Hamas -- How Has a Terrorist Organization Become a Political Power

摘要

In early 2006, the first democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority ended with a surprising landslide victory by Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization. How did Hamas gain enough power to become the ruling party by democratic election. Does that mean that the majority of Palestinians support terrorism. Hamas is similar to other fundamentalist Islamic organizations in terms of its social network and its aspiration to establish an Islamic state. Understanding the source of Hamas's power and identifying its center of gravity are crucial to understanding how Hamas came to possess such power, and to waging an effective war against terrorism. Furthermore, such an understanding is essential to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Since any action taken against Hamas by Israel or the United States will be interpreted as an attack against Islam, the only way to deal with this Islamist fundamentalist organization is to engage the participation of moderate Arab countries.