What is Hamas and why did the OAS declare it a terrorist organization

The conflict in Middle East they have Israel and Palestine in an eternal conflict, but on the Palestinian side the main protagonist is the hamas movement, to which the Organization of American States (OAS) this Monday, May 17, he declared it “terrorist organization“.

Hamas began firing rockets at Israel on May 10 after Israeli troops to enter Jerusalem mosque plaza, sacred to both Muslims and Jews, amid high tensions over measures to expel Palestinian families from a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

The launching of missiles by Palestinian militants triggered a Israel’s massive air offensive in the Gaza Strip, a narrow Palestinian enclave from which the Israeli army withdrew in 2005 before imposing a blockade on it, strengthened in 2007 when Hamas took power, the agency consigned AFP.

The escalation of violence, the worst between Israelis and Palestinians since 2014, leaves 200 dead on the Palestinian side, including 59 children, and ten on the Israeli side, according to official sources.

In the past, many media have described Hamas as radical Islamist organization, but during the latest escalation of violence, there is more talk of Islamist terrorist group.

Most Western governments, including the European Union and United States, they classified it as terrorist organization and notable exceptions are Norway and Switzerland, who, showing his neutrality, as reported by the agency DW.

The history of the Hamas movement

Hamas was founded in the midst of the 80 years as opposition to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Yasser Arafat. Unlike the PLO, Hamas denies Israel its right to exist. Its emblem shows the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the outline of the territory of Israel, the The Gaza Strip and the West Bank as one Palestinian state.

Arafat signed peace with Israel in 1993 as part of the Oslo accords, But Hamas never recognized him and continued to realize terrorist attacks against Israel. In 2006, Hamas won an absolute majority in the general elections in the Gaza Strip, a hegemony it consolidated a year later with a violent coup, the agency reported. DW.

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Since then, the Palestinian territories have been divided not only geographically, but also politically: the party moderado al Fatah, by Mahmoud Abbas, rules the West Bank, while Gaza has remained under Hamas control. From Gaza, Hamas continued its “self-defense” attacks against Israel and played in four violent clashes with the Israeli army: in 2008-09, in 2012, in 2014 and now in 2021.

Who supports Hamas?

The The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet and it’s practically economically isolated, with fortified borders with Israel to the north and east, Egypt to the south and east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Much of the population lives in the extreme poberty and it depends on foreign humanitarian aid. However, aid has recently been drastically reduced under pressure from the former US president, Donald trump. Hamas continues to dig smuggling tunnels to transport weapons, especially to Egypt, he reported. DW.

Qatar is one of Hamas’ biggest donors and foreign allies: The emir was the first head of state to visit Hamas leaders in Gaza, in 2021. The small state in the Persian Gulf has transferred to date more than 1,500 million euros.

Another important ally is turkey: Just before the latest Hamas rocket attacks, the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had promised to support their political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The OAS has declared Hamas a “terrorist organization”

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) this Monday, May 17, he called the Islamist movement Hamas like a “terrorist organization “, and invoked the right to “self-defense “of Israel against actions against you.

“The recent attacks launched by Hamas against the Israeli civilian population undoubtedly constitute terrorist attacks. Their violence and the objectives they pursue clearly have this characteristic, ”said the office led since 2015 by the Uruguayan. Luis Almagro it is a statement.

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The statement by the regional body made up of the 35 countries of the American continent accused Hamas of “unlimited terrorist aggression” and “sowing terror on innocent populations, whether Israeli or Palestinian”.

In addition, he repudiated and condemned what he called “immoral and unworthy use of children and women as human shields“as well as” the militarization of residential areas. “” The outbreak of attacks of this nature against a country clear terrorist target on its civilian population, it is essential to invoke the principle of self-defense by Israel, ”he declared.

“Hamas attacks constitute an attack on the peace and security of Israel and the region, and make it imperative categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization for the OAS General Secretariat“, he concluded.

The note of Hamas As a “terrorist organization”, it can have political consequences, possibly leading to a vote of the OAS countries for a resolution of the organization in the same direction.

ED