South Africa tells the UN top court Israel is committing genocide in Gaza as a landmark case...

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen This is a reposting and NOT a rebuttal or directed at you.


V1 : https://youtu.be/PLm-rrRsJXM?si=SAZeym6WodXsoxHM

Just because I post about how Hamas was helped by Israel Military Intelligence in proxy wars, by no means am I sympathetic to Hamas.

I am sympathetic to the Palestinian people who don’t support Hamas. There is a difference.


V1 : https://www.instagram.com/reel/C04jAPbM0LS/?igsh=Zjlkd2Npcmw1Zjg5


1.) What Is Hamas?

The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.

Summary

* A spin-off of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s, the Islamist militant group Hamas took over the Gaza Strip after defeating its rival political party, Fatah, in elections in 2006.

* The United States and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization because of its armed resistance against Israel, which has included suicide bombings and rocket attacks.

* Israel has declared war on Hamas following its surprise assault on the country’s south in 2023, the deadliest attack in Israeli history.

SOURCE : https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas


2.) Foreign Terrorist Organizations
BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.

Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

October 8, 1997 - HAMAS

Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended

* It must be a foreign organization.

* The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.

* The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

Other Effects of Designation

* Supports our efforts to curb terrorism financing and to encourage other nations to do the same.

* Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations internationally.

* Deters donations or contributions to and economic transactions with named organizations.

* Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations.

* Signals to other governments our concern about named organizations.

SOURCE : https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/


3.) OVERVIEW

HAMAS–the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement)—is the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories’ two major political parties. HAMAS emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch.

The group is committed to armed resistance against Israel and the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel’s place. HAMAS has been the de facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power.


* OPERATING AREAS
Primarily in Gaza; also maintains a presence in the West Bank; Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon; and key regional capitals, such as Doha, Qatar, and Cairo, Egypt.

* MEMBERS
Between 20,000 and 25,000

‏TACTICS AND TARGETS
‏
HAMAS uses improvised explosive devices, short- and long-range rockets and mortars, small arms, kidnapping operations, rocket-propelled grenades, man-portable air defense systems, antitank missiles, and unmanned aircraft systems in attacks against Israeli military forces and civilians, as well as against ISIS and other Salafist armed group members based in Gaza. The group also uses cyber espionage and computer network exploitation operations.

‏FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUP

‏DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated HAMAS as a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997.

SOURCE : https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/hamas_fto.html

Israel Military Intelligence :

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HAMAS

Has Hamas attacked Israel in other instances prior to 2023?

Since it seized power in Gaza in 2007, Hamas has provoked multiple major confrontations with Israel, including a 22-day war in 2008-2009; an eight-day war in 2012; a 50-day war in 2014; a series of coordinated attacks in 2018 and 2019; and an 11-day war in May 2021.

Prior to October 2023, Hamas had killed approximately 25 U.S. citizens and was holding two hostages plus the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. Hamas’ 2023 attack represents the most lethal terrorist attack in Israel’s history. The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, claimed the lives of 22 citizens from the United States, 17 from Britain, 18 from Thailand, 10 from Nepal, 10 from France, seven from Argentina, and others.

SOURCE : https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/10/16/10-things-to-know-about-hamas/


V1 : https://www.instagram.com/reel/C04jAPbM0LS/?igsh=Zjlkd2Npcmw1Zjg5


1.) What Is Hamas?

The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.

Summary

* A spin-off of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s, the Islamist militant group Hamas took over the Gaza Strip after defeating its rival political party, Fatah, in elections in 2006.

* The United States and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization because of its armed resistance against Israel, which has included suicide bombings and rocket attacks.

* Israel has declared war on Hamas following its surprise assault on the country’s south in 2023, the deadliest attack in Israeli history.

SOURCE : https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas