The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas): Studies of Thoughts & Experience

by Dr. Mohsen M. Saleh, Dr. ‘Adnan Abu ‘Amer, Prof. Ahmad Sa‘id Nofal, Dr. Hafez al-Karmi, Mr. Belal M. Shobaki, Prof. Dr. Ishtiaq Hossain, Mr. Isma‘il Haniyyah, Mr. Khalid Mish‘al, Dr. Musa Abu Marzuq, Prof. Mustafa Abu Sway, Dr. Raid M. H. Nairat, Mr. Sameeh Hammoudeh, Mr. Sami N. Khater, Prof. Dr. Talal ‘Atrissi, Mr. Usamah Hamdan, Mr. Yousef Abu Alsuood, Prof. Yusuf Rizqa

2017 · مركز الزيتونة للدراسات والاستشارات

Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations in Beirut has launched the English version of the book “The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas: Studies of Thought and Experience,” which was co-written by a group of professors specializing in the Palestinian issue and five senior Hamas leaders. The 704-page book is edited by Dr. Mohsen Saleh. The book examines Hamas’s vision and experience in all its aspects. The work sticks to two main commitments: First, adherence to academic research methods, and the accuracy, objectivity and extensive documentation necessary to them. The second is the attempt to present Hamas as it really is, whether by the contributions of specialized researches, who are well informed of Hamas and its experience; or by the contributions of Hamas leaders, who have addressed a number of issues and presented a more comprehensive picture of the Movement. Particularly so when the available literature is insufficient to clarify all the issues being researched, especially for Western audiences interested in understanding the Palestinian issue, of which Hamas has become a key component in the past decade. The book falls in two parts. The first is a collection of eleven studies on Hamas and its experience, in which chapter one presents an overview of the movement experience and history. It discusses the background and inception, and considers Hamas a continuation of the work of the Muslim Brothers (MB) movement that began in the form of popular advocacy through a network of branches and offices beginning in 1945. Interestingly, this chapter examines events that reflect the extent of the MB movement’s participation in armed resistance as well as preaching activities, in addition to their links to the establishment of the Fatah movement, which was co-founded by MB figures. This chapter digs deeper in to the stages that Hamas underwent, especially between 1987 and 2005. The second chapter gives the reader the chance to examine Hamas’s political vision, addressing the wellsprings of Hamas’s political ideology, its approach to religion and state, law, and constitution, and its views on nationalism, secularism, and democracy. Finally, it addresses the rights of minorities in Hamas’s political thought. The chapter contains a plethora of answers to questions usually raised by those interested to learn about Hamas’s ideas, bearing in mind that it is difficult to find material that expresses Hamas’s intellectual frameworks in such a comprehensive manner, except through some of the interviews, which still are no match for the topics covered by the book. In the third chapter, we delve into Hamas’ conceptualization of the other, meaning Hamas’s view of Israel, Judaism, Jews, Zionism and Zionists, which is the basis for understanding the background and future of the conflict. The book, in the fourth and fifth chapters, continues to analyze the relationship between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its factions, and Hamas’s position on Islamic Palestinian movements including the Sufis and Salafis, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ), explaining the convergences and divergences with these factions. This is based on analyzing both Hamas’s theoretical framework and policies, drawing from primary sources. The sixth chapter highlights an important issue, namely, the peace process. Naturally, readers will wonder how Hamas’s actions and visions approach the peace process. In this chapter, the author examines the stages of evolution of Hamas’s political position on the peace process, whether through the movement’s theoretical and intellectual frameworks, or its practices on the ground. The seventh chapter tackles in detail Hamas’s vision for political and social reform in Palestine, based on the set of principles the group has committed itself to, including its insistence on political freedom for all and the rights of the Palestinian people. Hamas’s political reform project is not confined to internal Palestinian matters, but also cover foreign relations, especially with Arab and Muslim countries. In addition, Hamas’s social reform platform focuses on combatting poverty as the entry point for comprehensive development and reform. The eighth and ninth chapters overview at length Hamas’s Arab and Islamic relations, by analyzing the determinants, objectives, and dimensions of Hamas’s relations, an explaining its position towards the Arab Spring. They also examine Hamas’s relations with Turkey and Iran and their evolution. The tenth chapter deals with Hamas’s experience in government, following the 2006 legislative elections. This chapter explores the defects within the Palestinian political system in order to determine the environment and challenges that Hamas faced. Finally, it assesses Hamas performance in governance in the period 2006–2012. The eleventh chapter concludes the first part of the book by reviewing Western academic literature on Hamas, with a view to answer the following fundamental question: To what extent have these studies succeeded in understanding the true nature of Hamas? The second part of the book includes contributions by five senior Hamas leaders attempting to answer a miscellany of questions regarding different issues appertaining to the Movement. These include a study by Khalid Mish’al, head of Hamas Political Bureau, which is entitled “Hamas: Milestones in Thought and Experience.” A second study entitled “Hamas: A Reading in the Vision and Governance Experience” is contributed by Isma‘il Haniyyah, the new Hamas politburo chief and prime minister of Hamas’s caretaker government. It also includes a contribution by Musa Abu Marzuq, senior Hamas leader and former politburo chief titled Hamas Assessment of the Experience; and a contribution by Usamah Hamdan on Hamas International Relations. The section also includes a paper prepared by Sami Khater, Hamas politburo member, regarding Hamas’s Vision for Managing the Conflict with the “Zionist Enemy.” The book includes an appendix of major documents related to Hamas and its experience since the issuance of its charter in 1987 until the memorandum of enforcement of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas (Al-Shati’ Agreement) in 2014 besides key political documents issued in the intervening period.

The Palestinian National Authority: Studies of the Experience and Performance 1994-2013

by Prof. Ahmad M. al-Khalidi, Dr. Farid Abu-Dheir, Ghina Sami Jamal al-Din, Dr. Mohsen M. Saleh, Aziz Haroon Kayed, Fatima Hassan ‘Itani, Hasan M. Ibhais, Dr. Nadia Said Al Deen, Basem Jalal Elkassem, Feras Khalid Abu Helal, Iqbal Walid ‘Omeish, Rabi‘ M. al-Dannan, Wael Ahmad Sa‘ad , Prof. Walid ‘Abd al-Hay

2019 · مركز الزيتونة للدراسات والاستشارات

Almost twenty years after the Oslo Accords and the formation of the Palestinian National Authority (PA), there is a need to examine this experience in all its aspects, especially since it has not achieved its main goal: the transition from an autonomous authority to an independent state with full sovereignty over the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip). This book is a comprehensive study of the PA and its experience. The 15 chapters analyze the aspects of the PA establishment and its legislative, judicial and presidential institutions, as well as the performance of successive governments. The book deals with the internal Palestinian situation, the security forces, the PA position towards the resistance forces, and economic, demographic, educational and health conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It also tackles the corruption in the PA, the relationship between the PA and the media, as well as its foreign policy. This book is a systematic, scientific study that forensically documents the PA experience. It has undergone the usual procedures of scientific editing, including the reviewing of texts and references.

The Palestinian Issue: Historical Background & Contemporary Developments

by Dr. Mohsen M. Saleh

2014 · مركز الزيتونة للدراسات والاستشارات

This 224 page book presents a general overview of the Palestinian issue, by tracing its historical junctures and its current developments. For the reader, this will facilitate his comprehension of its overall picture, the intertwined factors connected to it, at any stage and in a logical sequence, up to the present stage. This book is of special importance to the group of readers who wish to get a general idea of the Palestinian issue, or those who do not find time for detailed specialized studies. The book is written in a smooth English language, and is full of information updated till 2013; all the while retaining a scientific, academic and documented wording, far from emotional structural discourse. In its first chapter, the book deals with the background of the Palestinian issue until 1918. It reviews Palestine’s history through the ages, its geography, its Islamic standing, and the Jews’ religious and historical claims in Palestine, up to the emergence of the Palestinian issue in modern history, in addition to its political developments up to the end of World War I in 1918. The second chapter highlights the period of the British occupation of Palestine during 1918–1948. It discusses the development of the Zionist project, the emergence of the Palestinian National Movement and the 1936 Palestinian Revolt, as well as the political events that followed, up to the 1948 war and its repercussions. The third chapter reviews the issue’s developments during the period 1948–1967, focusing on the development of the Palestinian national movement, the birth of Fatah movement, the establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and the war of June 1967 and its repercussions. As for the fourth chapter, it addresses the period 1967–1987 up to the outbreak of the first Intifadah in 1987, shedding light on the emergence of the Palestinian national identity, the development of the Palestinian armed struggle, the Arab countries’ role in the Palestinian issue, and the emergence of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The fifth chapter deals with the period starting with the outbreak of the 1987 Intifadah until the failure of the Camp David negotiations in 2000, going through the inception of Hamas, the transition of the PLO from armed struggle to peaceful settlement, the formation of the Palestinian National Authority, and the developments that Israel had witnessed during the same period. The last chapter in the book reviews the developments that occurred following the outbreak of al-Aqsa Intifadah in September 2000 and until 2013. It is divided into subjects that include the Palestinian resistance, the Palestinian internal situation, the path of the peaceful negotiations, Jerusalem and the status quo, the Separation Wall, and the Israeli internal situation. This book is an important source for readers seeking to acquaint themselves with the Palestinian issue, and to become informed of the pertinent facts in a balanced manner. It can also serve as an introduction to further studies of the Palestinian issue.