AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1948, the continuation of aggression and the occupation of two-thirds of the Palestinian territory after the Arab defeat in the 1967 war, the lack of international support for Palestinian rights, and the failure to condemn the Israeli crimes by the UN Security Council motivated a group of Palestinian youths to choose struggle and resistance for the Palestinian people's rights. The group was founded under Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) name.
The movement was founded on December 15, 1987, under the leadership of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, with the goal of "liberating all Palestinian territory." In addition to fighting the Israeli regime and the ideology of Zionism and trying to liberate its homeland from Jewish occupation and aggression, Hamas has opposed any colonialism that seeks to hijack the independence and plunder the land, wealth and resources of the Arab and Islamic worlds. It would continue to "push the aggressor back from the river to the sea," according to its manifesto.
The movement today celebrates the 34th anniversary of its founding as it has been able to make significant progress in its resistance and struggle strategy, and changing its defensive approach to offensive one, it remarkably managed to prevent Israeli advancement of plans in Gaza, Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and West Bank.
Big Hamas anniversary celebration
The 34th anniversary of Hamas foundation began after Friday prayers on December 10, and people from mosques in northern Gaza attended the ceremony in the presence of thousands of Hamas supporters and staff. Some resistance leaders delivered speeches at the ceremony.
"We will continue to resist without any halt. The issue of captives in our responsibility and the people of the West Bank are the fuel of the intifada," said Hamas leader Mushir al-Masri referring to the anti-Israeli revolts.
Al-Masri warned the Israelis against continuing the siege of Gaza, now in its 16th year, adding: "Hamas calls for elections for the presidency and the parliament and will welcome any Arab or Islamic attempt to achieve unity, and calls on the Palestinian Authority to stop its security coordination with the Zionist enemy. Resistance has been and will be Hamas's unremitting strategy."
Addressing the masses, senior Hamas leader Mohammed Al-Zahar says said: "We call on Britain and the United States that Hamas is a liberation movement whose mission is to liberate its land and its people. The participation of thousands in the march marking the anniversary of the founding of Hamas emphasizes that the Palestinians do not waive their rights and neglect their land even a single inch." Al-Zahar added: "The establishment of Hamas was a great blessing. One blessing was the day when people in the West Bank, Al-Quds, and Gaza Strip polling stations voted yes to a movement that was the first legitimate Palestinian body to show the true face of the Palestinian people. The whole world knows Hamas foundation was not incidental but a God will."
During the years after its formation, the Islamic Resistance Movement was fast to achieve significant successes and triumphs in the Gaza Strip by resorting to military resistance ideas of its leaders and commanders. The persistence with these gains along with adopting resistant agenda bought Hamas more popularity nationwide and region-wide. People compared two attitudes; one choosing compromises to the Israeli expansionism adopted by Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) since the 1980s and failing to make any gains and thus losing popular trust. The other one, represented by Hamas, has been pro-resistance and making landmark victories over the Israeli occupation. People are wise enough which one to choose.
Here are some considerable Hamas gains in a set of developments:
Victory in 2006 parliamentary election
With the parliamentary elections held on January 25, 2006, with a turnout rate of 77 percent, Hamas won 76 of the 132 seats. Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was tasked with forming the tenth Palestinian cabinet shortly after. Although Hamas won the majority in a democratic election, Washington and the European Union refused to recognize its victory and imposed sanctions on the movement and Washington blacklisted it as a terrorist group. In addition, a year after the election, the dispute between Fatah and Hamas escalated in the summer of 2007, sparking a full-blown civil war that left Hamas in control of the entire Gaza Strip. Despite the fact that the parliamentary elections win did not last long, current polls indicate that the movement is still popular and the chances of winning the upcoming elections will be high.
2008 Israeli war on Gaza
Following the parliamentary election and Hamas victory, Tel Aviv imposed a ground and air blockade on Gaza. It then launched an air war against the besieged enclave on December 27, 2008. The outcome was a 22-day war under Operation Cast Lead— called by military wing of Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassan Brigades "Operation Forqan.“
According to research by some European institutions, the Israeli regime used illegal weapons such as phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium. The regime also dropped 1,000 tons of explosives on the people of Gaza, killing more than 1,400 and injuring more than 5,000. Despite the heavy-handed bombardment campaign, Tel Aviv ended the war in the disgrace of defeat as it failed to achieve the goals for which it started the aggression.
In fact, one Israeli goal in this attack was to establish a population of 1.5 million settlers around Gaza. But its failure left it face to face with a reverse migration crisis.
"Israel's war against Gaza in December 2008 did not weaken the resistance, but rather strengthened it. The Forqan War fortified the base of resistance culture. The Israeli operation failed and the resistance has become stronger than ever and increased its forces," wrote Haniyeh in a article published by Hamas's official website.
2014 Israeli war: 51 days of unwavering resistance
The 51-day Israeli war on Gaza began in 2014, leaving about 2,250 people killed and 11,000 wounded, with a significant number of them being children and civilians. The war, which began with Israel's abduction of 10 Palestinian teenagers, prompted the Islamic Resistance Movement to retaliate under Operation Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous. In this war, the Hamas forces disclosed the strategic weakness of Israel by firing missiles at the regime's capital. In addition, in this operation, Hamas expanded its missiles' range to areas such as Western Al-Quds, Beit Shamis, Gush Dan, Renata, Kefar Sava, and Zikhron Ya'akov settlements in the extreme east of Israel.
Giora Eiland, a former Israeli cabinet security adviser, in an article to Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper admitted the Israeli weakness, saying: "Hamas is the real voice of the people in Gaza. It created a strong army and established its government in action. In fact, Israel allowed this government to fire missiles and bullets at it for years, and at the same time we allowed them to receive food, which is ridiculous. Although Hamas suffered a heavy blow in this war, it did not lose."
Actually, Hamas perfectly showcased its progress and power to the Israelis once again in 2014 war by using Kornet, Malyutka, Baraq-100, Baraq-70, Fajr-5, Jarad, and Quds rockets.
11-day war in 2021
Israeli expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Eastern Al-Quds drew reaction from Hamas in defense of the civilians. The result was a heavy 11-day conflict between the two. The May war unveiled to the Israeli leaders and decision-makers yet another stage of Hamas military power and resistance approach. During the counter-operation, dubbed by Hamas Operation Sword of Al-Quds, for the first time the Palestinian movement shifted from defensive to offensive strategy with preemptive strikes. The distinctive point about this operation was that it was not limited to Gaza and for the first time Hamas back was held by a majority of Palestinians across the occupied territories. The restrictions foisted on the Palestinian communication with the world gave more reasons to the region and even the world to show solidarity with Palestine.
Pointing to the Arab normalization with Tel Aviv, Major General Amos Gilead, who is the executive director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy, held that "we may have made some achievements but Hamas managed to once again bring Palestinian cause and Jerusalem to the eyes of all."
In addition to demonstrating the Hamas missile strength in successive attacks on Israeli sites, the war also laid bare weakness and inefficiency of the much-vaunted Israeli Iron Dome air defense system which is particularly developed to intercept Hamas rockets. More than 4,000 rockets were fired by Palestinian resistance groups on all occupied territories in 11 days.
Hamas also managed to highlight Palestinian cause to the region and world, challenging a sluggish Arab-Israeli normalization trend. Akka news, an Israeli outlet, in an interview with an Israeli military officer said that Hamas gains in the war would push obstacles ahead of normalization with Arab states. Though pushing ahead, the Israelis finally accepted a ceasefire whose translation was defeat.
Shin Bet security service chief Yoram Cohen admitted the Israeli weakness in comments to media, saying: "It's hard to say Israel won the 11-day war. We must say that Hamas with massive rocket launches to Israeli positions made a huge achievement."
The war worked like an ultimate catalyst for a surge in Hamas popularity in West Bank as the traditional bastion of PLO, the 1948 regions, and Al-Quds, proving the movement's capabilities to victory despite limitations and blockades 34 years after its foundation.
With PLO popularity downside which is associated with its poor actions towards liberation and fight against occupation, Hamas activities and victories created ground for a broader role in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, in turn giving the resistant forces active in Palestine and regional countries a driver to seriously pursue Palestinian liberation at regional and global levels and once again bring back the Palestinian cause as Muslim and Arab worlds' top case.
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