ABSTRACT
Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, emerged as Fatah’s political rival or alternative in Palestinian politics during the first intifada, which marked the beginning of the political Islamic forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The movement had to face Israeli occupation on the one hand, and the national secular forces led by the PLO on the other. Until the emergence of Hamas, the most important Islamic movement in the occupied territories—the Muslim Brotherhood—had shied away from active resistance against the Israeli occupation—a decision which stood in the way of its full development as a popular force. This situation began to change with the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising, which led the Muslim Brotherhood to play an active role in the resistance for the first time. It was the Islamic movement which, after many years of existence, was able to emerge as a potent challenge in the occupied territories to the dominant nationalist trend. The new force of Hamas soon overshadowed its parent organization and now prevailed in a number of localities, especially the Gaza Strip, with a magnitude that parallels that of Fatah, the largest of the PLO factions. Its emergence has brought about a state of imbalance in the decades. Moreover, the developing rivalry between the Islamists led by Hamas and the secular nationalist forces represented by Fatah may not peter out even in the event of the end of the Israeli occupation, since what is at stake in this rivalry is the identity and the future direction of the Palestinian people. Factors that have contributed to the rise and growth of Hamas in Palestinian politics will be the main focus of this chapter. The chapter will also examine the political structure of Fatah, its military wing, ideology, and political vision as well as its leadership.
