Middle East - Anthony Ham [208]
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WHO IS HAMAS?
Hamas had its beginnings in 1987 in Gaza, when a group of Islamic leaders founded the Harakat al-Muqaama al-Islamiya; its acronym, Hamas, means ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘courage’ in Arabic. A charter declared its doctrine: ‘Allah is its goal, the Prophet is its model, the Quran is its institution, jihad (‘strive’ or ‘struggle’) is its path, and death for the sake of Allah is its most coveted desire.’ Its militant ‘military wing’, named after a Syrian preacher who perished in a struggle against the British in the 1930s, soon proved itself willing and ready to uphold these ideals.
By the early 1990s, Hamas was gaining popularity among Palestinians, who were tiring of Yasser Arafat’s administration and its apparent corruption and inefficacy. In contrast, Hamas (with around US$50 million raised from Gulf States and, later, Iran) was busy funding hospitals, youth groups, schools and clinics.
In 1993, as Arafat signed the Oslo Agreement and peace seemed a possibility, Hamas stepped up its terrorist activities; Arafat, caught between the West and the growing power of Hamas, attempted to juggle the two, ordering mass arrests of militants while simultaneously assuring Hamas sheikhs that this was simply a show to pacify the outside world. He consistently praised the terrorist ‘martyrs’, yet in doing so ensured that the West would never take him seriously as a figure for peace or the leader of an independent Palestinian state.
As the first, and then second, intifadas erupted, Hamas emerged as a prolific source of suicide bombings against Israel, with Israel hitting back in dozens of ‘targeted attacks’. It wasn’t until Arafat’s death and the inauguration of the new president, Mahmoud Abbas, that Hamas began to diversify from military action to politics. In January 2006, the world watched as Hamas swept victorious through the national, democratic elections, winning 76 seats out of 132 in the Palestinian Legislative Council (the parliament), trouncing Fatah (who won only 45 seats) and signalling that the Palestinian people were ready to take a chance on change.
Since 2006, however, little seems to have changed for the better under Hamas’ leadership. With Gaza plagued by both Israeli army action and inter-party armed conflict, and the West Bank still locked down by roadblocks and checkpoints, it’s not yet apparent whether voters are satisfied with progress. Few Western countries are willing, as yet, to accept Hamas as a legitimate political force (at least until the group disbands its ‘military wing’) and it might seem to many onlookers that the majority of Hamas members are simply out to grab local power and prestige, just as Fatah was before it.
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As Sharon still languishes in a hospital bed and the current prime minister’s resignation, due to his investigation for fraud (only topped by former president Moshe Katsav’s ongoing court case for alleged rape), has resulted in new elections scheduled for February 2009, the chances for peace look scant in the region. Street fighting in Gaza remains common; West Bank poverty is rife. Hezbollah claims to be gaining in both firepower and popularity near Israel’s northern border, and Hamas’ influence throughout the region continues to grow. As the Israeli business world and tourist industry goes from strength to strength, and Palestinians remain immured in camps across the Middle East, peace in this complicated, unpredictable region remains as far-off a dream as it has been for millennia.
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THE CULTURE
The National Psyche
As the only Jewish state, Israel and its society are unique in the Middle East – and in the world. Yet Israeli society is surprisingly diverse, encompassing sizeable communities of Israeli Arab Christians and Muslims, Druze and Bedouins, as well as Jews ranging from entirely secular to non-Zionist