Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founded the Hamas movement in 1987.

What is Hamas?

Hamas is the Palestinians' major Muslim fundamentalist movement. With an extensive social service network and a terrorist wing that plots suicide bombings in Israel, it is the main opposition to Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority and a determined foe of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Is Hamas the same thing as the PLO?

No. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is headed by Arafat, is not a fundamentalist group but the main secular, nationalist organization of Palestinian politics. After Israel and the PLO signed a peace deal in 1993, Arafat founded the Palestinian Authority (PA), a new, Palestinian-led government for the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas and the PA sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete, and sometimes clash. Hamas has cut deals with the PA, but it accuses Arafat's regime of being corrupt and of selling out to Israel and America by participating in the peace process. U.S. officials have told Arafat that Hamas is as much of a threat to him as it is to Israel.

Is Hamas the same as Islamic Jihad?

No. Islamic Jihad is a much smaller, less organized group of Islamist radicals with closer ties to Iran. Unlike Hamas, it has no network of schools, clinics, or mosques, and it focuses entirely on terrorism. Islamic Jihad's founder, Fathi Shikaki, was killed by Israeli agents in 1995 in Malta, and its nominal leader now lives in Damascus, Syria.

What does "Hamas" mean?

In Arabic, the word "hamas" means zeal. But it's also an Arabic acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya," or Islamic Resistance Movement.

What does Hamas believe?

Hamas combines the ideas of Palestinian nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Its founding charter pledges the group to carry out armed struggle, work for the destruction of Israel and the replacement of Arafat's government with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and raise"the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine."

Does Hamas carry out suicide bombings?

Yes. Since 1994, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have dispatched more than 80 suicide bombers. The terrorists have blown up buses in major Israeli cities, as well as shopping malls, cafes, and other civilian targets. The bombings have killed more than 200 Israeli civilians. Hamas' bombers tend to target civilians within Israel proper, rather than Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank and Gaza.

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