Hamas — profile of the State Department designated …
Posted By admin on October 5, 2015
By Amy Zalman, Ph.D.
Name:
"Hamas" is both an acronym for the group's name (in Arabic): Harakat Al Muqawama Al Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), and a word in itself that means "zeal" or "enthusiasm."
Founded In:
1987 as an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political organization originating in Egypt in 1928. It was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the leader of its predecessor, a charity called Mujama.
Yassin was assassinated in April 2004.
Home Base:
Gaza City, in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, one of the areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
Backing & Affiliations :
Hamas has historically received support from Iran and from private donors, especially in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian gulf region. It has also received funds from Palestinian expatriates. Many funds historically have been directed to Hamas through Islamic charity organizations, but this funding has slowed since crackdowns on terrorist financing following 9/11.
Objectives:
Hamas aims to establish an Islamic state in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. This goal combines Islamist objectives with Palestinian nationalism, two distinct ideological frameworks that flowered in the 1960s and 1970s especially. Their charter is explicit on this point: "Hamas regards Nationalism as part and parcel of the religious faith. Nothing is loftier or deeper in Nationalism than waging Jihad agains the enemy and confronting him when he sets foot on the land of the Muslims."
Attitude toward Israel:
Historically, Hamas has called for the destruction of the state of Israel, and refused to recognize it. Its manifesto contains strong and incendiary language about the requirement for Muslims to wage jihad against foreign usurpers of Muslim lands. Although Hamas has maintained its fiery rhetoric, there are also a number of signs that Hamas' intentions are softer than the group's language.
As the chief governing party of the Palestinian territories after their election victory in January 2006, Hamas has tacitly acknowledged a more normal relationship with Israel. And:
Organization:
Hamas was first organized as a non-violent charitable organization. Several years after its founding, it had established recruitment, security and publications sections.
It also created a military wing called the Izz Al Din Qassam Brigades, which has been responsible for most Hamas violence, including its suicide bombings in Israel.
Notable Attacks:
In keeping with its early mission to cleanse Palestinian society, Hamas' first acts of violence were committed against Palestinian criminals or perceived collaborators with the Israelis. They have since claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks against both military and civilian Israeli targets, in shootings, knifings, and short-range rocket attacks, as well as suicide attacks.
Political Activity:
On January 25, 2006, Hamas won 74 of 132 seats in Palestinian Legislative Council, beating out the ruling party, Fatah, which put Hamas in charge of the Palestinian government. Problems immediately ensued, since Western government were unwilling to fund a government run by an organization designated as a terrorist organization. Conflict between the secular Fatah and Hamas has also prevented the creation of a national government.
Historical Context:
Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamist association that began in Egypt in the 1920s. In 1973, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin established a center for Muslim Brotherhood activities in Gaza, which was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, along with the West Bank. Hamas was created in 1987 as the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood but it became an independent organization when it issued its 1988 charter.
Hamas gained traction during the 1987 intifada, or "uprising." West Bank and Gaza Palestinians negatively affected the Israeli economy and morale through several years of low-tech resistance tactics, such as throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and holding strikes. One of the indirect outcomes was the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the PLO. The Accords are a much debated agreement that were meant to bring about some measure of Palestinian self-rule.
Hamas, which was founded in part on its rejection of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians, gained popularity when it rejected the Oslo accords.
Of related interest: Suicide Terrorism: Definitions, Theories, Groups
Originally posted here:
Hamas -- profile of the State Department designated ...
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