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'''Hamas''' ([[Arabic]]: '''حركة حماس''') is an [[Islamist]] political organisation and armed militant group based in the Palestinian territories, regarded as a terrorist organisation by Israel as well as by numerous Western nations including the US and the EU countries. It refuses to accept the legitimacy of the State of [[Israel]].

'''Hamas''' ([[Arabic]]: '''حركة حماس''' "zeal") is an [[Islamist]] political organisation in [[Gaza]] and the [[West Bank]], regarded as a [[terrorist]] organisation by the [[United States]], the [[EU]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[Israel]], [[Japan]] and [[Jordan]]. The name Hamas is an acronym of ''Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya'' (Islamic Resistance Movement). Hamas combines Palestinian nationalism with [[Islam]]ic fundamentalism, and "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."<ref>''Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement'' [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3377113,00.html YNet] Accessed July 18 2007</ref> Its charter commits the group to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the Palestinian Authority with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raising "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine."

The name Hamas is an acronym of ''Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya'' (Islamic Resistance Movement).

Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as the [[Egypt|Egyptian]] [[Muslim Brotherhood|Muslim Brotherhood's]] local political arm in December 1987, following the outbreak of the first [[intifada]]. Hamas published its official charter in 1988. From the 1990s it achieved notoriety for its use of the tactic of [[suicide bombing]], principally against civilian targets in Israel. Hamas members started carrying out terrorist attacks starting in the late '80s, at first in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The first Hamas suicide bombing took place on April 26 1993, when Saher al-tamam attacked two Israeli buses in front of a coffee shop in Mehola, killing and injuring several Israelis. It is believed to have killed more than 500 people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since then.  

Hamas was founded in 1987. From the 1990s it achieved notoriety for its use of the tactic of [[suicide bombing]], principally against civilian targets in Israel. It also set itself in opposition to the [[secular]] [[Fatah]] movement. In the 2006 elections to the [[Palestinian Authority]] legislature Hamas gained a majority of seats; its government was dissolved in June 1997 by Palestinian President [[Mahmoud Abbas]] following the military takeover by Hamas of the [[Gaza Strip]] after several days o0f fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

It also set itself in opposition to the [[secular]] [[Fatah]] movement. In the 2006 elections to the [[Palestinian Authority]] legislature Hamas gained a majority of seats; its government was dissolved in June 1997 by Palestinian President [[Mahmoud Abbas]] following the military takeover by Hamas of the [[Gaza Strip]] after several days of fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

:Hamas, a radical offshoot of [[Egypt]]'s [[Muslim Brotherhood]], first rose to prominence by planning and executing the first intifada against Israeli occupation in 1987. Like [[Hezbollah]] in [[Lebanon]], Hamas also runs welfare services for the poor, which in [[Gaza]] is almost the entire population of 1.5 million. In 2006, Hamas startled the world and frightened Israel by winning legislative elections and seizing control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ministries. It refuses to deal with Israel and shares the conviction of Iran's President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] that Israel's demise is preordained. [http://www3.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20070618-102221-3925r.htm]

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