Hamas
Palestinian political and military organization / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hamas,[lower-alpha 4] an acronym of its official name, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الإسلامية, romanized: Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah, lit. 'Islamic Resistance Movement'),[52] is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist[53] political and military movement governing the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.[54]
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Islamic Resistance Movement حركة المقاومة الإسلامية | |
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Chairman of the Political Bureau | Ismail Haniyeh |
Deputy Chairman | Saleh al-Arouri X |
Leader in the Gaza Strip | Yahya Sinwar |
Military commander | Mohammed Deif |
Deputy military commander | Marwan Issa X |
Founder |
... and others
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Founded | December 10, 1987 (1987-12-10) |
Split from | Muslim Brotherhood |
Headquarters | Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
Military wing | Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades |
Membership | 20,000–25,000[8] |
Ideology | |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Political alliance | Alliance of Palestinian Forces |
Colours | Green |
Palestinian Legislative Council | 74 / 132 |
Flag of Hamas | |
Hamas | |
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Dates of operation | 1987–present |
Headquarters | Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
Size | 40,000[18] |
Allies | State allies:
Non-state allies: |
Opponents | State opponents:
Non-state opponents: |
Battles and wars | |
Designated as a terrorist group by |
Hamas was founded by Palestinian imam and activist Ahmed Yassin in 1987, after the outbreak of the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation. It emerged from his 1973 Mujama al-Islamiya Islamic charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.[55] In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election by campaigning on clean government without corruption, combined with affirmation of Palestinians' right to armed struggle against the Israeli occupation, thus winning a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council.[56] In 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from rival Palestinian faction Fatah,[57][58] which it has governed since separately from the Palestinian National Authority. This was followed by an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip with Egyptian support, and multiple wars with Israel, including in 2008–09, 2012, 2014, and 2021. The ongoing 2023 war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing mostly civilians, and taking hostages back to Gaza.[59][60][61] The attack has been described as the biggest military setback for Israel since the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, which Israel has responded to in an ongoing ground invasion of Gaza.[62]
While initially seeking a state in all of Mandatory Palestine that would replace Israel, Hamas began acquiescing to 1967 borders in the agreements it signed with Fatah in 2005, 2006 and 2007.[63][64][65] In 2017, Hamas released a new charter that supported a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders without recognizing Israel.[66][67][68][69] Hamas's repeated offers of a truce (for a period of 10–100 years[70]) based on the 1967 borders are seen by many as being consistent with a two-state solution,[71][72][73][74] while others state that Hamas retains the long-term objective of establishing one state in former Mandatory Palestine.[75][76] While the 1988 Hamas charter was widely described as antisemitic, Hamas's 2017 charter removed the antisemitic language and said Hamas's struggle was with Zionists, not Jews.[77][78][79][80] Hamas has promoted Palestinian nationalism in an Islamic context.[81] In terms of foreign policy, Hamas has historically sought out relations with Egypt,[82] Iran,[82] Qatar,[83] Saudi Arabia,[84] Syria[82] and Turkey[85]; some of its relations have been impacted by the Arab Spring.[86][clarification needed]
Hamas has carried out attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, including suicide bombings and indiscriminate rocket attacks.[87] These actions have led human rights groups to accuse it of war crimes. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Paraguay, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union[44] have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. In 2018, a motion at the United Nations to condemn Hamas was rejected.[lower-alpha 5][89][90]