Is Hamas really a terrorist group? Israel and the US say so, but why?
Why has Hamas killed over 250 Isrealis in suicide bombings this year? I guess because I am a rational person I find it hard to belive that a political/cultural group would just kill hundreds of Israelis without some sort of legitimate reason. Also, why does the US care enough to classify Hamas as a terrorist group?
First, I would like to dive into the history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Following the end of World War II, the United Nations, headed by the US, relocated millions of Jews back to their "motherland" of Israel. Considering the Jews had just survived the Halocaust, it makes sense. However there were people living on the land that was given back to the Jews. Before the end of WWII, there was technically no such country as Israel. It was all Palestine. The land was taken over centuries before by the Palestinians. Moving on, Hamas was accually not formed until the late 80's. Though not the only reason, one major reason was to provide community activism and religious relief to those Palestinian civilians who had been under Jewish rule since the mass relocation of Jews following WWII.
Ironically, "Israel supported and encouraged Hamas' early growth in an effort to undermine the secular Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat." This was during the 1990's. Remember the PLO, or Palestinian Liberation Organization. In the 90's they were the "terrorist group", defending their right to govern themselves. That organization has since been thwarted. Now there is only Hamas left.
In 2004, the leader of the "terrorist group" Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, offered a 10 year truce, under the conditions that Israel would withdraw troops from occupied territories. Remember the US, along with the United Nations originally authorized and recognized the invasion. This truce was tenatively accepted. Since 2004's supposed truce, Hamas has claimed responsibility for bus station bombs, as well as rocket fire into Jewish settlements. They only plan to stop once the Israeli military stops their "targeted assasinations" of top Hamas officials.
All this said, I feel as though a "terrorist group" is a group that comes into previously occupied land to cause terror. Although I do not support suicide bombings, I feel as though Hamas must be dealt with like any other sovergn group. By labeling them "terrorists" we first miss out on the chance for positive dialogue as well as we forget the fact that they occupied the lands they're fighting for before the Jews did. So, who's really the terrorist??
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