Who Is Hamas?

February 1, 2013

– Hamas, which is an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, is committed to destroying the Jewish state and replacing it with an Islamic state in all of “Palestine”—it advocates a holy war, or jihad, against Jews to liberate Palestine (rather than gradual Islamization), defining this as a religious obligation for all Muslims.

– According to Hamas’ Sunni Muslim theology, it is the religious duty of Muslims to undertake jihad against every enemy that occupies Muslim land. Hamas sees Israel as a Waqf, or permanent Muslim trust, and aims to impose Islamic Sharia law in what it regards as inalienable Muslim land. The Hamas emblem clearly illustrates the agenda of the organization in showing two crossed swords, the Dome of the Rock, and a map of future “Palestine” replacing all of present-day Israel.

– Nurturing a virulent hatred of Jews and Judaism, Hamas continues to target Jewish civilians as an integral part of its declared aim to kill Jews and destroy the Jewish state. To argue that Hamas is fighting a political war against Israel's “occupation” is contradicted by the continued targeting of Jews well within Israel's pre-1967 armistice lines, and especially after Israel's total and unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. 

– Hamas resolutely rejects compromises and negotiations of any kind with Israel. Its declared goal is nothing less than genocidal—Israel’s destruction, not territorial accommodation or peaceful coexistence. “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals, and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors” (Hamas’ Covenant, Article 13).

– Today, over half the population of Israel lives within the range of rocket-fire from Gaza—short and long range rocket attacks against Israel have become a Hamas tactic. The goal of these attacks remains to kill and injure Israelis and Jews, to terrorize the population and thus weaken Israel’s resolve, to undermine any possibility of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, and to stir up the “resistance” against Israel. Hamas is so brutally committed to its agenda that it consistently uses its own Palestinian population as civilian shields when launching rockets.

Source: Compiled by Keith Buxton, BFP National Director, Australia