Vantage | How Israel helped create Hamas that it’s fighting today

We know the supporters of Hamas - the likes of Qatar, Iran and the Hezbollah. But in the 1960s and 70s this list included another country - Israel. We know it sounds surprising, but it’s true. Many experts say Hamas is Israel’s creation. Allow us to explain. Gaza wasn’t always under Hamas rule. Until 1966, it was ruled by Egypt. Back then, there was no place for radical Islamists, some of them were executed by Egypt. But in 1967, Gaza changed hands. The Arab-Israeli war was fought that year and Israel gained control of Gaza. There Israel encountered a wheelchair bound Islamist, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. He would go on to found Hamas. Watch:

Israel meets a charity worker In 1967, Israel didn’t make much of him. They thought he was interested in running schools and hospitals, sort of like a charity worker. But they did like one thing about him – Sheikh Yassin hated the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). The PLO, led by Yasser Arafat, was a coalition that officially represented the Palestinian people. Israel couldn’t stand the PLO and Arafat. Their charter called for the destruction of Israel, and they carried out attacks and hijackings. So, Israel wanted to weaken the PLO. Enter Sheikh Yassin. He too couldn’t stand the PLO, but his reasons were different. While Arafat claimed to be secular and nationalist, Yassin wasn’t. He was an Islamist. So the classic equation was at play here - your enemy’s enemy is your friend - and Israel helped Yassin and company. The birth of Hamas What happened next is detailed by a former Israeli official. Yassin had created a group called Mujama and Israel recognised it, that too as a charitable group. They also allowed him to create the Islamic University of Gaza. Today, it’s considered a hotbed of radicalism. In fact, Israel attacked the university yesterday. They called it an important Hamas military centre. So, when did Israel realise its mistake? When it was too late. In 1984, Israel arrested Yassin. He was found storing weapons, which should have been a red flag, but Israel ignored it. They considered him to be the lesser threat. So the next year Yassin walked out of jail. And in 1987, he formed Hamas. The setting was perfect for him because 1987 was also when the first intifada started - a major Palestinian uprising. He used those sentiments to try and gain popularity and by the 1990s he succeeded. The PLO had signed deals with Israel. They tweaked their charter to recognise the country. They also dropped the demand for Israel’s destruction. Some Palestinians were unhappy with this and said the PLO was going soft. The rise of Hamas terror Who courted these people? Hamas. By then, Hamas was organising attacks on Israel, even killing Israeli soldiers. Many former officials have expressed regret for this. One Israeli commander admitted to funding Hamas himself. Imagine that - Israeli taxpayers giving money to Hamas. It was a gross miscalculation - one that is now costing Israel. Yassin himself was killed in 2004 in an Israeli air strike but his organisation was very strong by then. Hamas came to dominate the Gaza strip and in 2007 they took total control. We know about Israel’s intelligence failures leading up to Saturday’s attack, Hamas too is one such mistake, a grave error of strategic judgement. Israel isn’t alone though. Many countries have made such mistakes like the Taliban and the U.S, Pakistan and the Tehreek-e-Taliban. It’s a lesson for governments around the world: you cannot control or leverage radicals, because in the end, you will pay.

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