The Influences of the Policy Transformation of Hamas
Name: Dong Wenping Student ID：s07524
Research paper supervisor:Dr.Seku Conde
Minzu University of China
2007-2008 Academic Year
【Abstract】 As Hamas plays a more and more important role in the peace process of Middle East, even of our whole world, I want to explore why it becomes so significant to Palestinian as well as to other countries in the world and what effects its changed policy will have both in home and abroad. This article focuses on the positive influences of the policy transformation of Hamas, then elaborates the effects Hamas will bring to the peace process of the Middle East and the world.
【Key words】 Hamas; policy transformation; influences.
Introduction
On January 2006 Hamas had a great win in the legislative elections, which gained the majority of seats fairly and democratic elections held in Palestine, defeating the ruling Fatah party. The “List of Change and Reform”, as Hamas presented itself, obtained 42.9% of the voted and 76 of the 132 seats. That great victory promoted Hamas to change its attitude and policy to other countries especially to Israel, which contributed the peace process in Middle East, so this article planed to elaborate something concrete of Hamas and the change about Hamas this few years since it was in power in Palestine both in policy and in its practical behavior to study whether that kind of change can benefit to the peace process in Middle East.
1. Hamas
1.1 the defination of Hamas
Hamas, also named Harakat al-Muqawamaal-Islamiyya or “Islamic Resistance Movement” is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist millitant organization and political party. “It is a very radical Palestinian organization in its fighting against Israel with a strong sense of Islamic religion. It was formed under the Islamism Risorgimento and it delegates the interests part of the Muslem and does not recognize Isreal.”[1] The word “Hamas” means “strength and bravery”, at the very beginning Hamas is a militant Islamic fundamentalist political movement that excludes peace with Israel and takes terrorism as its weapon; makes its best effort to seek to establish an Islamic state in place of its enemy country-Israel; is against to the Palestine Liberation Organization and has turned to be a main malfeasant of terrorist activity in Israel; and as well pioneeres the suicide bombing. All of these make people in other countries in the world believe that Hamas is a dangerous Party and it will baffle the process of peace in Middle East as well as in the whole world.
1.2 the history of Hamas
As for the history of Hamas, although there were so many violences in the past few years it contains some changes pointed to peace in the process.
At the beginning Sheich Ahmed Yassin founded Hamas in 1987 as a branch of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. The acronym, that means HAMAS is a word that taking a letter from harkah, muqawamah and islamiyyah, first appeared in 1987 in a fly sheet that accused the Israeli intelligence services of undermining the moral fiber of Palestinian youth as part of Mossad’s recruitment of what Hamas intituled “collaborators”. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military offshoot, was established in 1992, a year before the Oslo Accords. During the 1990s and 2000s it became best known in the Western world for its suicide bombings and other attacks directed against civilians, including the Dolphinarium massacre and the Passover massacre. On January 26, 2004, senior Hamas official Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi offered a 10-year truce, in return for a complete withdrawal by Israel from the territories captured in the Six Day War, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin stated that the group could accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Rantissi confirmed that Hamas had come to the conclusion that it was “difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation.” He said the truce could last 10 years, though “not more than 10 years”.[2]
From the time of an attack on the Israeli southern town of Be’er Sheva in August 2004, in which 15 people were killed and 125 wounded, the truce was generally observed. Hamas violated once, in August 2005, with an attack on the same bus station, wounding 7. Also in 2005, a group claiming to be aligned with Hamas were involved in several attacks on Israelis in the Hebron area of the West Bank, killing 6.[3]
While Hamas had boycotted the January 2005 presidential election, during which Mahmoud Abbas was elected to replace Yasser Arafat, it did participate in the municipal elections held between January and May 2005, in which it took control of Beit Lahia and Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Qalqilyah in the West Bank. The January 2006 legislative elections marked another victory for Hamas, which gained the majority of seats fairly and democratic elections held in Palestine,[4] defeating the ruling Fatah party. The “List of Change and Reform”, as Hamas presented itself, obtained 42.9% of the voted and 76 of the 132 seats.[5]
On February 13, 2006, in an interview in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the same Khaled Mashal declared that Hamas would stop armed struggle against Israel if it recognized the 1967 borders, withdrew itself from all Palestinian occupied territories, of course including the West Bank and East Jerusalem and recognized Palestinian rights that would include the “right of return”. Mashal would not acknowledge the Road map for peace, adopted by the Quartet in June 2003, because “The problem is not Hamas’ stance, but Israel’s stance. It is in fact not honoring the Road Map”.[6] The Road map projected the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in 2005.
In May 2006, during demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in support of Hamas and against US-led sanctions, Hamas leaders threatened to “chop off” the head of anyone who tried to bring down their cabinet.[7] Furthermore, Hamas took a flexible stance that renewed support for the 2002 Arab peace initiative offering to restore normal relations with Israel in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state.[8]
After the formation of the Hamas cabinet on March 20, 2006, tensions have progressively risen in the Gaza strip between Fatah and Hamas militants, leading to demonstrations and violence, along with repeated attempts at a truce.[9]
On June 27, 2006, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement which included the forming of a national unity government. On February 8, 2007, Hamas and Fatah signed a deal to end factional warfare that had killed nearly 200 palestinians and to form a coalition, hoping this would lead Western powers to lift crippling sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led government.[10]
The events leading to the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict began on June 9, 2006. During an Israeli artillery operation, an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing 8 palestinian civilians.[11] It was initially assumed that Israeli shellings were responsible for the killings, although Israeli government officials later denied this. Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month ceasefire on June 10, taking responsibility for the subsequent Qassam rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.[12]
On June 29, Israel captured 64 Hamas officials. Amongst them were 8 Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and up to 20 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as well as heads of regional councils, and the mayor of Qalqilyah and his deputy. At least a third of the Hamas cabinet was captured and held by Israel. On 6 August Israeli forces detained the Hamas’ Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, at his home in the West Bank.
In June, renewed fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah. As of June14, 2007, the current Palestinian government has been dissolved. President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government.[13]
A brief war between the two orgnization Fatah and Hamas made Hamas seize control of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority be effectively split in two: Hamas controlling of Gaza and Fatah controlling the West Bank. The violence between them continued until June 16th, 2007. Leaders of Hamas and Fatah met in the Yemeni capital on 23 March 2008 and agreed to the tentative peace talks.[14]
1.3 the policy that Hamas has long been implementing
As most of the members of Hamas come from the sordid refugee camps of Gaza, and since the land has been captured by Israel in 1967, they value the land they has lost very much, so in the policy of the past few years , no matter normal or unnormal, they alleged they would recapture Gaza one day, and they would probably destory their enemy-Israel. Oslo Accords that established in 1993 was not a fair one to Hamas, a parliamentarian denounced that the accords was “not a peace process” and “a process of deception and cheating, lies with enabled Israel to truncate our homeland with settlements, separation walls, roadblocks, and closed military zones.”[15]
As mentioned above, in 2004 Hamas offered a 10-year truce, that may be a great decision in the process of peace in Middle East, the policy was in exchange for several conditions including that Israel must offer a complete withdraw in turn from Israeli-occupied territories. Hamas leader Khaled Mashal said in Foreign Policy Magazine, “Hamas [...]
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