“Hamas is a terrorist organization”, a stern looking US president Joe Biden told the world a couple of days after the events of October 7th. “Hamas is evil”, he said, “it’s a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews” he added. The atrocities committed against civilians on October 7th were terrible and must be condemned. But what is Hamas, exactly? Why do they do what they do? Here is some background….

Is it true that Hamas is “evil”? Is it true that its stated purpose is to “kill Jews?” At the request of many subscribers, CTIP provides some background information.

Hamas is a Palestinian political party that was founded in 1987, as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas no longer claims any ties to the Brotherhood. In the beginning, Israel encouraged the growth of Hamas, seeing it as a counterweight to Yasir Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization which Israel saw as its main enemy at the time.

The original Hamas Charter of 1988 was a defiant religiously-inspired rant against the dispossession of the Palestinian people by Israel, both in 1947/48 and again in 1967. It included lots of crude antisemitic content – blaming Jews for everything from starting World War I to infiltrating the Rotary and Lions clubs. It also made reference to the crudely antisemitic, and now completely discredited, “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

In 2006, Hamas set aside armed struggle, and opted to participate in the political process in Palestine. It ran candidates publicly in the internationally monitored Palestinian election, under the banner of “Change and Reform” against corruption in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Hamas won almost everywhere including West Bank and Gaza!!!

Hamas resounding win surprised the Israelis and its American backers. Many Palestinians who did not support the Hamas religious ideology voted for it because it was seen as a more serious and effective opposition to Israel, and because they were fed up with rampant corruption in the ruling Fatah party.

Despite being democratically chosen in internationally-monitored elections, Israel and the West refused to recognize the new government. Many Hamas’ candidates in the West Bank (including those who had been elected) were arrested and put in prison.

However, the elected Hamas candidates were able to form a government in Gaza to popular acclaim. It was immediately opposed by Israel and the West. In 2007, Hamas put down a US-backed attempted coup, following which Israel imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip.

New Hamas Charter

Hamas adopted a new charter in 2017 which cleaned up the earlier antisemitic language. The updated 2017 charter clarified Hamas’ position by stating that it is not anti-Jewish but anti-Zionist and against the Zionist occupation of Palestine.

ARTICLE 16 HAMAS CHARTER 2017

“Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish, but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine.“

A longer and reasonably objective description of the evolution of Hamas can be found in this Wikipedia article.

Not surprisingly Israel claims that the revised Hamas Charter is just “windowdressing” and that Hamas remains fundamentally antisemitic. Other observers argue that the new charter represented a new opening and recommended pursuing discussions with Hamas. Israel and the USA refused to engage in discussions.

Hamas terrorism

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU, but not by dozens of other countries. Its emissaries are welcomed in Russia, China and in the capitals of many countries in the “Global south”.

According to the UN, terrorism is “any action . . . that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, (…) to intimidate a population, or to compel a Government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act”. That certainly applies to Hamas. But it would equally apply to most armies in the world. Isn’t that exactly what Dresden, or Hiroshima was about? Isn’t it what the IDF is doing in bombing the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza?

In order to help OFIP members and supporters to better understand Hamas, OFIP organized a webinar in March 2022 with three experts to give us some insight. They were:

• Diana Buttu, a Palestinian Canadian living in Haifa who was formerly part of the PLO negotiations team
• Dr. Jonathan Kuttab, a Christian Palestinian scholar and activist
• Dr. Mosheer Amer, Professor of English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza *

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SmcOL6BYSuE%3Fsi%3D6zV-sO6VHWn5vUMz

* CTIP was in touch with Dr. Amer during the first few days of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. He told us that he was in mortal danger and that his kids were terrified. We have not heard from him since October 29th. We fear for his safety and that of his family. He was not a member of Hamas.

Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca