Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الإسلامية). Founded in 1987 in Gaza during the First Intifada as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Governs the Gaza Strip since seizing control from the Palestinian Authority in June 2007 after the Battle of Gaza. Designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Its founding charter (1988) called for the destruction of Israel; a 2017 revised document softened but did not retract this position. Hamas documented its October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli civilians through its own video recordings, which it broadcast.
Sources
- https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp — Hamas Charter (1988), Yale Avalon Project (full text)
- https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-2017-document-full — Hamas Document of General Principles (2017), Middle East Eye (full text)
- https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/ — U.S. State Department FTO list
- EU Council Decision 2003/483/CFSP and subsequent renewals