas condones attacks on civilian targets. The group's willingness to target civilian facilities including buses, supermarkets, and restaurants is the reason why some governments classify it as a terrorist movement (although Hamas claims being a
national liberation movement).
Hamas' first use of
suicide bombing occurred on
April 16,
1993 when a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden van detonated between two buses parked at a restaurant. It was Hamas' 19th known attack since 1989 (the others being shootings, kidnappings and knife attacks).
Hamas continued to launch suicide attacks during the Oslo Accords period (see
List of Hamas suicide attacks).
During the
second Intifada, Hamas, along with the
Islamic Jihad Movement, spearheaded the violence through the years of the Palestinian uprising. Since then Hamas has conducted many attacks on Israel, mainly through its military wing — the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. These attacks have included large-scale
suicide bombings against Israeli civilian targets, the most deadly of which was the bombing of a
Netanya hotel on
March 27,
2002, in which 30 people were killed and 140 were wounded. This attack has also been referred to as the
Passover massacre since it took place on the first night of the Jewish festival of
Passover. Overall, from November 2000 to April 2004, 377 Israeli citizens and soldiers were killed and 2,076 wounded in 425 attacks by Hamas. (
Source: IDF website.) The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains a comprehensive list of Hamas attacks.
March 2004.htm
In a 2002 report,
Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas' leaders "should be held accountable for the
war crimes and
crimes against humanity" that have been committed by its members.
A few
female suicide bombers, including a mother of six and a mother of two children under the age of 10 have also executed suicide bombings.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi has said,
"The Hamas movement is prepared to stop terror against Israeli civilians if Israel stops killing Palestinian civilians ... We have told (Palestinian Authority Prime Minister) Abu Mazen in our meetings that there's an opportunity to stop targeting Israeli civilians if the Israelis stop assassinations and raids and stop brutalizing Palestinian civilians."
In May 2006 Israel arrested Hamas top official
Ibrahim Hamed whom Israeli security officials claim was responsible for dozens of
suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis.
On Feb 7, 2008 Hamas resumed the suicide bombings against civilian targets inside Israel killing an 74 year old woman and wounding her husband and other civilians
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link)
On March 5, 2008 various news services reported that Hamas had claimed responsibility for the killing of 8
Yeshiva students in Jerusalem. A spokesman for Hamas has rebutted the claim, stating that it's "an honour we've not claimed yet", and the official position is that the attack has been attributed to the "Free Men of Galilee", who are affiliated with
Hezbollah.
Shelling and rocket attacks on civilians
Since 2002, militants have used homemade
Qassam rockets to hit Israeli towns in the
Negev, such as
Sderot. Although Hamas doesn't claim responsibility for the attacks, it has condoned them. These attacks are outlined in the
List of Qassam rocket attacks. The introduction of the
Qassam-2 rocket has allowed militants to reach large Israeli cities such as
Ashkelon, bringing great concern to the Israeli populace and many attempts by the Israeli military to stop the proliferation and use of the rockets. On March 2008 a Hamas politburo member sent a letter to Arab leaders urging them not to condemn attacks on civilians
(External Link)
Guerilla warfare
Hamas has made great use of guerrilla tactics in the Gaza Strip and to a lesser degree the West Bank. Hamas has successfully adapted these techniques over the years since its inception. According to a 2006 report by rival Fatah party, Hamas had smuggled "between several hundred and 1,300 tons" of advanced rockets, along with other weaponry, into Gaza. Some Israelis and some Gazans both noted similarities in Hamas's military buildup to that of
Hezbollah in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Hamas has used
IEDs and
anti-tank rockets against the IDF in Gaza. The latter include standard
RPG-7 warheads and home-made rockets such as the
Al-Bana, Al-
Batar and Al-
Yasin. The home-made rockets proved ineffective against Israeli armor, while
Popular Resistance Committees' IEDs destroyed 3 Israeli tanks in
2002. The IDF has a difficult, if not impossible time trying to find hidden weapons caches in Palestinian areas — this is due to the high local support base Hamas enjoys.
Others attacked
In addition to killing Israeli civilians, Hamas has also attacked Israeli military and security forces (occasionally inside Israel), suspected Palestinian
collaborators, and
Fatah rivals.
On February 2007, members of the
Palestinian Red Crescent, speaking on conditions on anonymity, said that Hamas had confiscated their humanitarian supply convoys that were destined for Palestinian civilians. Hamas claims the supplies were heading to former members of Fatah.
Hamas and the United States
It has been alleged that Hamas threatens the United States through
covert cells on U.S. soil, and that the
FBI and
United States Department of Justice are aware of these cells. According to
Steven Emerson,
Hamas has an extensive infrastructure in the US mostly revolving around the activities of fundraising, recruiting and training members, directing operations against Israel, organizing political support and operating through human-rights front groups. While Hamas hasn't acted outside Israel, it has the capability of carrying out attacks in America if it decided to enlarge the scope of its operations.
FBI director Robert Mueller has testified to the
Senate Intelligence Committee that,
It is the FBI's assessment, at this time, that there's a limited threat of a coordinated terrorist attack in the U.S. from Palestinian terrorist organizations, such as HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade. These groups have maintained a longstanding policy of focusing their attacks on Israeli targets in Israel and the Palestinian territories. We believe that the primary interest of Palestinian terrorist groups in the U.S. remains the raising of funds to support their regional goals. [...] Of all the Palestinian groups, HAMAS has the largest presence in the U.S. with a robust infrastructure, primarily focused on fundraising, propaganda for the Palestinian cause, and proselytizing. Although it would be a major strategic shift for HAMAS, its U.S. network is theoretically capable of facilitating acts of terrorism in the U.S.
On
November 8,
2006, after
Israeli artillery shells killed 19 Palestinian civilians, Hamas's military wing released a statement condemning both Israel and America. "America is offering political, financial and logistic cover for the Zionist occupation crimes, and it's responsible for the Beit Hanoun massacre. Therefore, the people and the [Islamic] nation all over the globe are required to teach the American enemy tough lessons," Hamas said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian government denied any involvement with the statement, saying "Our battle is against the occupation on the Palestinian land. We have no interest to transfer the battle." Hamas militants have historically directed their suicide bombings and rocket attacks only against Israeli targets.
Summary executions
Human Rights Watch has cited a number of summary executions as particular examples of violations of the rules of warfare, including the case of Muhammad Swairki, 28, a cook for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's presidential guard, who was thrown to his death, with his hands and legs tied, from a 15-story apartment building in Gaza City.
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link)
Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups frequently extrajudicially execute or otherwise punish those they consider collaborators with Israel. Frequent killings of unarmed people have also occurred during Hamas-Fatah clashes.
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link),
(External Link)
2008 protests
Thousands of angry Hamas loyalists marched
February 24 2008 at the funeral of a
Muslim preacher who died in
Palestinian custody, turning the ceremony into a rare show of defiance against President
Mahmoud Abbas.
Angered by preacher's death, protesters stand against Abbas.
International perception of Hamas
According to
National Public Radio, a non-commercial broadcasting organization in the U.S., "Israel and many Western powers have struggled with how best to interact with a group that's at once labeled terrorist and, at the same time, is the legitimately elected leadership of the Palestinian National Authority."
Canada describes Hamas as a "a radical Sunni Muslim terrorist organization".
China has expressed its support for Hamas as recent as 2006, when the Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmed al-Zahar visited China. However, China has more recently announced its support for the (now ruling) rival Fatah government, and as such, the exact nature of their continuing relationship is unclear.
The
European Union lists Hamas among its list of entities against which it applies restrictions in order to combat terrorism.
Israel's ministry of foreign affairs claims that "Hamas maintains a terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, and acts to carry out terrorist attacks in the territories and Israel." In February 2008 an
Haaretz poll indicated that 64% of Israelis favour their government holding direct talks with Hamas in Gaza about a cease-fire and the release of captives.
Japan stated in 2005 that it froze the assets of "terrorist organizations, including... Hamas."
The
United States lists HAMAS as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization". According to the
US State Department, the group is funded by
Iran, Palestinian expatriates, and private benefactors in
Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.
The military wing of Hamas, the
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is listed as a terrorist organization by
Australia, and the
United Kingdom.
In a 2007
Pew Global Attitudes Survey, 62% of Palestinians have a favorable opinion of Hamas, as do majorities or pluralities in Jordan and Morocco. Opinions of Hamas are divided in Egypt and Kuwait, and Hamas is viewed negatively in Turkey and Lebanon.
Legal action against Hamas
In a 2002 report,
Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas' leaders "should be held accountable for the
war crimes and
crimes against humanity" that have been committed by its members.
In 2004, a federal court in the United States found Hamas liable in a civil lawsuit for the 1996 murders of Yaron and Efrat Ungar near
Bet Shemesh,
Israel. Hamas has been ordered to pay the families of the Ungars $116 million. On
July 5,
2004, the court issued a default judgment against the
PNA and the
PLO regarding the Ungars' claim that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO provide safe haven to Hamas.
On
August 20,
2004, three Palestinians, one a naturalized American citizen, were charged with a "lengthy racketeering conspiracy to provide money for
terrorist acts in Israel." The indicted include
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, senior member of Hamas, believed to be currently in
Damascus,
Syria and considered a
fugitive by the U.S..
On
1 February 2007, two men were acquitted of contravening US law by supporting Hamas.
(External Link) Both men argued that they helped move money for Palestinian causes aimed at helping the Palestinian people and not to promote terrorism.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hamas'.
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