What is Hamas, and why is it not involved in the peace process?
Hamas is a radical Islamist organisation that emerged from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood during the early stages of the First Intifada. Its charter was issued in 1988, setting out the goals and vision of the organisation. It includes a firm and explicit rejection of the very idea of a peace process, which would involve the surrender of ‘Islamic land’ and the recognition of Israel’s right to exist on it. The central aim of Hamas is to establish an Islamic state in all territory defined as ‘Palestine’ (from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River) through armed struggle. Hamas is fiercely anti-Semitic and its charter blames Jews for all kinds of evils, including the First and Second World Wars. Hamas has become a leading perpetrator of terror attacks against Israel, as well as against suspected Palestinian ‘collaborators’ and Fatah rivals. Hamas has carried out suicide bombings and attacks in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel since the early 1990s, and also uses
Hamas is a radical Islamist organisation that emerged from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood during the early stages of the First Intifada. Its charter was issued in 1988, setting out the goals and vision of the organisation. It includes a firm and explicit rejection of the very idea of a peace process, which would involve the surrender of ‘Islamic land’ and the recognition of Israel’s right to exist on it. The central aim of Hamas is to establish an Islamic state in all territory defined as ‘Palestine’ (from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River) through armed struggle. Hamas is fiercely anti-Semitic and its charter blames Jews for all kinds of evils, including the First and Second World Wars. Hamas has become a leading perpetrator of terrorist attacks against Israel, as well as against suspected Palestinian ‘collaborators’ and Fatah rivals. Hamas has carried out suicide bombings and attacks against Israel since the early 1990s. In recent years, its principal method
