Hamas and its Positions Towards Israel

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Organization Hamas was founded in the late 1980s as an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. The movement emerged as a doubly-driven religious-nationalist liberation movement embracing the strategy of armed resistance against occupying Israel. Consequently, Hamas shocked the world with its suicide attacks in the hearts of Israeli cities, and its continued efforts of retaliation following Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets. Then, in 2006, Hamas shocked the world once again, winning the democratic elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.In 2007 Hamas assumed full control over the Gaza Strip, taking over power from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. In December 2008 Hamas became enrolled in an all-out war with Israel, with the Israeli army waging both air raids and ground attacks against the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the continuous firing of Hamas's Qassam rockets into Israel.

In 2007 Hamas assumed full control over the Gaza Strip, taking over power from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. In December 2008 Hamas became enrolled in an all-out war with Israel, with the Israeli army waging both air raids and ground attacks against the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the continuous firing of Hamas's Qassam rockets into Israel.

Evidently, the war on Gaza receives the world's full attention. Observers not only question the tactics and decisions by the Israeli army in this conflict, they are equally concerned with understanding Hamas's infrastructure and the dynamics of the movement's following throughout the Gaza Strip. Naturally, Hamas as a movement has undergone several developments and experiences that are for the most part closely linked to domestic political occurrences and its relationship to Israel. This study intends to shed further light on the development of Hamas as an organization. To this end, it focuses on maturational differences between Hamas's thinking about Israel in the movement's early years and its later phases.

Floor Janssen studied Arabic Language and Middle Eastern Studies at the Radboud University Nijmegen and graduated in 2008. During her study she specialized in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle Eastern politics and Islamic contention. In 2007 and 2008 she contributed to the Transnational Terrorism, Security and the Rule of Law (TTSRL) project during an internship at the Clingendael Institute.