The name Hamas is an abbreviation of the Arabic words "Islamic resistance movement." This is a political party and a political movement operating in the territory of Palestine occupied by Israel.
The movement was formed in December 1987 under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin at the beginning of the first intifada, or Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the constituent document of the Hamas party, its main goal is the destruction of Israel and the creation of a theocratic Islamic state on the territory from the Jordan River to the Red Sea. In addition to this main goal, there is also the immediate one - the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
The peaceful wing of the organization was engaged in charity work for some time, creating sympathetic networks of hospitals, schools, kindergartens and Islamic University with the money. The combat wing carried out terrorist attacks against Israelis and Palestinians loyal to the Israeli administration.
Hamas became the main opponent of the Oslo peace agreement in 1993, when agreements were reached on self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for 5 years in exchange for Palestinian guarantees for protecting Israel’s security.
The organization launched a series of attacks against Israeli citizens using suicide bombers to stop the peace process. The result was the growing popularity in Israel of the conservative Netanyahu, who was also an opponent of the Oslo Accords. As a result, this politician was taken by the post-prime minister of Israel. Tighter policies regarding the Palestinian Authority, in turn, have increased Hamas’s popularity among Palestinians.
In 2006, Hamas won the parliamentary elections in Palestine. His rival was the more moderate Fatah party, which abandoned terrorist methods of struggle for independence. Its leader Mahmoud Abbas constantly accused Hamas of the fact that the movement by its actions provokes Israel to tighten the regime and complicates the lives of ordinary Palestinians. After the election victory, Hamas got additional opportunities to fight Fatah. In 2007, a military conflict broke out between Hamas and Fatah, as a result of which Hamas retained control of the Gaza Strip and Fatah retained control of the rest of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas leadership confirmed that its main goal remains the destruction of Israel as a state, and refused to recognize all agreements concluded with this country. In response, many autonomy-sponsored states announced an economic boycott of the Gaza Strip.
In late 2008, Israel announced the start of the Cast Lead military operation against Hamas, in response to repeated shelling from the Gaza Strip. International observers, human rights activists and Red Cross doctors have noted cases of seizure by terrorists of humanitarian aid sent to the population. Hamas activists forbade wounded Palestinians from seeking help at a field hospital deployed by Israel near the Erez checkpoint. 64 ambulances - a gift from the Arab states - were confiscated by Hamas and used as military equipment. Terrorists also used military operations to settle accounts with Fatah - several dozen of its members were killed and wounded.
A network of cells is being created in the Gaza Strip of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, with which Hamas has not developed relations either: Al Qaeda considers Hamas a soft-skinned and cowardly organization that attaches too much importance to Western opinion.
