Islamic Revolution in Israel’s Backyard

Already surrounded by hostile Islamic nations, Israelis woke up one morning to find that Palestinians democratically legitimized a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of the Jewish state when Hamas swept to an overwhelming victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections. Hamas won 74 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council and has six more in its coalition, a majority that strikes fear into the hearts of Israelis who have been victims of Hamas terrorism over the last decade. 

Palestinian Christians are concerned as well. “The green horse is riding from the Book of Revelation and next will come the angel of death,” a Palestinian believer who asked not to be named told israel today, referring to the color green which symbolMuslimizes Hamas.

The most ominous change expected in Palestinian society with Hamas at the helm is a heightened adherence to Islam. Mohammed Abu Tir, the Hamas minister of religion, told us that he wants to separate boys and girls in Palestinian schools, make headscarves mandatory for all women and establish Islamic Law in the territories. 

Although laws could be vetoed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the defeated Fatah party, Hamas will likely be able to muster the two-thirds needed to overturn a veto. Fatah holds 45 seats and small parties comprise the other 13 in the 132-member parliament. 

Israel’s security establishment was caught totally off guard by the Hamas victory, reminiscent of the days leading to the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when the enemy build-up was ignored by military intelligence. 

Fatah Falls From Grace

The Hamas victory was widely seen as a protest against Fatah, rather than a vote for the radical Islamic ideology of Hamas. The Palestinian public was fed up with rampant corruption in Fatah, which ruled the Palestinian Authority (PA) since its establishment in 1993 and misused billions of dollars in foreign aid. 

“People voted for Hamas because they are sick of the one who works at the PA—He has a jeep, his wife has a jeep, and they have another jeep with a driver who takes the kids to school,” said a Palestinian. “These are the people who get through the checkpoints, while we all wait.”

By contrast, Hamas established a reputation for having “clean hands,” pouring money into welfare projects, charities and schools. The group also won popularity through deadly suicide bombings against Israel which were seen as acts of heroism. 

In the end, Hamas delivered the goods and Mahmoud Abbas, who supports peace talks with Israel, did not. Polls show that about 80 percent of Palestinians credit the relentless Hamas’ campaign of violence for Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip. It was just as Israeli critics of the pullout predicted—it strengthened Hamas, and the Palestinian people responded by propelling the group into power. 

Hussam al-Taweel, a Christian legislator in Gaza who was backed by Hamas during the elections, said that people were looking for a solution to social problems and an end to corruption. Hamas supported al-Taweel because, he said, the group “has an interest in showing the world that they do not have a rigid mentality” and can work with Christians. 

Israel Seeks To Isolate Hamas

While Hamas has been sending mixed signals about the future of its military activities, the organization rejected international demands to recognize the Jewish state. Hamas spokesman Mushi al-Masri said the group “would do its best, with all its power, to smash the Zionist entity and replace it with an independent Palestinian state.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged world leaders to boycott Hamas unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel. “There is no negotiation here with Hamas about what it will and will not agree to,” she said. “The conditions here are very clear; the situation is black and white.”

So far, Hamas has been blacklisted by most of the international community. The US and European Union said they won’t deal with Hamas and are withholding funding to the PA. That could cost the PA near $1 billion a year in aid. 

“To hell with the people in Europe and America!” said Arab Knesset (parliament) member Abdel Malik Dehamshe. “Who do they think they are? Do they think they can buy us with money?

The first crack in the international armor appeared when Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Hamas to Moscow for talks, to Israel’s indignation. “The Russian position is not accepted by the international community,” Livni said. “Part of the danger is going down the slippery slope of first talking, then starting to understand why, then supporting with money, then granting legitimacy.”

Israel plans to suspend $50 million in monthly tax payments to the Palestinians once Hamas forms the new government. But Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not close the door completely on peace talks. He said Israel would negotiate with Hamas if it nullifies its charter calling for Israel’s destruction, recognizes the Jewish state and renounces terrorism. 

Hamas responded that it would consider a long-term cease-fire if Israel withdraws from all of the territories captured in the 1967 war, including Jerusalem’s Old City, home to the Western Wall and Temple Mount. 

That is in keeping with Islamic ideology, which allows for a cease-fire until Muslims are strong enough to destroy their enemies. So the best Hamas can offer is a truce in exchange for Israel relinquishing the holiest places in Judaism. Needless to say, that is not going to happen. 

Palestinian Christians Are Afraid

One element of the Hamas equation that has largely been overlooked by the international media is the plight of the Christian minority in the Palestinian territories. Al-Taweel said he doesn’t expect Islam to affect Palestinian Christians. 

“They have the right to ask Muslim women to wear a headscarf,” he said. “But Christian women have the right to their own lifestyle. We expect Islam to respect Christianity. We are keeping our Christian faith and I think there is no fear we will suffer from any discrimination.”

However, several Palestinian believers said they expect the situation to get worse for all Christians, especially evangelicals. One believer from Ramallah had agreed to talk to us on the record, but fearing for his own safety and that of fellow Christians there, he later insisted on anonymity. 

Already, tension has escalated. Pastors say they will take a much lower profile and believers will be forced to reevaluate where and even if they meet. Recently, two Muslim clerics visited an apartment where believers were holding a prayer meeting under the guise of being friends of the landlord. The believers prevented them from entering, finished the meeting fast and fled.

“The Islamic influence will be stronger in the West Bank and it will be harder for Christians,” another believer said. “For Christian evangelicals who are working with Muslims who came to faith it will be much worse. I’m concerned about the believers…They are really afraid; they don’t know what is happening.”

Another Christian said that while Hamas leaders say publicly that they won’t enforce Islamic Law, “their henchmen, the ones walking in the street—they will carry it out.”


Who Is Hamas?

Hamas has held the top statistics for the most suicide bombings, the most Israeli fatalities, and now, the most seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Between November 2000 to April 2004, Hamas carried out 425 attacks, killing 377 Israelis and wounding 2,076, according to the Israeli army. 

Hamas, an acronym of Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), corresponds to an Arabic word meaning “fervor” or “zeal.” 

Founded as an Islamic party in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (who was assassinated in an Israeli air strike in 2004), Hamas is indeed zealous, especially in its ideological opposition to the existence of Israel. Infamous now for perpetrating some of the most lethal attacks against Israelis, Hamas actually gained prominence among Palestinians for providing welfare and social services, and building schools and hospitals. 

Israel supported Hamas financially during the first intifada (the uprising from 1987-1993), hoping to weaken the PLO and its leader Yasser Arafat. But this support backfired when, during the second intifada (2000-2004), Hamas spearheaded the violence against Israel. 

The well-funded organization generously supported the families of suicide bombers from its estimated $70 million annual budget. Hamas receives funding from Palestinian “charities” in the West, and from Iran, Saudi Arabia and private backers in other Arab states. 

Hamas began its reign of terror by executing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. It progressed to kidnappings and other attacks against Israeli soldiers, and then shootings and stabbings of Israeli civilians. Hamas entered the foray of suicide bombings in April 1993. Its most deadly attack was the bombing of a hotel in the coastal town of Netanya on March 27, 2002, in which 30 people were killed and 140 wounded while celebrating the Seder meal on the first night of Passover. Since 2002, Hamas militants in Gaza have been firing homemade rockets into communities in southern Israel. 

According to Hamas, all the Land of Israel including Judea, Samaria and Gaza is as an inalienable Islamic waqf or religious inheritance, which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims. The group refuses to recognize Israel or use its name, instead referring to the nation as the “Zionist entity.” The organization calls for Israel’s destruction in its charter. Hamas dropped its call for the destruction of Israel from its electoral manifesto, though the group’s leaders called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” in campaign speeches.