Hamas: Photo Essay
Found this on the New York Times website and thought some pictures might give life to the movement It should be noted, however, that very little attention is given to Hamas’ social character. Some say that Hamas uses its social network to recruit terrorists. As appealing as this claim might be, especially for those whose only exposure to the group is through suicide attacks, it’s difficult to prove and basically wrong.
Hamas was born out of the Muslim Brotherhood. Their core belief system was based on the principle of social reform for the Muslim community. Only after the outbreak of the Intifada did Hamas emerge as a military wing. Nevertheless, it countinued its charity work which was its primary support base. In other words, the movement asserted its role in the Palestinian territories not by terror but by charity. That work continues today. So this photo essay is no exception. It presents a portrait of Hamas grounded in a militant representation. While this is an important aspect of Hamas, it is only half the story.
Hamas was born out of the Muslim Brotherhood. Their core belief system was based on the principle of social reform for the Muslim community. Only after the outbreak of the Intifada did Hamas emerge as a military wing. Nevertheless, it countinued its charity work which was its primary support base. In other words, the movement asserted its role in the Palestinian territories not by terror but by charity. That work continues today. So this photo essay is no exception. It presents a portrait of Hamas grounded in a militant representation. While this is an important aspect of Hamas, it is only half the story.
Hamas, which has roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, first came to public notice during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in the late 1980′s. In 1989, Islamist Israeli Arabs marched in a protest in the Israeli Arab village of Kafr Qanna.
By the mid-1990′s, Hamas had conducted suicide bombings that had killed dozens of Israelis. A bombmaker known as “the Engineer,” Yahya Ayyash, was implicated in many of them, and he went to the top of Israel’s most-wanted list. He died in 1996 when a booby-trapped cell phone exploded in his hand. At his funeral, his coffin was covered in Hamas’ flag. His death inspired more bombings.
Hamas remained a violent force protesting any effort to continue peace negotiations with Israel. When Yasir Arafat met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Gaza Strip, masked Hamas supporters burned a Star of David at a university there.
Throughout the 1990′s, Yasir Arafat resisted Israeli calls to crack down definitively on Hamas, and instead tolerated them as a part of the political scene. In 1997, when Hamas’ founder, Ahmed Yassin (right) arrived home in Gaza, shortly after being released from an Israeli prison, Mr. Arafat greeted him at a Gaza sports club.
Hamas attacks have been conducted by the group’s military branch, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. They staged a rally, dressed as suicide bombers, at An Najah University in Nablus after Sheik Yassin’s release from prison.
During the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which broke out in 2000, Hamas attacks surged. Abdel Aziz Rantisi emerged as a prominent leader, shown here at a rally supporting Palestinian fighters in the West Bank.
Hamas members march at a rally in Gaza City.
Throughout the 1990′s and into the new century, Hamas built political support among Palestinians by supplying social services that the Palestinian Authority proved too corrupt or inefficient to deliver. Last summer, these children were carrying a Hamas flag on a Gaza beach as part of a Hamaas summer program.
Their caps emblazoned with their sympathies (Hamas left, Fatah right), these two voters turned out in the West Bank town of Abu Dis.
