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The group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, crossing into the country from Gaza  and .

Military confrontations between Hamas and Israel are not unusual. Hamas has fought several wars with Israel since 2007 and has carried out thousands of deadly terrorist attacks.

, Israel has also attacked Hamas repeatedly with air strikes and, with Egypt, blockaded Gaza by land, air and sea since 2007.  limits what can be imported into Gaza, bans all exports and places strict limits on the movement of people entering and leaving the territory, significantly affecting living standards.

However, Saturday’s attack was unprecedented and on a scale not seen before. 

Hamas, or in some cases its military wing, al-Qassam brigades, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the US, the EU and the UK. It receives , which provides it with funds, weapons and training.

Hamas was formed during the first intifada, which took place from 1987 to 1993. This was a series of uprisings by Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem to end Israel’s rule and establish an independent Palestinian state.  but included instances of stone-throwing as well as civil disobedience and other tactics.

Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement). It was started by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian cleric, as an alternative to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an organisation that was committed to violent resistance against Israel and threatened to draw Palestinian support away from the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement operating in the region.

Hamas is a  movement and its original  from 1988 called for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The charter also included incitement of violence against Jews, imposition of Sharia law and rejection of any peace initiatives.

Hamas updated , removing references to killing Jews and appearing to soften its stance towards Israel by making references to establishing the Palestinian state along the lines of the June 4 1967 settlement.

However, the new charter said “Palestine, which extends from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from Ras Al-Naqurah in the north to Umm Al-Rashrash in the south.” This geography currently covers large areas of Israeli territory. “From the river to the sea,” remains one of  and implies a takeover of Israel in its entirety. 

Hamas’s domestic rule

Hamas’s political wing , which is a part of the Palestinian territories. The other part is the West Bank, which is ruled by the .

The PA is led by the Fatah party, which is the dominant faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. , whereas Hamas does not.

Hamas beat Fatah , the last legislative election that was held in the Palestinian territories. Hamas’s victory in the 2006 election was not recognised , as Hamas is deemed by many in the west as a terrorist group that does not recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Ultimately, the  while the PA has continued to govern in the West Bank. No election has been called since. 

Hamas’s political rule over the Gaza Strip has seen some  activities that somewhat improved people’s lives, such as running schools. However,  also has an impact, and much of the group’s focus and spending goes on attacking Israel rather than domestic programmes.

The political divide of the Palestinian territories, with PA governing the West Bank and Hamas governing Gaza, was deemed “the most damaging development that has happened since 1948, followed by the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967”, according to a  of 1,270 adults by the Palestinian Center for policy and survey research in the Palestinian territories in June 2023.

The same poll found that more than half of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would vote for Hamas over PA in a presidential election, while just one-third of Palestinians would choose PA. 

Hamas enjoys these fairly  despite various human rights violations, including persecution and . Whether support will remain high after this attack and  has imposed on Gaza, cutting off food, electricity and water supplies, is uncertain.

It is not clear exactly why Hamas perpetrated the attack. Given the timing, it is likely the group wants to prevent the . , which has been months in the making, would lead to Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel. In exchange, Saudi Arabia would receive security guarantees from Israel’s closest ally, the US.

What is clear, however, is that now . 

Veronika Poniscjakova is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the School of  in the .

This article is republished from  under a Creative Commons Licence. .