Hamas was founded in 1987 during the First Intifada against Israeli occupation. The key founding members and reasons for its creation include:

Founding Members

• Sheikh Ahmed Yassin: The primary founder and spiritual leader of Hamas. Yassin was a Palestinian Islamic scholar who established Hamas as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

• Other founding members included six other Palestinians who joined Yassin in creating Hamas as a resistance movement.

Reasons for Creation

Hamas was established for several key reasons:

1. Response to Israeli Occupation: Hamas emerged as a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, particularly in the context of the First Intifada that began in 1987.

2. Islamic Alternative: It was created as a religious counterweight to the secular Fatah movement, offering an Islamist approach to Palestinian nationalism.

3. Social and Charitable Work: Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood’s network of mosques, charities, and social organizations that had been active in Gaza since the 1950s.

4. Ideological Stance: Hamas adopted a more nationalist and activist line compared to the existing Palestinian factions, combining Palestinian nationalism with Islamist ideology.

5. Opposition to Peace Process: Hamas was founded in part to challenge the influence of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and its approach to the conflict with Israel.

Early Development

• Hamas initially functioned as a social-religious charity center before evolving into a more militant organization.

• In 1988, Hamas published its first charter, which called for the elimination of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state in historical Palestine.

• The organization gained support through its network of social services and its stance of armed resistance against Israel.

Hamas’s creation marked a significant shift in Palestinian politics, introducing a strong Islamist element into the Palestinian national movement and presenting a new challenge to both Israel and the existing Palestinian leadership.