4486

Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah - Islamic Resistance Movement)

Hamas aims to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation. Hamas' stance of advocating jihad (armed struggle) against the Israelis should not be stereotyped as a terrorist group that propagates violence. We believe that Hamas' basic principles are stemmed from the movement's frustration of Israel's refusal to accept Palestine as a sovereign state, a prerequisite by Hamas before negotiations can begin. This will lead to a stalemate, as Israel wants Hamas to denounce violence before negotiations can begin, while Hamas will not negotiate until Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state. We assess that Hamas initially sees jihad as a more effective strategy to acquire their goals as compared to negotiations. But with Hamas holding the majority of seats in the Palestinian National Authority since January 2006, Hamas has softened and is using the diplomatic approach to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (read: Projected Activities) Hamas' ideological platform can be coined as Islamist-Nationalist. Hamas' primary objective is 'nationalist', which means that they are intent on pursuing their Islamist agenda solely within Palestine. Hamas' leadership believes that Palestinians are the rightful owners of the land that Israel currently sits on, and seeks to 'liberate' these lands from the Israelis. This is different from Hamas' arch-rival, the Fatah party, which can be categorized as a Secular-Nationalist party. Fatah also seeks to 'liberate' Palestine, but the major difference is the ideology which Fatah base their rule, i.e. a secular political ideology more in-line with the Western world's view. Hamas' political system meanwhile is more inclined towards Islamic law. Even so, Hamas should also not be mistaken for having the same agenda as Global Jihadi groups, whose objectives are to establish a trans-national caliphate system without the existence of state borders. Another major difference between Hamas and Global Jihadi groups is Hamas' strategy. Though it has attacked Israeli civilians, Hamas is also pursuing its objectives through political means and by joining the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Assembly. This political strategy is seen by Global Jihadis as blasphemous, as they perceive it to be an endorsement of man-made laws instead of God's.