The Hamas Organization

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the history and goals of Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Mugawima al-Islamiyya, also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement. The paper relates that the organization's goals are anti-Israeli, as it fights for destroying the state of Israel and creating a Palestinian Islamic state by using very violent terrorist aggression against Israeli civilians. The paper also relates that one of the most dangerous threats for regional security resides in the violent fights between Hamas and Fatah, which led to the separation of Palestine with Hamas controlling Gaza and Fatah, the West Bank.

From the Paper:

'Despite the organization's social and religious activities, Hamas is primarily a military organization, well equipped, financed and organized. Its military wing is responsible for the acts of violence attributed to the organization. In achieving their goal of re-establishing Palestine on the territories that were known as hers before 1947, Hamas has used the term "jihad" (religious war), with the meaning that it will carry a war against any enemy of Islam, referring to Israel. Comparing to PLO, which has carried negotiations in the past with Israel and which seems more eager to find a solution for the dispute, Hamas remains radical in claiming all the territories they believe are rightfully Palestinian and accept no negotiation with Israel.'

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aftergood, Steven, HAMAS - The Islamic Resistance Movement, updated March 8, 2006, available at http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/hamas.htm;
• Hamas, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas;
• Hamas, June 8, 2007, available at http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/#1;
• Hamas: The Organization, Goals and Tactics of a Militant Palestinian Organization, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, October 14, 1993, available at http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/931014-hamas.htm;
• Isseroff, Ami, Hamas, available at http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm;

More papers on The Hamas Organization:

• Descriptive Essay # 106979 : "Terrorism: Hamas"
• Research Paper # 93752 : "Hamas"
• Term Paper # 128558 : "Hamas Terrorism"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: