It also has acquired dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles and has an army of some 30, militants, including naval commandos. Israel claims those new systems have been thwarted or failed to make direct strikes.
But Israeli officials acknowledge they have been unable to halt the constant barrages of rocket fire. Sections U. Science Technology Business U. An Israeli firefighter walks next to cars hit by a missile fired from Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, Tuesday, May 11, Under its charter, it is committed to the destruction of Israel. Hamas originally had a dual purpose of carrying out an armed struggle against Israel - led by its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades - and delivering social welfare programmes.
But since , when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, Hamas has also engaged in the Palestinian political process. It won the legislative elections in , before reinforcing its power in Gaza the following year by ousting the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, militants in Gaza have fought four major conflicts with Israel, which along with Egypt has maintained a blockade on the strip to isolate Hamas and to pressure it to stop attacks.
Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, European Union and United Kingdom, as well as other powers.
Hamas came to prominence after the first intifada as the main Palestinian group opposed to the Oslo peace accords signed in the early s between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation PLO , the body representing most Palestinians.
Despite numerous Israeli operations against it and clampdowns by the Palestinian Authority the main governing body of the Palestinians Hamas found it had an effective power of veto over the process by launching suicide attacks. It carried out multiple bus bombings, killing scores of Israelis, and stepped up its attacks after Israel assassinated its chief bomb maker Yahya Ayyash in December The bombings were widely blamed for turning Israelis off the peace process and bringing Benjamin Netanyahu - a staunch opponent of the Oslo accords - to power in In the post-Oslo world, most particularly following the failure of US President Bill Clinton's Camp David summit in and the second intifada which followed shortly thereafter, Hamas gained power and influence as Israel clamped down on the Palestinian Authority, which it accused of sponsoring deadly attacks.
Hamas organised clinics and schools, which served Palestinians who felt let down by the corrupt and inefficient Palestinian Authority, dominated by the Fatah faction. Not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to PLO. But, not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to Palestinian Liberation Organization PLO during s.
Why Israel helped the creation of Hamas and how it utilised its resources for the purpose? Has Israel by taking brutal action in Gaza strengthened Hamas and how the Palestinian struggle got divided and weakened when Hamas challenged PLO, a secular and nationalist organisation? Formed in , PLO had a clause, in its charter, calling for the destruction of Israel. But when the Oslo process was launched for peace between Israel and PLO, that clause was removed from the Palestinian charter, granting recognition to the Jewish state.
Gaza, which was occupied by Israel as a result of June Arab-Israeli war, patronised Mujama al-Islamiya which was formed by a Palestinian cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yasin and viewed it as a harmless organisation involved in charity and welfare work for the Palestinian community of Gaza. Israel considered Mujama al-Islamiya and its successor organisation Hamas a lesser evil as compared to PLO and thought that dividing Palestinians will serve the interest of Jewish state.
If Israel termed PLO a terrorist organisation and a major threat to its interests, Hamas was also against PLO because of its secular and nationalist outlook. Regrets among those Israeli officials who helped the creation of Hamas are well documented. Does it mean that Hamas was clever enough to dodge shrewd Israeli intelligence service by portraying itself as a welfare and charity organisation in order to get itself establish in Gaza and then confront Israel?
Between June and , Gaza was administered by the Israeli military. Nov 14, - Israel kills Hamas's military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari, and eight days of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli air strikes follow. July-August - The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas leads to a seven-week war in which more than 2, Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis are reported killed, 67 of them military.
March - Palestinian protests begin at Gaza's border with Israel against its blockade of the enclave. Israeli troops open fire to keep them back. More than Palestinians are reported killed in several months of protests, which also prompt fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces. May 7, - After weeks of tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters near Al-Aqsa Mosque over a legal case in which eight Palestinian families face losing their East Jerusalem homes to Jewish settlers.
May 10 - After a weekend of sporadic violence, hundreds of Palestinians are hurt in clashes with Israeli security forces at Al-Aqsa compound, Islam's third holiest site.
After demanding Israel withdraw its security forces from the compound, Hamas fires a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel hits back with air strikes on Gaza. May 11 - The death toll mounts as the aerial bombardments continue. A story residential building in Gaza collapses after being hit during an Israeli air strike.
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