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Who and what is Hamas?
Political observers were stunned when the Islamic group Hamas won a landslide victory in the Jan. 25 Palestinian Legislative Council elections, putting it at the helm of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and throwing peace prospects into turmoil. So who and what is Hamas?
Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya ("Islamic Resistance Movement"). In Arabic, the word hamas is typically defined as "zeal" or "warlike strength and bravery." Ironically, hamas is also a Hebrew word meaning "violence."
Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, established in Gaza in 1946. Hamas officially formed in 1987. It carried out its first suicide bombing in 1993. Due to its attacks against civilian targets including buses, supermarkets, shopping areas, hotels and restaurants, Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by most Western nations, including the United States and the European Union.
Since the current wave of Palestinian violence began in September 2000, Hamas has launched more than 400 attacks against Israelis, killing almost 400 and injuring more than 2,000. Of these attacks, the most deadly were 52 suicide bombings, including two by women.
In 1988 Hamas published its 9,100-word charter. This declaration of the organization's fundamental principles illustrates why peace is unlikely to break out anytime soon in the Middle East. Some excerpts:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."
"Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious."
"The Islamic Resistance Movement . . . strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine."
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