By Eric Vandenbroeck

The Hamas File Part Two

In January 2008 I extensively reported on Hamas whereby now I like to focus more on not only the origins of Hamas but also what is its way forward.

One has to understand course that as much one can object to Hama's Covenant (and no peace talks will ever change that) promises that "Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it." The document further argues that "the Day of Judgments will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them."

In my January 2008 article, I wrote that it is possible to trace the shift in strategy from the desire to promote Islamic resistance to the desire to knock the PLO off its perch to 1993 when Hamas announced its rejection of the Oslo Accords and began the campaign of 'martyrdom operations' in the region to impede any consensus between the two sides. The period between 1994 and 2002 witnessed the climax of Hamas' suicide missions, preventing any possibility of a reconciliation with Israel. The impact of those operations eventually resulted in the humiliating Israeli siege of President Arafat inside his headquarters in Ramallah and the thorough destruction of the national infrastructure in the territory, including the newly built international airport.

This also explains why on the morning of Saturday, October 7, Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel on an unprecedented scale: firing thousands of rockets, infiltrating militants into Israeli territory, and taking an unknown number of hostages. At least 100 Israelis have died, and 1,400 have been wounded; the Israeli Prime Minister declared that his country was “at war.” As Israeli forces responded, around 200 Palestinians were killed and about 1,600 wounded.

Israel in turn had been confident that Hamas was deterred from launching a major attack: they wouldn’t dare because they would get crushed because the Palestinians would turn against Hamas for causing another war. And the Israelis believed that Hamas was in a different mode now: focused on a long-term cease-fire in which each side benefited from a live-and-let-live arrangement. Some 19,000 Palestinian workers were going into Israel daily from Gaza, which was helping the economy and generating tax revenues.

But it turns out that was all a massive deception. And so people are in shock, and, like on Jihadist 9/11, there is this sense of, “How is it possible that a ragtag band of terrorists could pull this off? How could they beat the mighty Israeli intelligence community and the mighty Israeli Defense Forces?” We don’t have good answers yet, but I’m sure part of the reason was hubris, an Israeli belief that sheer force could deter Hamas and that Israel did not have to address the long-term problems.

Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's diplomatic mission to the Middle East arrives against a backdrop of escalating violence in Gaza and a wave of campus protests across the United States.

Hamas was founded in 1987, as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna the Muslim Brotherhood (al-lichwan al-Muslimun) initially in Egypt itself combined two elements, reforming Islam and fighting colonialism. The Muslim Brotherhood’s strategy was a novel one as it aimed to create a popular movement that would rely on reforming Islam to create a social revolution. During the 1930s and 1940s then, the brotherhood’s idea revolved around the desire to rebuild the caliphate, increasingly sidelining those voices who advocated a nationalist strategy based on reforming Arab states independently. The new strategy entailed the indoctrination of younger generations, but also the decision to find a modus vivendi with the existing political order of Arab states.1

The most dynamic and deadly offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas. Only after the outbreak of the Intifada in 1987 was the Muslim Brotherhood formed into the political entity that carried out a terrorist war against Israel. At the same time that Hamas was launching war with Israel, it was also establishing schools, hospitals, mosques, and other services in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Hamas's popularity among Palestinians comes from a combination of its orientation, its war against Israel, and the social services that it provides. See Banna, Hassan; Hamas (Haara Muqawama al-Islami) (Islamic Rev Movement).

One also should mention the important conflict between Fatah and Hamas, with over 600 Palestinians killed in the fighting from January 2006 to May 2007 alone. The two factions have not managed to heal political disputes, except when a few days ago Reuters reported that the two rival Palestinian groups have expressed a will to seek reconciliation through dialogue at unity talks in China.

The militant Islamist organization Hamas had previously announced that it would also send a delegation to Egypt to conclude the ongoing, indirect negotiations with Israel on an agreement to release hostages and a ceasefire.

The state-run Egyptian television station al-Qahera News reported that a Hamas delegation is due to arrive in Cairo within the next two days to continue the negotiations.

The Israeli government has announced a rapid start to a controversial offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt if no agreement is reached.

The leader of the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, still has three demands in the current negotiation offer for a hostage deal, according to a media report.

He continues to demand a guaranteed end to the war, a source close to the Hamas leader told the Israeli television station Channel 12 on Thursday evening. Israel has so far denied this.

Sinwar reportedly wants a written commitment for an "unconditional end to the fighting".

According to the broadcaster, al-Sinwar is also demanding that Israel does not prevent the return to the West Bank of Palestinian prisoners who are to be released in return for hostages kidnapped from Israel.

According to the latest draft of a deal, Israel wants to send those serving life sentences to the Gaza Strip or abroad.

Furthermore, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip wants details of materials that Israel will not allow to be delivered to the coastal area for reconstruction.

According to the report, the assumption in Israel is that Hamas will not give a clearly negative response to the proposal due to international pressure. Egyptian mediators, with US support, are currently trying to reach an agreement.

Also, CIA Director Burns visits Cairo as Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations continue.

 

1 Trevor Stanley, "Understanding the Origins of Wahhabism and Salafism," Terrorism Monitor 3, no. 14, 15 July 2005.

 

 

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