O Hamas is a nationalist and Islamist organization that emerged in Palestine in the 1980s, and focuses on the fight against Israel. This organization has an armed wing, but it also acts politically, having a large part of the seats in the Palestinian Legislative since 2006, in addition to carrying out social work. Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
Read too: Stateless Nations — Nations that do not have an autonomous territory
What is Hamas?
Hamas is understood as a Palestinian nationalist and Islamist organization which is headquartered in Gaza Strip since the 1980s, when it first appeared. The term Hamas comes from Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamat al-Islāmiyyah, which means “Islamic Resistance Movement”. It is one of the most active organizations on the issue involving Palestine.
![Hamas is an Islamist organization that fights against Israel. The armed wing of this organization is known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[1]](/f/e370880c638a31b948ab2d8263f6b386.jpg)
Hamas emerged as a guidance organization
Sunni and currently has different forms of action in the Gaza Strip. Thus, it presents a social service, which seeks to support Palestinians in need, and a political arm, which governs the Gaza Strip. It also has an armed wing, which carries out military actions against Israel.some nations, like Israel, U.S, Besides the European Union, consider Hamas a terrorist organization, but other nations, like Russia and Egypt, do not understand Hamas as such. In addition, international analysts denounce the authoritarian way in which Hamas governs the Gaza Strip, pointing out the persecution that political opponents of this group suffer.
Emergence of Hamas
The rise of Hamas dates back to the creation of Muslim brotherhood, in Egypt, in 1928. The Muslim Brotherhood grew out of Hassan al-Banna's concern with the increasing secularization of Islamic societies. He believes that Islamic societies should undergo profound reforms to reinforce the importance of Islamic values.
Thus, al-Banna wanted to apply the values of the Islam to the modern world, starting a reform, first in Egypt, but then spreading to other Muslim countries. One of the objectives of the Muslim Brotherhood was to ensure that Muslim countries were governed on the basis of sharia, Islamic law, which sets out a series of norms for the lives of the faithful.
In the late 1930s, the Muslim Brotherhood was already a political force in Egypt, and in the 1940s it officially arrived in Egypt. Palestine, introduced by Hassan Youssef with the same objective as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: to promote the Islamization of society. In Palestine, as in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood started to carry out a series of social works, investing in the construction of schools and hospitals, for example.
From 1967, when Israel occupied the entire West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a series of more radical ideals began to gain strength within the Muslim Brotherhood as a form of resistance. Thus, the idea that the construction of a more Islamic society would involve the jihad, the holy war.
The 1960s also witnessed the strengthening of resistance movements in Palestine against the occupation of its territory by Israel. In 1964, for example, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) emerged under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas. This group was secular, therefore without Islamist influences, and had a socialist orientation, acting through guerrilla tactics against Israel.
In the 1980s, the Palestinian resistance was led by the PLO. There was a desire by the Israeli government to split the Palestinian resistance by funding a movement that could counter the PLO. That movement was the Muslim Brotherhood, as the Israelis expected it to remain more attached to social and religious causes.
However, in the 1980s, an ideological shift took place among members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine, leading them to decide for their involvement in politics. The events at the end of 1987, known as Firstintifada, were decisive for the emergence of Hamas as an organization unrelated to the Muslim Brotherhood.
On December 14, 1987, a statement, known as StatuteofHamas. The position of Hamas members, in view of the existence of Israel and the growing Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, became more intransigent. The statute mentioned that|1|:
The Islamic Resistance Movement maintains that Palestine is a Wakf territory, (hereditary legacy) for all generations of Muslims, until the Day of Resurrection. No one can neglect this land, not even a part of it, nor leave it, or part of it. No Arab State, or even all Arab States (together) has the right to do so; no King or President has that right, nor does all Kings or Presidents together, no organization, or all organizations together – whether they are Palestinians or Arabs – they have the right to do so, because Palestine is Wakf territory, given to all generations of Muslims, until the Day of Resurrection.
As for Israel, Hamas' stance became the following|1|:
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam makes it disappear, as it made all those who existed before it disappear.
The emergence of Hamas made it rival other organizations fighting for the Palestinian cause, such as Fatah, one of the groups that exist within the PLO. One of the main names of Hamas in this period was Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who argued that the Hamas was intended to secure the liberation of Palestine and form an Islamic state in the region.
Thus, Hamas positioned itself as the main organization that acted by means of arms in the fight against the occupation of Palestine. Hamas' military action against Israel began with the First Intifada, the popular protests of Palestinians against Israel in 1987. The military wing of Hamas is known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Read too: Arab-Israeli Wars — Conflicts between Israel and Arab Nations throughout the 20th Century
Hamas today
Currently, Hamas is the main political group operating in the Palestinian National Authority, the entity responsible for administering the territories that are populated by Palestinians, the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank. Since 2006, the Palestinian Legislative Council has been mostly occupied by Hamas politicians.
This took place through an election, and the Palestinian population itself voted, in its majority, for Hamas. This election was held in 2006 and in it the organization received nearly 45% of the vote, allowing it to win 74 of the 132 seats available. In 2021, a new legislative election was scheduled to take place, but it was postponed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Although Hamas is seen by many Western countries as a terrorist organization, a considerable part of the Palestinian population supports them, especially for their role in the fight against Israel. According to journalist Mohammed Omer, this is due to the appalling living conditions in which the population Palestinian is forced to live and the frequent Israeli attacks in the region, causing the death of many innocents|2|.
![Currently, Hamas is the main force present in the Gaza Strip.[1]](/f/1c27a6e41d4aa76854f7b3d28806d2cf.jpg)
International analysts also report that the Hamas' arsenal of weapons is considerably powerful, including different types of missiles that have a range capability of up to 160 km, which threatens the entire territory of Israel. Hamas' arsenal is believed to have about five thousand missiles. In addition, it is estimated that the group has about 40,000 soldiers|3|.
Palestine question
The dispute between Israel and Hamas is another chapter of the Palestine Question, which started in the beginning of the 20th century and that remains until today. This question began at the beginning of the century when the Zionist movement he went on to defend the return of the Jews to Palestine and the right of the Jewish community to possess their state.
The growth of the Jewish population in Palestine has generated friction between the Arab communities, who have lived in the region for centuries. The issue remained unresolved between the 1920s and 1940s, until it was handed over to the United Nations Organization, the UN, which decided, in the late 1940s, to carry out the division of Palestine between Jews and Palestinians.
The division of Palestine was not accepted by the Arabs because - it was alleged at the time - the Palestinians had been left with the least fertile land and with the fewest sources of water|4|. THE officialization of the State of Israel started a conflict: a First Arab-Israeli War. This conflict and other conflicts held (Six Day War and War ofO Yom Kippur) were considered disastrous for the Palestinians, who lost a number of territories.
To this day, the State of Palestine does not officially exist, and international analysts denounce the way the State of Israel treats the Palestinians. Many defend the idea that Israel imposes a discriminatory policy similar to the Apartheid, the segregationist regime that existed in South Africa in the second half of the 20th century.
Mohammed Omer, for example, denounces a series of actions against Palestinian populations in the Gaza Strip. He speaks of summary executions of innocent citizens, of looting carried out on Palestinian property by Israeli troops, the bombings that result in the death of civilians, the lack of electricity and water drinking, etc.|2|
On the other hand, many, including the State of Israel, criticize Hamas for bombing against Israeli cities and accuse Hamas of carrying out terrorist actions. Also, as mentioned, many question how Hamas treats its opponents and they denounce that even torture practices are carried out by the organization. To learn more about the subject, read: Palestine question.
Grades
|1| Hamas Statute. To access, click on here.
|2| OMER, Mohammed. Shell-Shocked: on the ground under Israel’s Gaza Assault. Chicago: Haymart Books, 2015.
|3| What do Hamas and PIJ have in their rocket arsenals? To access, click on here [in English].
|4| COLLARES, Valdeli Coelho. The rise of Hamas in Palestine: poverty and social assistance (1987-2006). To access, click on here.
Image credit
[1] Abed Rahim Khatib and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
