Just 20 years after its founding, Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections and the following year used violence to wrest control of Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

In the field of Gaza Strip, home to millions of Palestiniansother strong political organizations coexist, such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, led by the Fatah political movement. That is where the radical Hamas militia emerged.

In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Yasser Arafat, declared the existence of the State of Palestine and also claimed Jerusalem as its capital.

Almost at the same time, the Hamas group was formed by Sheikh Ahmed Yassi, a Palestinian refugee who lived in Gaza during the first Intifada – popular uprising – with mass protests against the Israeli occupation.

Its stated goal is the liberation of Palestine. It uses both political and military strategies, including attacks on civilians and Israeli forces Hamas has promised to destroy Israel and wants to replace it with an Islamic state.

It consolidated its power with multiple bus bombings between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, killing dozens of Israelis. Hamas continued to gain power and influence in the following years, while Israel pressured the Palestinian Authority, which it accused of sponsoring deadly attacks.

The Hamas militia organized clinics and schools for Palestinians disappointed with the administration of the Palestinian Authority, led by the Fatah political movement, which controls some semi-autonomous areas of the West Bank occupied by Israel.

What is the reason for the war between Israel and Palestine?

Hamas postulates

Hamas’s founding charter from 1988 defines the historic Palestinian territories – including modern-day Israel – as Islamic lands and rules out any permanent peace with the Jewish state.

In 2017, Hamas softened some of its positions and while there was no talk of recognizing the State of Israel, it formally accepted the creation of an interim Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The document also emphasizes that Hamas’s fight is not against the Jews, but against the “occupying Zionist aggressors.”

Terrorist group

Israel, along with Egypt, has maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2007 to isolate Hamas and apply pressure to stop its attacks.

The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organization.

Israel declared a state of war on Saturday after Hamas launched a multi-pronged attackby land, sea and air on an unprecedented scale, with rocket launches and ground incursions into Israeli territory.

So far, 900 people have been killed in Israel and the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip has left at least 900 dead and more than 4,500 injured, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, calling for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to receive medical supplies and evacuate seriously injured people. (JO)