Page 183 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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160———Hamas

and an adviser to President François Mitterrand were Accords and does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
fired. Mitterrand himself told journalists that when he The military faction of the group, called the Izz-al-Din
heard Habash had been allowed into the country he al-Qassam Brigades, has carried out scores of suicide
thought that those responsible had gone “mad.” bombings and terror attacks inside Israel and the occu-
In recent years, Habash has largely withdrawn from pied territories since Hamas began in 1987. The group’s
public view; he stepped down from PFLP leadership military wing is also said to have carried out attacks on
in July 2000, and continues to live in Damascus, Syria. Fatah rivals and Palestinians suspected of collaborating
In August 2001, Israeli forces assassinated Habash’s with Israel.
successor, Abu Ali Mustafa, killing him as he sat in his Formed in 1987 during the first intifada by members
Ramallah office. of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood,
the group aims to establish an Islamic Palestinian
See also YASIR ARAFAT; HIJACKING; PALESTINE LIBERATION
state in place of Israel, on the land once mandated as
ORGANIZATION; POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF
PALESTINE; ILICH RAMÍREZ SÁNCHEZ (CARLOS THE JACKAL) Palestine. Hamas maintains a large social, religious,
and political presence in the Palestinian territories and
has built hospitals and schools. The group also engages
Further Reading
in political activity, with candidates running in elec-
Bailey, Clinton. Jordan’s Palestinian Challenge, 1948- tions for the West Bank Chamber of Commerce.
1983: A Political History. Boulder, CA: Westview, According to the U.S. State Department, which lists
1984. Hamas as a terrorist group, Hamas has an unknown
Black, Ian. “Rise and Fall of the ‘Wise Physician.’” The number of hard-core members, plus tens of thousands
Guardian (London), February 1, 1992, 11.
Fisk, Robert. “Still Dreaming of His Homeland; Robert of supporters and sympathizers, largely in the Gaza
Fisk in Damascus Hears George Habash, Orator, Fighter Strip. The group also maintained a large presence in
and Refugee, Spell Out His Terms for a Settlement With Jordan until the fall of 1999, when King Abdullah II
Israel.” The Independent (London), October 9, 1993, 10. came into power and prohibited Hamas from operat-
Jansen, Michael. “Habash Says PLO Israel Peace Plan Is a ing. Jordanian authorities then arrested Hamas leaders
Retreat From Long Term Policy.” Irish Times, February working in the country and closed Hamas’s Political
16, 1994, 8. Bureau offices in the capital.
Sontag, Deborah. “A Hard-Line Palestinian Returns to the The spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed
West Bank.” New York Times, October 1, 1999. Yassin, was an Islamic scholar in Cairo during his
Tempest, Rone. “Cresson Survives Confidence Vote in youth. He was left quadriplegic after a childhood
Furor Over Habash.” Los Angeles Times, February 12, accident but rose to prominence when Hamas
1992, A1.
emerged from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Israeli forces arrested Yassin in 1989 and sentenced
HAGE, WADIH EL-. See EL-HAGE, him to life in prison for ordering the killing of
WADIH. Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the Israeli
Army. After eight years in prison, Yassin was released
in a trade-off with Jordan for two Israeli Mossad
agents who were caught attempting to assassinate a
HAMAS Hamas leader in Jordan.
Yassin is famous for publicly repeating, “The
aka Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, Islamic so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a sub-
Resistance Movement, Students of Ayyash, stitute for jihad and resistance.” He is said to provide
Students of the Engineer, Yahya Ayyash Units, Izz inspiration for and promise martyrdom to those who
al-Din al-Qassam Brigades
engage in suicide bombings. These bombers are often
young unmarried men, although women and men with
The main Islamic movement in the Palestinian terri- families have also used themselves as human bombs
tories, Hamas (“zeal” in Arabic and also an acronym for Hamas. The bombers often strap nail-filled explo-
for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamia, or Islamic sives to their bodies that kill them when detonated but
Resistance Movement) opposes the Oslo Peace also cause greater damage to their victims.