From Ideology to Terrorism: The Repository of Radicalism (HAMAS)

Introduction

According to estimates, the population of Gaza is 1.6 million with over 50% under 18 and 38% of Gazans living in poverty with 38% of the youth being unemployed.

From the following estimates, it is easy to gauge the state of Gaza. With poverty and unemployment on the rise, the youth population of Gaza is drifting into the grip of radicalism and extremism.

Hamas can be considered one of the Palestinian territories’ two major political parties and an Islamic militant movement. It is responsible for governing more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip but the group is infamous for its armed resistance against Israel.

In this blog, we will shed light on the historical context of Hamas as a radical Islamist outfit. In addition to that, we will also delve into the movement, its roots or origin and its never-ending hostility against the state of Israel.

The Origin

HAMAS or simply Hamas is an abbreviation of Harakat-al-Muqawama-al-Islamia which can be translated as Islamic Resistance Movement. This organisation was founded by a Palestinian cleric named Sheikh Ahmed Yassin who became an activist in the local branches of the Muslim Brotherhood after dedicating his early life to Islamic scholarship in Cairo.

The Roots

From the late 1970s, activists who were connected to the Muslim Brotherhood were responsible for the establishment of a network of charities, schools and clinics. They became active in the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. These were the territories which were acquired by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Do you know that Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% which is the 39th highest in the world?

In Gaza, these activists of the Muslim Brotherhood were active in mosques while in West Bank, their activities were restricted to universities. The activities of this arm of the Muslim Brotherhood were generally non-violent in nature while a number of small factions emerged in these territories who began calling for Jihad or holy war against Israel.

At the beginning of the intifada of 1987 which was an uprising against Israeli occupation, HAMAS was formed by the violent factions of the Muslim Brotherhood and the religious faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). The new organisation quickly gained a massive following in these territories.

The Nationalism and Resistance

Hamas, in its 1988 charter, maintained that Palestine is the Islamic homeland which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims like that of the Israelis and also consolidated that waging a holy war or jihad to control the territories by defeating Israel should be the religious duty of every Muslim of the world. As PLO in 1988, recognized Israel’s right to exist, there was a collision between Hamas and PLO which led to the conflict between the two.

So, the group started acting independently from other Palestinian organisations which created animosity between the group and its secular counterparts. The group started becoming violent and powerful and began initiating attacks on Israeli civilians as well as military personnel. This led Israel to arrest several Hamas leaders in 1989 which included Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Islamic movement. In the following years, Hamas reorganized to reinforce its command structure while locating key leaders out of Israel’s reach.

Do you know that the Gaza Strip is a Palestinian territory of about 365 square kilometres and 2.1 million inhabitants, making it one of the world’s most densely populated regions?

The political bureau which was responsible for the organization’s fundraising and international relations was formed in Jordan while electing Khaled Meshaal as its head in 1996 and the armed wing of the group was reconstituted as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Forces.

By 1999, Jordan expelled the leaders of HAMAS from Amman while accusing them of utilizing the Jordanian offices as a command post for military activities in Gaza and the West Bank. ?So, in 2001, the political bureau established a new headquarters in Damascus, Syria. After the leadership failed to support the Assad Government in its crackdown on the Syrian uprising, it moved to Doha in 2012.

Was HAMAS a creation of Israel?

From the above, it is quite evident that HAMAS, which is a militant Palestinian entity has sworn to destroy Israel. It is one of the deadliest terrorist groups which falls in line with that of Al Qaeda or ISIS, proscribed both by the US and EU. It certainly rules Gaza with an iron fist and is responsible for killing hundreds of innocent Israelis with mortar, suicide attacks and rockets.

But did you know that HAMAS- would probably not exist were it not for Israel? That it was the Israelis that helped turn a bunch of fringe Islamists in the 1970s into one of the world’s most notorious militant groups? HAMAS is indeed a blowback!

Do you know that Gaza’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world?

According to the Israeli military governor of Gaza (1980s) Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Segev had helped finance HAMAS as a counterweight to the secularists and leftists of the PLO as well as the FATAH Party led to Yasser Arafat. According to him, the Israeli government at that time gave him a budget and the military government gave it to the mosques.

“HAMAS, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation,“ According to a former religious affairs official who worked in Gaza for more than 2 decades. Back in the mid-1980s, the official even wrote a report to his superiors warning them to refrain from playing divide-and-rule in the Occupied Territories by favouring Islamists against Palestinian secularists.

In the past decade alone, Israel has gone to war with HAMAS 3 times (2009, 2012 and 2014) while executing 2,500 Palestinian civilians in the process. On the other hand, HAMAS has killed far more Israeli civilians than any of the secular Palestinian militant groups which is surely the human cost of a blowback!

The Conflict

On 7th October of 2023, HAMAS led a stunning coordinated attack which took place on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret which closes the autumn Thanksgiving festival of Sukkot. Most of the IDF soldiers were on leave and the attention of Israel was on its northern border than on the Gaza Strip in the South.

The assault was initiated at 6.30 AM with a barrage of at least 2,200 rockets launched into Israel in just 30 minutes. The barrage reportedly overwhelmed the Iron Dome System. As the rockets rained down on Israel, at least 1,500 militants from HAMAS and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) penetrated and infiltrated Israel by breaching the border. In addition to that, they disabled communication networks for several of the military posts nearby which helped them to attack those installations and enter civilian neighborhoods undetected.

About 1,200 innocent civilians were killed which included families and attendees of an outdoor music festival. This number largely comprised Israeli civilians but also included foreign nationals. Adding to the trauma was the fact that it can be considered the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. More than 240 others were also taken as hostages in the Gaza Strip.

How did “THEY” react?

Around the globe, representatives of approximately 100 countries have reacted to the war in varying ways. At least 44 nations have expressed their unequivocal condemnation of HAMAS and explicitly decried its tactics as some or other form of terrorism. Others, including regional players such as Qatar, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have placed the responsibility of the attack on Israel. Approximately 20 countries have stated that Israel has the right to defend itself while others have called for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the conflict between Israel and HAMAS, rooted in historical complexities and geopolitical dynamics, has led to devastating consequences. The recent coordinated attack by HAMAS in 2023 resulted in a tragic loss of innocent lives and escalated tensions globally. While some nations condemn HAMAS as a terrorist group, others attribute blame to Israel. The intricate web of this conflict underscores the urgent need for diplomatic efforts, de-escalation, and a comprehensive approach to address the underlying issues. The ongoing struggle between HAMAS and Israel has far-reaching implications, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and dialogue for a lasting solution to the crisis.