Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Authority: Who are the actors in the conflict between Israel and Gaza? And what are the political and diplomatic foundations on which military operations are based these days? A short glossary can help clarify things.
* HAMAS – The name of the organization at war with Israel is actually an acronym meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement.” It was founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmad Yasin on the occasion of the first Intifada. Hamas’ charter makes its goal clear: “To raise the flag of Islam over every inch of Palestine.” Its scope for action therefore focuses on the liberation of Palestine from Israel. To achieve this goal, armed struggle and terrorism are required. In 2006, Hamas won elections in the Gaza Strip and subsequently established a de facto regime there. It is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA, Israel, Canada and Great Britain. It enjoys regular funding and political support from Qatar.
* Hezbollah – From an ideological point of view, it is an outgrowth of the Khomeinist movement that has ruled Iran since 1979. The aim is to spread the Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East. Founded in 1982, Hezbollah (literally “Party of God”) has its roots in Lebanon; It still has its bases of action here today, from where rockets are fired at Israel, which Hezbollah wants to destroy. This presence prompted the United Nations to deploy an interim force between Lebanon and Israel in 2006; The contingent also includes 1,100 Italian soldiers. Hezbollah’s sponsor (from a military, economic and ideological perspective) is the Tehran regime. The United States, Israel, Canada and the United Kingdom consider it a terrorist entity in court, but not the European Union.
* PNA – The Palestinian Authority is the political “offspring” of Yasser Arafat’s PLO. With the signing of the Oslo Accords, it recognized the right to exist of the State of Israel and should have administered the territories allocated to the Palestinians (Gaza and the West Bank) according to the two-state principle. The PNA is currently going through a period of great weakness: in Gaza its presence has been undermined by Hamas, in the West Bank (where it has the majority) it has to deal with clashes with Israeli settlers who, particularly at the insistence of the Netanyahu government, are trying to join him to take away territories.
* MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD – Politically, this is the oldest of the Muslim-inspired movements, founded in Egypt in 1928. The basic idea is to promote political movements inspired by the principles of Islam. But it is precisely in the Arab world that the Muslim Brotherhood encounters its main opponents: it is even declared banned by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood is the foundation of Hamas and all political movements inspired by Islamic fundamentalism.
* OSLO AGREEMENTS – Signed on August 20, 1993 between then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, they led to two historic consequences: the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza and West Bank territories and its recognition of the existence of the State of Israel by the Palestinians. It seemed to be the beginning of a peace route that picked up the broken thread of the 1947 UN resolution that provided for the birth of the two states. This did not happen: Rabin was assassinated by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish fanatic and Islamic fundamentalist movements gained the upper hand in Palestine. Issues such as the settlement of Israelis in the Palestinian territories and the borders between the two states remained unresolved.
* ABRAM AGREEMENTS – This name covers the agreements that, as of 2020, normalized relations between Israel, on the one hand, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain, on the other; The mediator of the rapprochement was the then US President Donald Trump. This was the first thaw between Arab governments and the Jewish state since relations with Egypt and Jordan began in 1979. Saudi Arabia also began talks on regulating relations with Israel, which were abruptly interrupted after the Hamas attack on April 21, 2011 on October 7.