Who are Hamas?

Hamas has translated its widespread popularity among Palestinians into a dramatic win in the Parliamentary elections.

Its new-found political status does not make it any less controversial, however.

Branded a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU, it is seen by its supporters as a legitimate fighting force defending Palestinians from a brutal military occupation.

It is the largest Palestinian militant Islamist organisation, formed in 1987 at the beginning of the first intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.

The group's short-term aim has been to drive Israeli forces from the occupied territories, through attacks on Israeli troops and settlers in the Palestinian territories and - more controversially - against civilians in Israel.

It insists that the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and troops from Gaza last year was a victory for this policy.

It also has a long-term aim of establishing an Islamic state on all of historic Palestine - most of which has been contained within Israel's borders since its creation in 1948.

Since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, it has taken part in local elections and won many seats in areas like Gaza, Qalqilya and Nablus.

But its biggest triumph follows this week's parliamentary elections, in which the group appears to have won enough seats to form the next Palestinian government.

The grass-roots organisation - with a political and a military wing - has an unknown number of active members but tens of thousands of supporters and sympathisers.

Up to 40,000 people rallied in Gaza City in December 2002 to mark Hamas' 15th anniversary where they heard the group's spiritual leader, the late Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, predict Israel's destruction by the year 2025.

Huge crowds also took to the streets after his assassination by Israel in 2004 and that his successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi later that year.

Opponent of Oslo

Hamas is divided into two main spheres of operation:

· social programmes like building schools, hospitals and religious institutions

· militant operations carried out by Hamas' underground Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

It also has a branch in exile, formerly in Jordan - where one of its leaders, Khalid Meshaal, was the target of a bungled Israeli assassination attempt in 1997.

King Hussein tolerated Hamas' presence but his successor, King Abdullah II had the group's headquarters closed down and senior figures expelled to Qatar.

Hamas came to prominence after the first intifada as the main Palestinian opponent of the Oslo accords - the US-sponsored peace process that oversaw the gradual and partial removal of Israel's occupation in return for Palestinian guarantees to protect Israeli security.

Despite numerous Israeli operations against Hamas and clampdowns by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian National Authority, Hamas found it had an effective power of veto over the process by launching suicide attacks.

In February and March 1996, Hamas carried out several suicide bus bombings, killing nearly 60 Israelis, in retaliation for the assassination in December 1995 of Hamas bomb maker Yahya Ayyash.

The bombings were widely credited with turning Israelis off the peace process and bringing about the election of hardline right-winger Binyamin Netanyahu who was a staunch opponent of the Oslo accords.

Growing support

In the post-Oslo world, most particularly following the failure of US President Bill Clinton's Camp David summit in the summer of 2000 and the second intifada which followed shortly thereafter, Hamas gained power and influence as Israel steadily destroyed the infrastructure of the secularist Palestinian Authority.

In towns and refugee camps besieged by the Israeli army, Hamas organises clinics and schools which serve Palestinians who feel entirely let down by the corrupt and inefficient PNA.

It also summarily executed Palestinian collaborators with Israel and dished out vigilante punishments for "immoral behaviour".

Many Palestinians cheered the wave of Hamas suicide attacks (and those of fellow militants Islamic Jihad and the secular al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade) which followed.

Many Palestinians saw "martyrdom" operations as the best way to avenge their own losses and counter Israel's unchecked settlement building in the West Bank.

There have been efforts to unite the various Palestinian factions, with Cairo hosting a series of meetings since 2002 to negotiate a suspension of terror attacks.

But Hamas has always shied away from signing up to a permanent ceasefire while Israel occupies Palestinian territory and its troops are responsible for the deaths of Palestinians there.

"The killing of civilians must be punished by the killing of civilians," Mahmoud al-Zahhar, a senior member of Hamas, said.

Assassinations

As well as inflicting by far the most casualties on Israelis - with attacks that are generally better-planned and executed than those of other militant groups - Hamas has lost many members of its leadership in Israeli assassinations and security sweeps.

Its founder Sheikh Yassin was killed in a missile attack on 22 March 2004, after an unsuccessful attempt on his life six months before.

Following the killing of Sheikh Yassin, Mr Rantissi emerged as Hamas leader in Gaza before he too was assassinated on 17 April 2004. Khaled Meshaal, now based in Syria and Lebanon, is the group's overall leader.

Prominent Hamas officials killed by the Israelis include Ismail Abu Shanab, in August 2003, and Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades leader Salah Shehada, in July 2002.

Shehada's successor, Mohammad Deif - whom Israel blames for the 1996 bombings - has escaped several attempts on his life.

But Hamas attacks on Israel have continued thick and fast, with suicide bombings and armed assaults claiming hundreds of lives. Three Hamas supporters were even convicted of an unsuccessful attempt to poison Israeli diners at a Jerusalem restaurant.

On the other hand, the group has shown itself willing to periodically suspend attacks in favour of Palestinian diplomacy, if the group sees fit.

"The main aim of the intifada [uprising] is the liberation of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, and nothing more. We haven't the force to liberate all our land," Mr Rantissi told the BBC in 2002.

"It is forbidden in our religion to give up a part of our land, so we can't recognise Israel at all. But we can accept a truce with them, and we can live side by side and refer all the issues to the coming generations."

The suspensions have sometimes - but not always - come to an end when Israeli forces launched their own attacks killing Hamas members.

Facing the electorate

The decision to stand in Palestinian elections has been a major departure for Hamas.

Top figures say it reflects the importance of the movement and the need for it to play a role in a failing Palestinian political sphere beset by corruption, inefficiency and lost credibility.

It has used Israel's Gaza withdrawal as a campaign platform.

However, mainstream groups like Fatah say the move signifies a de facto acceptance of the Oslo accords and recognition of Israel's right to exist - a characterisation that Hamas rejects.

But Hamas' armed wing remains the epitome of the "terrorist infrastructure" which the Palestinian Authority is called on to dismantle under the international peace plan known as the roadmap.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm

Published: 2006/01/26 10:29:37 GMT