ISIS

Shamil Basayev, leader of the Chechen separatists and responsible for the Beslan school massacre, was killed by the Russian security forces.His organization is identified with Al-Qaeda and the global jihad. Hamas identifies with and is inspired by Chechen separatist ideology. Read more...

While the Hamas spokesman expressed reservations about bin Laden’s comments, Mahmoud al-Zahar publicly identified with the global jihad’s struggle. That reflected the movement’s dilemma of having to navigate between adherence to radical Islamic ideology and attempts to obscure it to cope with the exigencies of the Palestinian arena. Read more...

The motives behind Hamas’s quick acceptance of the invitation were completely pragmatic. The main one was the opportunity being given to break out of international isolation and reduce the pressure exerted on them to change their radical terrorist strategies. However, it should be noted that ideologically Hamas is completely hostile to the Russian régime in Read more...