The Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab World and Islamic Communities in Western Europe
This study is updates and supplements the ITIC’s June 2011 study of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Hamas
Hamas evacuates its Syrian external headquarters: overview and initial analysis
In view of the instability of Bashar Assad’s regime, Hamas has begun evacuating its Syrian external headquarters. According to media reports, most of Hamas’ activists have already left Syria.
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A number of prominent terrorist operatives released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap expressed readiness to return to terrorism, calling for abduction of more Israelis.
A number of prominent terrorist operatives released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap expressed readiness to return to terrorism, calling for abduction of more Israelis. Their statements play into Hamas’ propaganda campaign, according to which “resistance” (terrorism) has proven superior to negotiations as a means to achieve the Palestinian objectives.
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The recent Israeli Air Force strike on a Hamas police coastguard post illustrated the dual nature of the Palestinian security force operatives, many of whom also serve in Hamas’ military-terrorist wing.
The recent Israeli Air Force strike on a Hamas police coastguard post illustrated the dual nature of the Palestinian security force operatives, many of whom also serve in Hamas’ military-terrorist wing. The coastguard apparatus has been involved in anti-IDF military activities unrelated to its naval police functions.
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Implementation of the Agreement for the Liberation of Abducted Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit – Update No. 3
In the late afternoon of October 18 Gilad Shalit arrived at his home in the Western Galilee village of Mitzpeh Hila, where he was received by hundreds of well-wishers.
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Implementation of the Agreement for the Liberation of Abducted Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit – Update No. 2
The implementation of the first stage of the agreement for the liberation of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was completed as planned at noon on October 18.
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Hamas is a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim organization founded in the Gaza Strip in 1987 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. It seeks to establish an Islamic state on the entire territory of the State of Israel and does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
The Hamas leadership has two branches: the internal leadership, which includes the military wing and the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, responsible for the day-to-day activities of governing the Gaza Strip population, in addition to social, educational activity vis-à-vis the population of the Gaza Strip; and the external leadership, Hamas’s political bureau, located beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria. The external leadership maintains relations with various countries and bodies, and deals mainly with raising money and finding other resources for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas’s ideology seeks to establish an Islamic Palestinian state on the entire territory of Israel. The preferred way to achieve this goal is through armed struggle. Hamas has a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which carries out terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and various kinds of other attacks (such as shooting, suicide bombings, abductions etc.) in the territories of Judea, Samaria and Israel.
Over the years, Hamas has challenged the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, causing conflicts between the sides, culminating in June 2007 with Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip and the suppression of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority members. Ever since, the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has grown.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the United States, and the European Union.