“HAMAS” & “HEZBOLLAH”: DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE?

….Hamas brigades attacking the Jewish areas of Jerusalem

 

These two groups should never be confused.

 

I recently heard a political pundit say that he wondered if any of the current presidential candidates in either party, (but especially Donald Trump) even knew the difference between the terrorist group “Hamas” and the Muslim organization known as “Hezbollah”.

 

When I heard that, I of course, had to ask myself, “Do I know the difference between these two groups?”.  My obvious answer was “no”, and I wondered how many of those not of the Jewish or Muslim faiths would also know the difference between these two groups.

 

I then decided that as visible as the  difficult relationship between Christians and Muslims has become today on a world-wide basis, it would probably be a good idea if those of us interested in politics had a real understanding of these two Muslim organizations.

 

First I have to say that my only understanding of the Hamas group for years has just been, “That Muslim group that regularly hurls rockets into the Jewish areas of Jerusalem,”.

 

As for Hezbollah, all I could recall was that for some reason I always associated this group with Iran, but I couldn’t remember why that relationship came to mind.

 

I have always been critical of those individuals that make pro or con remarks about any groups, religions or organizations without any real knowledge of what they were saying.  So, it became important to me that at least I should spend some time to understand these two groups.  Two Muslim groups that are very important to what is going on today within international politics.  That’s especially true, when one considers all the arguments being made today regarding the highly controversial Iran nuclear arms agreement.

 

First let’s look at the original founding and purpose of the group, “Hamas”.

 

The word Hamas is a five letter acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement: “Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah”.  Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic organization (PLO), with an associated military wing called the ”Izz ad-Din al-Qassam” brigades.  These Hamas groups are located in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere in the Middle East including Qatar.

 

Hamas is currently designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Canada, Israel, Egypt and Japan.  Australia and the United Kingdom have designated the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigades, as a terrorist organization. The total Hamas organization is banned in Jordan.  

 

However, Hamas is not regarded as a terrorist organization by Iran, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, Turkey, China, and Qatar.

 

Hamas was founded in 1988 soon after the “First Intifada” which was the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that began in 1987.

 

Hamas started as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood which its Gaza branch had not been confrontational towards Israel.   The Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza had originally refrained from being part of the Hamas resistance and was actually hostile to the PLO.

 

That situation changed when the Hamas co-founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, stated in 1987 that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

 

 

The group has since stated that it might accept a 10-year truce if Israel would withdraw to the 1967 borders and allow Palestinian refugees from 1948, and their descendants, to return to what is now Israel.  Israel has refused to comply with this request.

 

So, this is in a nut-shell, what Hamas is all about, why they were founded and why they still exist.

 

After looking into both Hamas and Hezbollah, it became evident that other than both groups having a Muslim foundation and a hatred of the Jews being in Israel, they don’t have that much in common for their existence.

 

Now “Hezbollah” pronounced /hɛzbəˈlɑː/ is literally translated as the "Party of Allah" or "Party of God". 

 

 

Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.  It was primarily formed to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation and its leaders were followers of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini.  Its armed forces were trained, paid for and organized by Iran and a contingent of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

 

Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is called the “Jihad Council” or “Holy War Council”.

 

After the 1982 invasion, Israel occupied a strip of south Lebanon, which was controlled by a local militia supported by Israel.  This group was called the South Lebanon Army (SLA). Hezbollah waged a guerilla campaign against them and with the eventual collapse of the South Lebanon Army, Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May of 2000.

 

So, with this understanding of both of these organizations, other than their centuries of conflict between the Jews and the Muslims, these two organizations should never be confused.

 

I do so wish that more Americans would be curious enough to delve into understanding the foundations of what we regularly see and hear in the daily news.

 

It is also very unfortunate that learning about our world history is no longer a requirement in America's public schools.

 

Everyone in the free world should understand more of what is going on in the Middle East.

 

 

Copyright G.Ater  2015