Hamas

Khaled Hroub

Description

What is Hamas's history; its key beliefs; and its political agenda? From its' founding, following the First Intifada, to the 2008 Israeli Gaza offensive, Khaled Hroub writes this indispensable introduction to Hamas.



The book encompasses all major events, including the January 2006 elections, the ever-evolving relationship with Fatah, and the Gaza war, in addition to providing insight into Hamas's ideology by studying their charter, their socio-economic strategies and their outlook on Israel. Explaining the reasons for Hamas's popularity, Hroub provides the key facts often missing from news reports.



The reality of Hamas's victory means that the West will now have to engage with it more seriously if there is to be peace in the Middle East. This book provides the first essential step towards a better understanding of the challenges and surprises that the future may hold.
Introduction to second edition

1. Hamas’s history

Islamism and the Palestinian struggle

The Muslim Brotherhood: the roots of Hamas

The formation of Hamas

2. Hamas’s ideology and objectives

The definition of Hamas, its ideological drive and worldview

Hamas Charter

Hamas: a national liberation movement or a religious movement

3. Hamas and Israel and Judaism

Hamas’s view of the Jews

Hamas’s view of Israel

4. Hamas’s resistance and military strategy

Forcing unconditional Israeli withdrawal

Suicide attacks

5. Hamas’s political and social strategy

Grassroots social work

Elections, democracy and mobilisation

Hamas’s economic outlook

6. Hamas and Fatah and the Palestinians

Hamas’s popularity

Hamas, the PLO and the Palestinian Left

Hamas and Fatah

Hamas and the Palestinian Christians

7. Hamas and ‘International Islamism’

Hamas and Muslim countries

Hamas and Muslim communities in the West

Hamas and Islamist movements

8. Hamas and the West

Hamas and the West

Hamas and the United States

Hamas and Europe

9. Hamas’s Leadership and Structure

Leadership

Hamas’s Charter

10. A New Hamas?

Hamas and the 2006 elections

The significance of Hamas’ victory

11. Hamas in Power

The mixed fortunes of Hamas in power

The mixed fortunes of Hamas in power-sharing and controlling

12. The future of Hamas

13. Hamas and Gaza War 2008/9

Hamas and the causes of the war

What Hamas gained and lost of the war

Hamas’ regional standing after the war

Index

Sujets

• Political Freedom
• Political Science
• Palestine

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 06 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783714667
• Langue: English

Extrait

HAMAS
Hamas
A Beginner’s Guide
Second edition
Khaled Hroub
First published 2006. Second edition published 2010 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 175 FifhAvenue, NewYork, NY 10010
Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Khaled Hroub 2006, 2010
The right of Khaled Hroub to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN  978 0 7453 2973 4 Hardback ISBN  978 0 7453 2972 7 Paperback ISBN  978 1 8496 4553 9 PDF eBook ISBN  978 1 7837 1467 4 Kindle eBook ISBN  978 1 7837 1466 7 EPUB eBook
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich
Printed and bound in the European Union by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Introduction to the Second Edition
1 Hamas’s history
Islamism and the Palestinian struggle
The Muslim Brotherhood roots of Hamas
The formation of Hamas
2 Hamas’s ideology, strategy and objectives
The definition of Hamas, its ideological drive and worldview
What is the Hamas Charter, and is it relevant?
Hamas: a national liberation movement or a religious movement?
3 Hamas, Israel and Judaism
Hamas’s view of the Jews
Hamas’s view of Israel
4 Hamas’s resistance and military strategy
Forcing unconditional Israeli withdrawal
Suicide attacks
5 Hamas’s political and social strategy
Hamas’s position on the various peace plans with Israel
Elections, democracy and mobilization
Hamas’s economic outlook
Grassroots social work
6 Hamas and the Palestinians
Hamas’s popularity
Hamas and secular Palestinian movements
7 Hamas and ‘International Islamism’
Hamas and Muslim countries
Hamas and Muslim communities in the West
Hamas and Islamist movements
8 Hamas and the West
Hamas and the West
Hamas and the United States
Hamas and Europe
9 Hamas’s leadership and structure
Leadership
Where does Hamas get its money?
10 A new Hamas?
Hamas and the 2006 elections
The significance of Hamas’s victory in the Legislative Council elections of 2006
11 Hamas in power
The mixed fortunes of Hamas in power
The mixed fortunes of Hamas in power sharing and control
12 The future of Hamas
Will Hamas maintain a moderate or radical line of thinking and action?
Will Hamas be stronger or weaker in the foreseeable future?
What will be the impact of Hamas on Middle Eastern politics and stability?
What is Hamas’s future after its full control over the Gaza Strip and the separation from the West Bank?
13 Hamas and the Gaza war
Has Hamas been weakened by the war militarily and politically?
Has the Gaza war strengthened or weakened Hamas’s regional standing and allies?
Recommended reading
Index
    
Preface
Hamas used to make shocking news the world over by its suicide attacks at the hearts of Israeli cities – unreserved retaliation to the continuous Israeli attacks against Palestinian cities and people. With no less of an impact, Hamas shocked the world in an unexpected way on 25 January 2006 by winning a landslide victory in the elections of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The PLC, although a quasi-parliament with limited sovereign powers, represents the embodiment of Palestinian political legitimacy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. By virtue of its victory Hamas formed a government and became the leading force in the national Palestinian struggle for the first time since it was founded in late 1987.
The result of the elections stunned the world. How could it be that a ‘terrorist organization’ as it is has always been labelled in the West, with a spooky secretive image, as it has been always portrayed in Western media, had emerged as a victorious popular political power? Hamas’s main rival had been the secular Fatah movement, which had led the Palestinians for almost half a century almost without interruption. Israel, the United States, Europe, the Arab regimes, the UN and many other regional and international players wanted Fatah to win. Against all odds and enemies Hamas triumphed! The entire world bemoaned, ‘What went wrong?’
In fact there was no ‘right’ against which ‘wrong’ could be measured in the context of the Palestinian elections. What went wrong, indeed, was the persistent and prevailing misconception of Hamas and the belittling of its power and leverage. Hamas in the eyes of many Westerners, official and lay alike, has always been reduced to a mere ‘terrorist group’ whose only function is and has been to aimlessly kill Israelis. On the ground in their own country, Hamas has been seen by many Palestinians as a deeply entrenched socio-political and popular force. In Palestinian eyes Hamas had been managing to chart parallel and harmonious paths of both military confrontation against the Israeli occupation, and grassroots social work, religious and ideological mobilisation and PR networking with other states and movements.
This book sets forth to tell the story of the ‘real Hamas’, not the misperceived and distorted one. By ‘real Hamas’ I mean the reality of Hamas as it has been on the ground in all its aspects – debunking any reductionist approach. Yet there is no intention here to provide an apologetic treatise about Hamas. It is up to the reader to shape her or his own opinion on this Palestinian movement. The purpose of this book, though, is to provide the basic information and necessary clarifying analysis.
The chapters of the book take the format of questions and answers, which may not seem very familiar. But it is in the interest of simplifying what could be seen by many as a complicated issue. Presenting the ‘most frequently asked questions’ about Hamas (within the Arab/Israeli conflict) and tackling them separately allows for a more straightforward and accessible read. The chapters are structured in both chronological and thematic fashion starting with the origins of Hamas and ending with the ‘new Hamas’ (Hamas after the elections), with all other aspects and issues relating to Hamas in between.
Over the past 16 years I have been following the developments of and within Hamas. I have written extensively on its social, political, military and religious aspects. I have published books, chapters in books, journal articles and many other writings trying to understand Hamas and convey my understanding to readers. I have interviewed Hamas’s leaders and met many of its policy-makers. Based on my close knowledge and first hand contact with Hamas people, I have taken the liberty to free the text in this book from footnotes and tiring references. In my other works such referencing and documentation is widely available, if sought.
My own perception of Hamas goes beyond the mere question of being with or against the movement. As a secular person myself, my aspiration is for Palestine, and all other Arab countries for that matter, to be governed by human-made laws. However, I see Hamas as a natural outcome of un-natural, brutal occupational conditions. The radicalism of Hamas should be seen as a completely predictable result of the ongoing Israeli colonial project in Palestine. Palestinians support whichever movement holds the banner of resistance against that occupation and promises to defend the Palestinian rights of freedom and self-determination. At this juncture of history, they see in Hamas the defender of those rights.
Words of gratitude are indeed due at the outset to family, friends and colleagues whose efforts and help make the publication of this book possible. I thank Roger van Zwanenberg of Pluto Books for his encouragement and friendly persistence to have me write this book. I also thank the staff at Pluto Books who put great effort in the production process of the book, Melanie Patrick, Helen Griffiths, Alec Gregory and Susan Curran from Curran Publishing. My sincere thanks go to my Cambridge friend and editor Pam Manix who stood by me chapter by chapter, glued to her computer during all those late nights of writing the book. I also thank Abed al-Juebeh, my dear friend and colleague at al-Jazeera, for his support and help. The ongoing insightful discussions with him, along with his critical and sometimes cynical mind were sources of inspiration for me. The final thanks and love go to my precious small family: Kholoud my wife and friend and my children Laith and Mayce, who as ever endured the little time I’ve given to them during the writing of this book, yet surrounded me with love, warmth and affection.
    
Introduction
In January 2006 Hamas stunned the world by winning the democratic elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council of the limited Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Bringing Hamas into the unprecedented glare of the limelight, this victory shocked many Palestinians, Israel, the United States, Europe and Arab countries. It also left the defeated Palestinian Fatah movement, Hamas’s main rival which had led the Palestinian national movement for more than 40 years, completely shattered.
Despite the shock and surprise, Hamas’s victory in those elections was in fact almost unavoidable. The cumulative failure over the past years to end a continuing brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and people had only deepened the frustration and radicalism within the Palestinian people. Palestinian frustration and sufferin