Hamas: Strategy and Tactics
Another important Palestinian terrorist group is Hamas, and Hamas emerges out of the Muslim
Brotherhood, which is an Islamist organization founded in Egypt that has wings, or branches, or
affiliations around the Muslim world. And the Brotherhood was particularly strong in Gaza, but
when Egypt controlled Gaza, after the 1948 war, and until 1967, the Brotherhood was
suppressed because the Egyptian government saw it as a political threat.
Again, the 1967 war is a huge change, and for the Brotherhood, and eventually for Hamas, this
is a huge change for two reasons. First, as with Fatah, the idea of Pan-Arabism is descredited.
So, Egyptian President, Nasser's idea that Arab states will liberate Palestine is discredited. And,
the Brotherhood is pushing the idea that the real problem is that Muslims have turned away
from Islam, and that what they need to do is renew their faith, and become more committed, and
this idea gains credibility after 1967. But perhaps even more important, there's a change of
control in Gaza. Israel takes over the Gaza Strip, and perhaps ironically, is much more open to
Islamist political participation.
Unlike the Egyptian government, Israel doesn't see the Muslim Brotherhood as a direct threat.
And in fact, Israel is much more concerned about Arab nationalism, much more concerned
about Fatah, and it sees the Brotherhood as a counterweight to this because the Brotherhood is
often hostile to Arafat and Fatah. Hamas itself emerges in 1987 during the first Palestinian
Intifada. This is a largely peaceful uprising that occurs on the West Bank in Gaza.
There's so much energy though. There's so much activism, that it is impossible for the
Brotherhood to sit this one out. And they had traditionally avoided a direct role in politics, but
they feel that if they're not involved in the Intifada, if they're not involved in playing a direct role
to counter, if you will, Fatah and other groups, that they're going to be overtaken by events.
They'll be seen as irrelevant, and young people will not support them. So, they enter the fray,
and they begin to use violence, but the identity they're pushing is different from Fatah. Where
Fatah is pushing a Palestinian identity, Hamas is pushing an identity that is Palestinian, but also
Islamic.
They're saying we don't just want a Palestinian state, we want an Islamic government in
Palestine. Hamas becomes truly important during the 1990s. Early in the 1990s, Fatah moves
from a terrorist group to a negotiating partner of Israel. And there's real hope. At least I had real
hope that there was going to be a peace deal. And Hamas sees this as a double danger. First, it
for ideological reasons, opposes peace with Israel, sees Israel as an enemy, but peace would
also mean that Fatah consolidated its position, in control of the Palestinian people.
So, it's trying to disrupt the peace talks for both its own political reasons, but also because it
believes that a peace deal would be a betrayal. Now, Hamas and another group, Palestine
Islamic Jihad, used suicide bombings very effectively to disrupt peace talks. There are five
suicide bombings in 1994 and these kill roughly 40 Israelis. And, in addition to the carnage of
