Hamas is a militant offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Israel, dedicated to destroying Israel. In 2006, following the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the Palestinians elected Hamas to govern the Gaza Strip, which is semi-autonomous. Use with the [israel] and [gaza] tags as needed.
Hamas is a militant offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, formed in 1988 in the wake of the First Infitada. It openly engages in what many consider to be acts of terrorism. Per its charter, it calls for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Palestinian Islamic state in its place
Preamble
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.
Article 6
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.
Article 7
The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.'
Political Entry
In 2005, Israel withdrew its settlement in the Gaza Strip, and allowed for the Palestinians to elect a semi-autonomous government. Hamas won the election, beating out Fatah (what was the Palestinian Liberation organization, or PLO). No further elections have been held since. Since that time Hamas has been the de-facto ruling faction of Gaza.
