Hamas Terrorist Activity

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)

Substantive and Operative Characteristics
of Hamas Terrorist Activity

Besides perpetrating terrorist attacks, Hamas is also involved in wide-ranging civilian activities in the PA (known as “Dawa”). This is incorporated into the terrorist activity and complements it, often assisting operational-terrorist activity such as recruitment of suicide bombers from Hamas networks in the universities and the mosques, or funneling funds raised by charitable organizations for the benefit of the population to terrorist activity.

The civilian activity carried out by Hamas includes diversified “educational” activity in the PA areas (schools, summer camps, clubs) which in effect compete with the PA’s education system. It is through this that Hamas instills its radical Islamic messages which often originate (according to captured documents) in hardline Islamic preachers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and other states. These institutions teach violence and hatred and cultivate new young generations of Hamas members who are educated to continue pursuing terrorism as a means to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


	General Characteristics

1.	Hamas, which appears on the U.S. list of terror organizations, currently stands out as the organization leading the terrorist activity in the Palestinian Authority (PA), undermining the “Road Map”, and striving toward the liberation of the entire territory of so-called Palestine from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea by means of violence, terror, and armed confrontation.

2.	The murderous terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas in Jerusalem (19 August 2003) killing 21 civilians, a third of which were children, has effectively ended the brief cease fire (“hudna”) which had actually not been observed by Hamas or other terrorist organizations. Since the outbreak of hostilities (September 2000), Hamas carried out over 500 terrorist attacks killing 390 people and injuring 2,100 (mostly civilians).

3.	Besides perpetrating terrorist attacks, Hamas is also involved in wide-ranging civilian activities in the PA (known as “Dawa”). This is incorporated into the terrorist activity and complements it, often assisting operational-terrorist activity such as recruitment of suicide bombers from Hamas networks in the universities and the mosques, or funneling funds raised by charitable organizations for the benefit of the population to terrorist activity.

4.	The civilian activity carried out by Hamas includes diversified “educational” activity in the PA areas (schools, summer camps, clubs) which in effect compete with the PA’s education system. It is through this that Hamas instills its radical Islamic messages which often originate (according to captured documents) in hardline Islamic preachers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and other states. These institutions teach violence and hatred and cultivate new young generations of Hamas members who are educated to continue pursuing terrorism as a means to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

5.	Hamas possesses large sums of money (many dozens of millions of dollars per year) particularly from funds and entities in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, as well as funds in Western Europe (and other secondary sources of finance). This enables it to invest money in the welfare of the Palestinian population (on which it inflicts damage by its terrorist attacks) and gain a great deal of sympathy from part of the Palestinian population (which suffers from its attacks but enjoys its financial support).

6.	At present Hamas is the PA’s main opponent. It systematically undermines the authority of Abu Mazen and other pragmatic elements. Its members openly violate the PA’s instructions (e.g. the ban on carrying light arms) while the PA for its part has made no real effort to take effective action against Hamas, and primarily to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructures.

7.	The PA is aware of the damage inflicted by the flow of finances to the Hamas, and has recently taken preliminary steps against the organization’s “charitable associations”. The Palestinian Monetary Authority has instructed banks in the PA to confiscate the accounts of 12 Hamas owned charitable associations, which operate about 30 branches across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including some of Hamas’s largest charitable associations) and has permitted the accounts to remain active under their supervision only. If the European states wish to help Abu Mazen and his team, they too should take steps to stop the flow of money into the hands of Hamas.

	It is impossible to differentiate between the political and operational arms of Hamas

8.	One of the arguments which provide Hamas leaders an immunity of sorts is the claim that ostensibly Hamas consists of two separate arms, namely the operational arm and the political-propaganda arm.

9.	This argument is incorrect, as it is impossible to draw a line between two distinct Hamas arms. The senior leaders of the movement (supposedly political) are involved in instructing and directing the wide range of Hamas activities. In concrete terms, the leaders of the movement are involved in the following:

	a.	Determining and coordinating the organization’s terror-attack policy both in terms of the types of attacks to be perpetrated by the organization (suicide attacks, firing “Qassam” missiles or mortars), and in terms of directing the activists of the operational arm who turn to them for instructions on this issue.

	b.	Directing the heads of the operational cells – some of the senior Hamas leaders (including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin himself) are often involved in the organizational issues of the operational arm.

	c.	Creating a conceptual infrastructure in the minds of Palestinian society in general and Hamas activists in particular regarding terrorism, and influencing them psychologically to resort to terror (including suicide attacks against civilians). This is carried out through the “well-oiled” civilian system which rears, as mentioned, generations of Palestinians (from infancy to university) on the platform of negating the existence of the State of Israel, and preaches for a holy war against the Jews wherever they may be (anti-Semitic expressions appear in statements of Hamas leaders).

	d.	Large-scale fund raising in Arab states and Western Europe. Some of the money is funneled directly to finance the terror infrastructure and terrorist attacks, and some is transferred to the so-called civilian system, which supports the terror infrastructure (the PA has expressed its dismay over this more than once and has previously protested to the Saudis on this matter).

	e.	Coordination with terrorist organizations and terror supporting states – senior Hamas leaders in the PA maintain close contacts with Iran and Syria, and with terrorist organizations such as Hizballah. In this context, they are in charge of obtaining the political, operational and economic support of these elements.

	Characteristics of Hamas activities outside the PA

10.	Syria currently serves as the key arena for Hamas political, propaganda and operational activity. Thus senior Hamas leaders reside in Syria and run their operations from there with emphasis on members of the Hamas “politburo” headed by Khaled Mash’al.

11.	The Syrian regime, which supports the Palestinian terrorist organizations, permits the Hamas leadership and the operational headquarters to operate on its territory. Their activities include: planning and coordinating Hamas operational policy, training terrorists, financing the terrorist cells in the PA and assisting in arms procurement. Responding to U.S. pressure, Syria recently took apparent steps to scale down this activity but in practice there has been no substantial change in the patterns of Hamas (and other terrorist organizations) activity in Syria, and they continue to act unfettered.

12.	In addition, Hamas is involved in activity in several other countries, particularly Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan which also support and assist it with funds and operational training. Radical Islamic ideological material preached by fundamentalist sheikhs reaches the PA from Saudi Arabia and is disseminated by Hamas serving its education-information system in order to shape the minds of the population (such material was captured by the IDF during Operation Defensive Shield).

13.	It should be emphasized that the Hamas movement is also active in European countries particularly in order to raise money, part of which is used for financing the terrorist attacks in Israel, and the rest for funding Hamas civilian activities. The large sums of money which Hamas receives through the charitable organizations bolster its status in the Palestinian street and support its strive to replace the Palestinian Authority.

14.	The following charts illustrate how the Hamas leadership and infrastructure abroad is involved in operating the Hamas in the PA: a. Hamas activity abroad vis-a-vis the PA areas. b. Hamas activity – general chart.







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