A Wisdom Archive on hamas - 1987 - the establishment of hamas

Hamas' first use of suicide bombing occured on April 16, 1993 when a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden van detonated between two buses parked at a restaurant [34]. Hamas described it as a response to a mass-killing of 29 praying Palestinians by an American-born Jewish settler in a Hebron Mosque 40 days earlier. It was Hamas' 19th known attack since 1989 (the others being shootings, kidnappings and knife attacks)[35]. Since then Hamas has conducted many attacks on Israel, mainly through its military wing - the Ezzedeen-al-qassam Briga ...

Read more here: » Hamas: Encyclopedia II - Hamas - Activities

Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi (in the Arabic script عبدالعزيز الرنتيسي) (October 23, 1947 - April 17, 2004) was the co-founder of the Palestinian paramilitary organization Hamas. He was considered a terrorist by the United States and the European Union for advocating suicide bombing of civilians. The Israeli government considered him a terrorist for organizing attacks against Israelis, both civilians and soldiers. He was Hamas's political leader and spokesman in the Gaza Strip following the Israeli assassination of Hamas ... Including:

• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Personal life
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Origins of Hamas
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Expulsion and Return
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Leadership of Hamas spent in Hiding
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Selected Timeline
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Death by Missile
• Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - Quotes

Read more here: » Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi: Encyclopedia - Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi

Hamas was funded directly and indirectly during the 1970s and 1980s by various states including Saudi Arabia. The political/charitable arm of Hamas was officially registered and recognized within Israel at this time: indeed Israel supported and encouraged Hamas' early growth in an effort to undermine the secular Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat. Hamas abstained from politics throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, concentrating on social issues such as exposing corruption, administration of waqf (trusts) and organizing community projects. Towards the mid-80s, however, the movement was taken over by a militant fa ...

Read more here: » Hamas: Encyclopedia II - Hamas - History

As with all incidents within the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the context and causes for this event are heavily disputed. Most accounts point to a growing sense of frustration among Palestinians, particularly on the West Bank, but also in Gaza, at the lack of progress in finding a durable resolution for their humanitarian and nationalistic claims after the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the Six-Day War in 1967. The Palestine Liberation Organization had failed to make any significant headw ...

Read more here: » First Intifada: Encyclopedia II - First Intifada - General Causes

Founded in October, 1913 by Sigmund Livingston, the ADL's charter stated "The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alikeand to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens." Livingston established the ADL in direct response to the case of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager living i ...

Read more here: » Anti-Defamation League: Encyclopedia II - Anti-Defamation League - History

In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers--notably Mungo Park (British) and Heinrich Barth (German)--explored the area searching for the mouth of the Niger River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony. Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. France administered her West African colonies through a gover ...

Read more here: » History of Niger: Encyclopedia II - History of Niger - Colonization

Founded in 1987, Hamas won a majority over the ruling Fatah party during the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election. As an Islamic party, it is ideologically opposed to the existence of Israel and has denounced the 1993 Oslo Accords, the foundation of the failed peace process, as a betrayal of God's will. However, in 2004, Hamas offered a 10 years truce, or hudna, in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories, thus accepting de facto Israel existence as determined by its 1967 borders. During the sec ...

Read more here: » Hamas: Encyclopedia II - Hamas - Overview

In 2004, a federal court in the United States found Hamas liable in a civil lawsuit for the 1996 murders of Yaron and Efrat Ungar near Beit Shemesh, Israel. Hamas has been ordered to pay the families of the Ungars $116 million. On July 5, 2004, the court issued a default judgment against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO regarding the Ungars' claim that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO provide safe haven to Hamas. On August 20, 2004, three Palestinians, one a naturalized American citizen, were charged with a "lengthy racketee ...

Read more here: » Hamas: Encyclopedia II - Hamas - Legal action against Hamas

Hamas regards the territory of the present-day State of Israel — as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — as an inalienable Islamic waqf or religious bequest, which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims. It asserts that struggle (jihad) to wrest control of the land from Israel is the religious duty of every Muslim (fard `ain). This position is more radical than that now held by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which in 1988 recognized Israel's sovereignty. Hamas does not recognize Israel as a sovereign st ...

Read more here: » Hamas: Encyclopedia II - Hamas - Beliefs