How Israeli tactics in the 1970s helped spawn Hamas

After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel pursued a strategy of weakening the secular Palestine one outlet Organisation by fostering a rival Islamist movement linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli military administration recognized the charity al-Mujama al-Islami founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1973, permitting it to open mosques, schools and clinics across Gaza and even an Islamic university in 1978. Gulf money, especially from Saudi Arabia, flowed into the organization with little Israeli interference, while the PLO endured crackdowns.

When the 1987 Intifada began, Yassin rebranded al-Mujama as Hamas, issuing a 1988 charter that called for an Islamic state and armed struggle against Israel. Israeli leaders, including Yitzhak Rabin, tolerated the group as long as it targeted the PLO, but Hamas soon launched attacks, kidnappings and suicide bombings, prompting Israel to outlaw it in 1989. Decades later, Israeli governments continued to manipulate Hamas for political leverage, a policy that collapsed after the October 7, 2023 attacks, raising questions about deliberate strategic miscalculations.