The threat of violence against Israel, and Jews more widely, was never far from the surface. Whether it was real – a function of their brief experiment in democratic participation – the mask could also slip. That would suggest they could be pragmatic. As Yassin and his fellow founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi had done before their assassinations by Israel in 2004, Hamas leaders would suggest the possibility of a long cessation of hostilities with Israel – known as a hudna. The messaging from senior figures in the political bureau in this period was contradictory. Analysts would speak of a “black budget” which funnelled money to the military wing and powerful individuals. ![]() Senior figures were implicated in damaging pyramid schemes linked to the once-flourishing smuggling tunnels to Egypt.īig villas appeared in its southern strongholds. In power, Hamas, which had built its appeal on lacking the corruption of its rival Fatah, proved to be brutal and often greedy. After a period of deadly anarchy in Gaza, after the 2006 Palestinian elections in which Hamas-backed candidates won the largest share of the vote, it seized power in the coastal enclave by force. The turning point for Hamas came in 2007. While the exact numbers are unclear and disputed, the Qassam brigades are today believed to count on several tens of thousands under arms including small boat forces, combat divers, a new paraglider force and drone operators. While Hamas’s first militants operated in a cell structure, they became more organised in Gaza around 20 years ago, when Hamas first fought a series of chaotic battles with the Israel Defence Forces that saw it take heavy losses, prior to the evacuation of the Israeli settlements in Gaza in 2005. Meanwhile, the Qassam brigades grew stronger, particularly in Gaza – becoming the substantial, well-armed and well-trained paramilitary force of today. The armed wingįor most people Hamas is represented by its armed wing, responsible for the brutal massacre at the weekend.Īfter the 1993 Oslo peace accords, Hamas (along with Palestinian Islamic Jihad) deployed suicide bombings as its initial weapon of choice against the peace deal, a tactic that would be seen regularly during the second intifada. It is unavoidably part of the fabric of the life in Gaza. ![]() It runs the courts while, during the 2014 Gaza war, its forces abducted, tortured and murdered Palestinians accused of “collaborating” with Israel and others. It administers the education service while its police have broken the bones of children caught wearing scarfs signalling family affiliation with the rival Fatah movement. While it runs Gaza’s health service, it is also a sinister organisation committed to the mass murder of Israelis. That armed wing would come to be known as the Izz ad-Din al Qassam brigades who from their very beginning embraced the use of terror tactics against Israel, carrying out their first suicide bombing in 1993 in conjunction with Islamic Jihad.īut the movement attracts substantial popular support, and also incorporates teachers, surgeons, urban planners and police in its civil administration of Gaza. It saw armed violence as part of that struggle, modelling its early armed wing on the fedayeen, Palestinian armed groups that emerged in the 1950s after the establishment of the state of Israel. Stars and Cars made a silly movie well worth watching - for me, anyway.Under one of its key founders, the group’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, it held an uncompromising view.Īs the movement’s founding charter made clear, Hamas was dedicated from the start to extinguishing the existence of the state of Israel. I think it might also be on You Tube, not sure though. ![]() I looked up the BMW and read that the doors are called “Butterfly Doors” - certainly attention-getters. (Christopher Lloyd must have been having flashbacks during the filming.) If you like cars, you will like seeing two beautiful machines, each playing a role, - a vintage Porsche and a new BMW. I thought it was fun to see 3 of my favorites in Senior Moment. The movie will not win any awards - but who cares. The plotline is light and fluffy - but that’s OK. (I, of course, have not aged a bit since I watched them in their earlier roles - yeah, right.) ![]() Iggy, in real life, is now 82, and Charlene is 69. They will always be Denny Crane, Jim Ignatowski, and Designing Women’s Charlene to me, but now they are starring in a TV movie Senior Moment.ĭenny is now 90 - although in the movie his character’s age is 72.
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