Hamas, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Hamas stands for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya” which in Arabic means Islamic Resistance Movement. Hamas is the most influential Palestinian militant movement that also emerged as a leading political force by defeating Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas party Fatah in the January 2006 general legislative elections. Hamas enjoys goodwill among the Palestinians due to its extensive social service network and is perceived as tougher on Israel as compared to Fatah which has adopted a more compromising stand towards Israel in recent years. Hamas has an organized military wing that has coordinated various terrorist attacks on Israel(Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)). The Israel, United States, and the European Union has officially labeled Hamas as a terrorist organization due to its refusal to recognize Israel’s existence as well as renounce violence against Israel (Michael).

Origins

Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who had earlier preached and done charity work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, established al-Mujamma’ al-Islami in 1973 to coordinate the Egyptian’s Muslim Brotherhood political activities in Gaza. Later, following the eruption of first intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli control of West Bank and Gaza, Sheikh Yassin founded Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood’s local political arm in December 1987. With the publication of official charter in 1988, Hamas attempted to carve an identity independent of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Philosophy and Beliefs

Hamas ideology is shaped by the combination of Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Hamas calls for Israeli destruction, Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and Sharia (Islamic Laws) as the guiding principles of the state. Hamas wants a Palestinian state based in 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine (Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)).

Hamas believes that the only solution to Palestinian problem is Holy Jihad and it deems peace talks and international conferences as ineffective. Hamas version of Palestine stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. Hamas believes that violent means to expel Jews from the Middle East are just courses of action. Hamas opposed the Oslo agreement in September 1993 between Palestinian and Israeli leaders (Palestine Facts). Section 15 of Hamas charter states, “It is necessary to instill in the minds of the Moslem generations that the Palestinian problem is a religious problem, and should be dealt with on this basis.” (Ynetnews). Thus, it is clear that Hamas sees Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a religious light and sees no difference between a state and a religion.

Leaders

Sheikh Yassin remained Hamas face as well as its most influential personality until his assassination by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on March 22, 2004. After Sheikh Yassin’s death, Hamas leadership fell in the hands of Abdel Aziz Rantisi who was a doctor by training and lectured at Islamic University in Gaza. Mr. Rantisi was also killed less than a month later by an Israeli air strike on April 17, 2004. Since then, Hamas has operated under a collective leadership structure. Hamas has presence in both Palestine and Syria.

In Hamas Palestinian branch, the two main leaders in respective order are Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar. Mr. Haniyeh graduated from Gaza City’s Islamic University with a degree in Arabic literature in 1987. He became the dean of Islamic University in 1992 where he also leads the Hamas Student Movement. Mr. Haniyeh was close to Hamas founder Sheikh Yassin. Mahmoud al-Zahar was also close to Sheikh Yassin and is one of Hamas founding members. A doctor by profession, Mr. Zahar was Sheikh Yassin’s personal doctor and is also a lecturer at Gaza’s Islamic University. Another important leader of Hamas in Palestine is Sheikh Hassan Yousef who has been the head of Hamas in the West Bank since August 2001 and is currently in Israeli prison. Sheikh Hassan is considered a moderate and pragmatic voice within Hamas and has supported negotiations in place of violence.

Khalid Meshal is the most prominent leader of Hamas’ Syrian branch. Mr. Meshal controls all of Hamas political and military activities. Mr. Meshal is the famous Hamas leader who was poisoned by Israeli intelligence agents in Jordan in 1997 but survived because Israeli agents were caught and Israel was forced to provide the antidote for the poison. Mr. Meshal advocates the formation of a Palestinian army and has repeatedly resisted the call for Hamas disarmament. Mr. Meshal has been unwavering in his refusal to accept the existence of Israel. Another influential Hamas leader in Syria is Mousa Abu Marzook. Mr. Marzook, who is also Hamas deputy political leader got his PhD in Industrial Engineering from the U.S in 1991. Mr. Marzook was later expelled from the U.S after which he lived in Jordan and finally settled in Damascus, Syria (Silver).

Recruiting, Training, Funding, and Terrorist Attacks

Hamas military wing which is also known as Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade (named after Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the forefather of modern Arab resistance who was killed by the British in 1935 at Nesher, near Haifa in Israel), has more than one thousand active members in addition to thousands of supporters. The organization usually target deeply religious people with intense hatred towards Israel. Between three thousand and five thousand U.S dollars are given to the families of suicide bombers in addition to assurance of martyrdom. The recruits for suicide bombing undergo intense religious indoctrination. The week before actual suicide bombing, the recruits record a video testament and on the day of bombing, perform ritual ablution and don clean clothes. The bombing is estimated to cost merely $150 per attack.

Hamas has enjoyedsupport from a number of funding sources throughout its history. They include Palestinian expatriates, private donors from Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf states, Iran (estimated at between $20 million to $30 million annually), and Muslim charities based in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. FBI Director Robert Mueller stated in March 2005 that Hamas has the largest presence in the United States of all Palestinian groups. Mueller added that Hamas is capable of carrying out terrorist attacks within the U.S. An FBI counterterrorism agent informed in October 2005 that Hamas may have up to 100 agents operating in the U.S. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) which was once the largest Islamic charity in the U.S was shut down by President Bush Administration on December 4, 2001 (DiscovertheNetwork.Org).

The first terrorist attack by Hamas took place in April 1993. Since then, the group has carried out over 350 terrorist attacks, resulting in over five hundred deaths. Even though suicide bombings have become closely association with Hamas, the group also uses mortars, short-range rockets, and small firearms. In response to constant threat from Hamas, Israel constructed barriers between itself and Palestinian regions(Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)). In the early 1990s, Hamas also targeted Palestinian collaborators and Fatah rivals. Some 25 U.S citizens some of whom had dual U.S-Israeli citizenship, have been killed in the attacks by Hamas since 1993(Zanotti).

Public Support and Use of Media

Hamas probably became the first Islamist group in the Arab world to gain power through democratic means when it upset Fatah in the elections of 2006 and gained control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Palestinian Authority government ministries. Hamas has also gained popularity among Palestinians because of its reputations as a less corrupt provider of social services and for its unwavering opposition to Palestine as opposed to PLO which is considered soft and diplomatic in its attitude towards Israel. According to a September-October 2010 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, over 60% of Gazans and a little over 40% of West Bankers supported both Hamas ‘ August-September 2010 shooting attacks on Israeli settlers in the West Bank and the idea of attacking civilians inside Israel (Zanotti).

Hamas has a robust internet presence and operates a television channel (Al Aqsa television) as well as radio channels to broadcast anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic teachings and programs. Hamas also organizes summer camps for children to indoctrinate them with nationalist views. In 2009 and 2010, Hamas camps attracted 100,000 participants. Participants are also provided some forms of paramilitary training (Queenann). Hamas has also been skillful in utilizing international media outlets to communicate its messages to Muslims, Arabs, Americans, Europeans, and Israelis(Zanotti).

Countering Hamas

Palestinian Authority’s budget for the year was approximately $2.78 billion in 2010 while Hamas was only between $320 and $540 million. In addition, Palestinian Authority also receives aid from the U.S and other developed nations. Despite its greater resources, Hamas trumps PA when it comes to social service. PA also needs to address the issues of corruption within its ranks which combined with Hamas greater involvement in social work have led to Hamas political rise in the last decade. Any treaty between PA and Israel will fail to meet its objectives without public support. In addition, it may be politically impossible to reach a mutually-acceptable deal with Hamas support because Hamas can always jeopardize the peace process through terrorist attacks against the state of Israel and its citizens. The U.S. and other global powers should reach out to moderate voices within Hamas and help them gain prominent position within the organization.

U.S. may also collaborate with Israel to develop new anti-rocket technologies that take into account Israel’s unique geopolitical features and emerge as an effective defense against Hamas rocket attacks in the future. Hamas rocket attacks in the past have escalated into full-blown military conflicts and erased the progress made by Israeli and PA authorities towards peace process. In addition, U.S should continue to monitor the charity organizations that launder money to Hamas since charities in the west are a significant source of financial support to Hamas. As an example. Holy Land Foundation raised $13 million from the U.S donors in the year 2000, according to Bush Administration (DiscovertheNetwork.Org).

References

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Hamas. 27 August 2009. 15 June 2011 <http://www.cfr.org/israel/hamas/p8968>.

DiscovertheNetwork.Org. Hamas. 15 June 2011 <http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=6204>.

Michael, Maggie. In Cairo, Palestinian factions talk unity Cabinet. 14 June 2011. 15 June 2011 <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110614/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_reconciliation>.

Palestine Facts. What is Hamas? 15 June 2011 <http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_plo_hamas.php>.

Queenann, Gavriel. Hamas Summer Camps Train Next Generation Terrorists. 10 June 2011. 15 June 2011 <http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144850>.

Silver, Alexander. Hamas’ Leaders. 10 February 2006. 15 June 2011 <http://www.cfr.org/palestinian-authority/hamas-leaders/p9811>.

Ynetnews. Hamas. 19 December 2007. 15 June 2011 <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3377113,00.html>.

Zanotti, Jim. “Hamas: Background and Issues for Congress.” Middle Eastern Affairs. 2010.