
By Sarah L, Staff Writer
Hamas, the organization which controls the Gaza Strip and which is responsible for the brutal mass murder of over 1,300 innocent Israelis on October 7th, is, despite being labeled a terrorist organization by most of the Western world, a rather enigmatic organization.
Hamas was founded in 1988 in Judea and Samaria, at the height of the First Intifada (Arabic for a violent popular uprising). Hamas supposedly promotes Palestinian “liberation;” however, reading between the lines, its goal is not only to destroy Israel but to rebuild a global Islamic caliphate. At its inception, Hamas rejected the precept that peace was possible and chose to carry on a tradition of violence that began long before the state of Israel.
Arab anti-Semitism goes back to before 1948; in other words, it has nothing to do with the creation of Israel and the creation of Palestinian refugees. Years before Israel declared statehood, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Adolf Hitler signed a mutual commitment to the destruction of the Jewish people. Hamas is today carrying on a tradition which has much more to do with hatred of Jews than it does with the “liberation” of Palestinians.
Although the acts committed by Hamas ought to speak for themselves, the designated terror organization has made an effort to gloss over their actions since. So we decided to present to you the evidence of Hamas’ motives, in their own words. The following quotes are excerpts from an English translation of Hamas’ own charter, written and signed in 1988.
In Article 11 of the manifesto, the founders of Hamas extrapolated on their claim to the Land of Israel. Contrary to the claims of many pro-Palestinian protesters, Hamas acknowledges that Muslim Arabs only entered the Land of Israel during the Muslim conquest of 610 AD – after the Jewish people had already lived there for millennia. According to Hamas, this conquest is the basis for the Palestinian claim to the land.
As such, Hamas does not recognize any Jewish claim to Israel whatsoever. In Article 6, Hamas states its aim to “raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.”1 Hamas’ goal is not to create a viable Palestinian state for the sake of the Palestinian people – otherwise they would have done so in Gaza. Rather, Hamas’ goal is a religious one, based on religious precepts – to control all of “Palestine” aka Israel. in other words, Hamas’ aims to entirely destroy the Jewish State.
Hamas also believes that the only way to achieve its goal is through violence. The following are also excerpts from Hamas’ charter1:
“When the enemy [i.e. Israel] tramples Muslim territory, Jihad…becomes a personal duty.”
“Peace solutions … stand in contradiction to the principles of Hamas.”
“There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.”
As peace stands against the principles of Hamas, so Hamas stands in direct opposition to the values on which all of Western civilization were founded. Hamas does not recognize any innate right to freedom of religion or to any other human right taken for granted by so many good people today.
Furthermore, Hamas has time and again proved the sincerity of their words – not only in actions committed against Israeli civilians but against Gazans as well. The ancient saying that the “ends justify the means” is taken to the extreme by Hamas. They wholeheartedly stand behind what they said. In order to claim all of what they designated as Muslim land, they will burn, starve and rob whoever stands in their way – including innocent Gazan children.
In fact, to paraphrase Golda Meir, Hamas’ hatred of Jewish children is greater than their love for their own children, and that is the principal obstacle not only to security for the Jewish State, but to a viable Palestinian state as well. In this understanding, it should not be surprising that Hamas did what they did on October 7th.
Furthermore, Israel is not Hamas’ only target. Hamas leaders have stated, time and again, that their goal is to restore the Islamic caliphate. Here are some quotes from TV interviews with Hamas’ leaders2:
“Jerusalem will not only be the capital city of Palestine as an independent state – it will be the capital city of the Islamic Caliphate…” – former Hamas Minister of the Interior Fathi Hamad
“Planet Earth will come under [Islam] where there is no injustice, no oppression, no treachery, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity…” – Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar
Speaking to Western leaders, another Hamas leader said, “Tomorrow we will lead the world, Allah willing. Apologize today, before remorse will do you no good. Our nation is moving forwards, and it is in your interest to respect a victorious nation...”
And in a sermon broadcast on Hamas’ official TV station in Gaza in 2008, a cleric promised that “Rome will be conquered … and then… the two Americas.” In the same sermon, he went on to call Jews the “brothers of apes and pigs.”
Hamas is an ambitious enemy – not only of the Jewish State but really of Western civilization in its entirety. Hamas is the enemy of all those who respect and cherish the freedoms which Israel, like other democratic nations, has enshrined in law.
Although Israel is on the front line of the current war, and much of Hamas’ violent rhetoric is directed against the Jewish State, Hamas did not differentiate between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs on October 7th, or for that matter between Russian, French, Vietnamese and many other nationalities who were sadly murdered during Hamas’ rampage. As such, Israel is not just fighting its own war – Israel is currently engaged in a war for the foundations of Western civilization.
One of the most famous quotes to come out of the Holocaust speaks to the negative power of silence. Martin Niemoller, a Protestant pastor, wrote of his silence in the face of the persecution of others. He ends by saying, “Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”3 Anti-Semitism is often a canary in a coal mine, just as it was in Germany in the 1930s.
Today, Israel’s war against Hamas is relevant and important – and not only because of the evil of which Hamas has proved itself capable.
Say something now, before it’s too late.
#HamasIsWorseThanISIS
Bibliography:
- The Covenant Of The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas. “The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas.” MEMRI, Middle East Media Research Institute, 14 Feb. 2006, www.memri.org/reports/covenant-islamic-resistance-movement-%E2%80%93-hamas.
- “Hamas Leaders: Our Goal Is Establishment of Global Islamic Caliphate, Not Just Liberation of Palestine.” MEMRI, 8 Dec. 2023, www.memri.org/reports/hamas-leaders-our-goal-establishment-global-islamic-caliphate-not-just-liberation-palestine. Accessed 1 Jan. 2024.
- Niemöller, Martin. “Martin Niemöller: “First They Came for the Socialists...”” Ushmm.org, 2012, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists.
2 Comments on “Hamas: An Organization in Its Own Words”
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What can I say…what can I do but pray for the peace of Israel?
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