Film Review : Hamas : Behind the Mask

Résumé du document

As indicated in the title of the movie, this documentary strives to unveil to us the depths of the Islamic Resistance Movement, the Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, Israel and the Canada. It has been shot during the years 2004-2005 and reveals many facets of the movement, from its creation in 1987 to its coming to power in 2006, as well as its controversial actions and activities. The Hamas aims at re-conquering the lost territories, claiming a "right of return?, and maintains that Israel has no right to exist. It has a deep and varied popular support. Its militants are students, doctors, as well as workers or engineers. The refugee camps, where misery and resentment are widespread, are its favorite recruitment grounds and for the development of its activities. The documentary underlies the fact that the adhesion to the movement is based in deep psychological roots.

Extraits

[...] The narrator says that whatever the means, the purpose is the same, get back all the occupied territories Even so if Israel withdraw it's not sure that the Hamas will stop attacking it Indeed the Hamas leaders have always only been proposing a hudna in case Israel would withdraw, which means a truce of ten years maximum with non-musulmans acoording to the Quran. Could the Hamas negociate peace without denying itself ? In 2006 the movement announced that it was studying a reformed chart. One can only hope that the imperatives of the exercise of power and the running of democratic institutions will push it in this direction. [...]

[...] It has taken deeper roots in palestinian society by creating charity organizations and setting up educational programs. Movement of national liberation with an islamic identity or islamic terrorist organization ? Khalid Meshaal sustains that there is no contradiction between being a palestinian nationalist and being a muslim with religious convictions. The question is whether this palestinian nationalism prevails or is just a part of islamist proselytism. Even if the documentary shows Hamas fighters praising Allah and highlights their violent actions, it doesn't go really deep in its analyze. [...]

[...] Palestinians and arab states opposed the blueprint made the UNO in 1947 to share Palestine and denied the right of the jewish to establish a jewish state on arab land ( impervious to their claims that they had been chased away from here two thousand years ago by the romans). Following the arab-israeli wars (1948- many palestinians had to leave their homeland and ended up in refugee camps. The Hamas aims at reconquering the lost territories, claiming a right of return and maintains that Israel has no right to exist. It has a deep and varied popular support. Its militants are students, doctors, as well as workers or engineers. [...]

[...] It is said that there is no solution to the palestinian cause except through the Djiahd and that the movement should reject every negociation process or international conference. Israel should be destroyed. The Hamas is related to the Muslim Brotherhood, a sunni islamist movement whose motto is God is our objective, the Quran our constitution, the prophet our leader, struggle is our way Ahmed Yassin, the founding father of the Hamas, has been menber of this movement since he was a student. [...]

[...] Moreover the Hamas is mostly financed by Saoudi Arabia (up to the financing center of the world islamist terrorism. When we see on the documentary a mother sacrifying her 17 years old son in the name of Allah to commit suicide bombing, one might thing that the Hamas is a little bit more than a nationalist palestinian movement with a muslim identity . The spiral of violence Unfortunately Israel lack of concessions (refusal to observe UN resolution of 1967 and to abandon occupied territories on the grounds that it would be renouncing to its jewish identity), its need to make disproportionate force demonstrations to feel secure (for instance in Septembre 2004 after rockets killed 2 israli soldiers it launched the operation penitence which made 120 deads), the islmamization of the debate and the use of terrorism on the palestinian side lead to a deadlock. [...]