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| Hamas (Palestinian organization) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hamas |
| Native name | حركة المقاومة الإسلامية |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Sheikh Ahmad Yassin |
| Headquarters | Gaza City |
| Ideology | Palestinian nationalism; Sunni Islamism |
| Area | Gaza Strip; West Bank; Diaspora |
Hamas (Palestinian organization) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist movement and political actor originating during the First Intifada linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Oslo Accords era. It has engaged in electoral politics, social service provision, armed resistance, and governance in the Gaza Strip, interacting with actors such as Israel, Egypt, the United States, the European Union, and regional states including Iran, Syria, and Qatar.
Hamas emerged in 1987 amid the First Intifada alongside contemporaries like the Palestine Liberation Organization, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad, with founders including Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, and Khaled Mashal influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, and Sharia debates. During the 1990s its trajectory intersected with the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority, and leaders such as Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas while confronting Israeli operations like the 1996 targeted killings and policies tied to Likud and Labor administrations. The Second Intifada saw Hamas involved in high-profile actions during events such as the Jenin conflict and operations affecting settlements like Sderot, provoking responses including Operation Defensive Shield and subsequent Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 under Ariel Sharon and Kadima politics. The 2006 Palestinian legislative elections produced a Hamas victory that precipitated clashes with Fatah, the 2007 Battle of Gaza, and the dual-administration reality contrasting Gaza governance and West Bank Authority control, entangling negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey and influenced by Arab Spring dynamics involving Syria and Lebanon.
Hamas's platform draws on Sunni Islamist thought from the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic jurisprudence debates, and Palestinian nationalism with references to Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Nakba narrative. Key documents, including the 1988 charter and later political documents, articulate aims related to resistance against Israel, the role of Sharia, and Palestinian statehood aspirations interacting with frameworks like the Arab Peace Initiative, United Nations resolutions, and calls from figures such as Ismail Haniyeh. Debates over recognition, two-state proposals, prisoner exchanges exemplified by Gilad Shalit, and international law issues have shaped internal discourse alongside influence from Iranian revolutionary ideology, Turkish AKP politics, and Qatari diplomatic mediation.
Hamas comprises political, social, and military components, including leadership bodies formed in exile in Damascus and later movements in Doha, with senior figures like Khaled Mashal and Ismail Haniyeh connected to networks across Gaza, the West Bank, and the diaspora in Jordan and Lebanon. Its social services intersect with institutions such as Islamic charities, hospitals, and schools which operate alongside offices that interface with the Palestinian Legislative Council, ministries in Gaza, and local municipal councils. Decision-making structures have relied on Shura councils, the Political Bureau, and local commanders, and the organization has navigated pressures from entities like Egyptian security services, Israeli intelligence, and international non-governmental organizations.
After winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Hamas formed a government that clashed with Fatah, engaging in national dialogue dialogues, security arrangements, and reconciliation talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations with intermittent accords like the Cairo Agreement and Mecca Agreement. Governance in Gaza involved administrative control over borders with Israel and crossings monitored with the involvement of the Palestinian Authority, the European Union Border Assistance Mission, and Israeli Defense Forces policies, while delivering public services in face of blockades, humanitarian crises assessed by UNRWA, and infrastructure projects impacted by Israeli operations and donor-state conditionalities from the United States, Japan, and EU institutions.
The military wing, known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has conducted armed operations including rocket launches toward Sderot and Ashkelon, tunnel operations, and suicide attacks that prompted Israeli military responses such as Operation Cast Lead and Operation Protective Edge. Tactics have involved asymmetric warfare, rocket technology influenced by external suppliers, tunnel networks, and guerrilla engagements that intersect with international humanitarian law debates, detention policies, and prisoner swap negotiations exemplified by the Gilad Shalit deal.
Funding has come from diverse sources including state actors such as Iran, private donors in the Persian Gulf, charity networks, and revenue from taxation and economic activity in Gaza, often mediated through banks, charities, and front organizations scrutinized by the United States Treasury, the European Union, and FATF-related mechanisms. Financial flows have been affected by sanctions, currency policies implemented by the Palestinian Monetary Authority, and diplomatic relations with Qatar, Turkey, and Syria that shaped aid, reconstruction projects, and financial transfers following conflicts and ceasefire arrangements brokered by Egypt and the UN.
Many states and organizations, including the United States, the European Union, Israel, Canada, and Japan, have designated the organization or its military wing as a terrorist organization, affecting travel, sanctions, and diplomacy vis‑à‑vis actors like the Quartet, the Arab League, and the United Nations Security Council. Conversely, some states maintain contacts for ceasefire negotiations, hostage negotiations, and humanitarian coordination with mediators such as Qatar and Egypt, while legal debates in courts across Europe, the International Criminal Court, and Israeli military courts address issues of armed conflict, terrorism definitions, and human rights allegations.
Category:Palestinian political organizations Category:Islamist organizations