The terrorist organization Hamas: structure, financing and foreign investment
Hamas (meaning: Enthusiasm, Heroism) is a Islamist terrorist organization.
Type of organization: Provider of social, political, religious, terrorist services
Ideologies and Belongings: Islamist, Jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood Group, Sunni
Place of origin: Gaza Strip
Year of origin: 1987
Founder (s): Ahmed Yassin, Mahmoud Zahar, Hassan Yousef, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, Mohammed Hassan Shama'a , Abdul Fattah Hassan Dukhan, Ibrahim Fares Al-Yazouri, Salah Shahada (Founder of the Qassam Brigades), Issa Al-Nashar
Places of action: Gaza Strip, West Bank, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran
Overview of the organization
Hamas is an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood founded in the Gaza Strip in the late 1980s, during the first intifada against Israel. The group's ideology combines Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks to destroy Israel and create an Islamic state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Since 2017, Hamas has claimed to have severed ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The organization also receives financial and military support from Iran. Qatar also provided significant funding to the organization.
The Hamas Doctrine
Hamas targets are derived from Muslim Brotherhood targets. The innovation in Hamas' conception is the integration of the Muslim theological conception into the framework of the Palestinian national struggle. Hamas argues that the State of Israel (or by its definition, "the Zionist entity") is an artificial entity, which is the fruit of occupation, oppression and plunder. In Hamas' view, all the land of the Land of Israel ("from the sea to the river") is Islamic holy (and encircled) land, which should be under Muslim rule. Christians and Jews are allowed to live as minorities in the Palestinian Palestinian state only if they recognize the rule of Islam.
Similar to the Muslim Brotherhood (and unlike the secular and nationalist PLO), Hamas strives to create an Islamist state based on Sharia principles (Islamic law). Therefore, Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist and has devoted itself to a violent search for the destruction of Israel. 8 of the 1988 Charter of Organization, summarizes the belief system of the terrorist group: “Allah is our goal, the Prophet is our model, the constitution of the Koran. "Way and death for the sake of Allah is our highest desire."
On May 1, 2017, Hamas unveiled a new political plan to complete the 1988 Charter. The so-called General Principles Document and its policy removed all ties between them and the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas accepted in principle the idea of ??a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders which was approved by a Palestinian national referendum. At the same time, however, Hamas reaffirmed its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, and reiterated its call for a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea." The document also reaffirmed Hamas' commitment to armed resistance "as a strategic choice to defend the principles and rights of the Palestinian people."
1988 Convention
The 1988 Hamas Convention describes four important issues that are crucial to the Hamas doctrine:
Topic: Relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood
Hamas is a direct descendant of the Muslim Brotherhood, and grew out of the Brotherhood's activities in Gaza, where it began establishing charities in the 1960s.
Second issue: Palestine
According to Article 11 of the Convention, Hamas declares all of Palestine before 1948 as an Islamic Waqf [religious dedication] dedicated to future Muslim generations until the Day of Judgment.
Third issue: nationalism
For Hamas, nationalism is part of its reason for existence, and it has intertwined nationalism with religious ideology, making it "part of the religious faith." Under Article 12 of the Convention, there is no need to fight more significantly or more deeply than in the case where the enemy treads on Muslim lands. Resistance and the destruction of the enemy become the individual duty of every Muslim, male or female.
Fourth issue: Israel and "armed resistance"
Hamas recognizes the existence of Israel, but does not recognize its legitimacy or right to exist. The preamble to the treaty quotes Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna as saying "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam eliminates it, just as it imitates others before it." Hamas maintains "armed resistance" as the only method of liberating Palestine. In Article 13 of the Convention, Hamas waives all peace plans or negotiations to resolve the Palestinian issue. The negotiations are "a contradiction to the principles of the Islamic resistance movement. Abuse in any part of Palestine is an abuse directed against [Islam]…".
Adherence to Hamas in the 1988 Convention
In a 2007 Los Angeles Times article, Abu Marzouk made a conciliatory note about the Hamas treaty, referring to it as a revolutionary document that should be examined in the context of its writing period. "If any country or movement were judged solely on the basis of the fundamental, revolutionary documents or ideas of its ancestors, there would be a good response from all sides," he wrote. Although Marzouk's statement does not completely negate the treaty, it does offer the possibility of a pragmatic path towards moderation in which Hamas is not bound by an inflexible example.