HOUSTON – As the conflict in Israel continues, many might not know about the terrorist group, Hamas, which led last weekend’s deadly assault in Israel.
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States and much of the Western world.
Program director and associate professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Houston, Doctor Emran El-Badawi, sat down with KPRC to talk about the history of Hamas.
He said the group spent a lot of time in the 80s and 90s assassinating other Palestinians for cooperating with Israel.
When Israel evacuated all of their citizens from the Gaza Strip in 2006, elections were held and Hamas’ political wing was put into power, which they’ve held ever since.
While Hamas has control, El-Badawi doesn’t believe it necessarily is supported by all the people.
He said, “I don’t know of many advocates of Hamas. But I do know of officials and experts, researchers that recognize that Hamas is the only representation of the people of Gaza and that that’s complicated and that it’s problematic and that people come down on different sides”
As the most recent conflict continues, El-Badawi believes that more groups will get involved, including the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, which like Hamas, is heavily funded by Iran.
El-Badawi is hopeful that both Israelis and Palestinians have the means to solve this conflict. He said, “Palestinians and Israelis can get along and live in one state. They do this every single day. The narrative that they cannot coexist is the narrative of warmongers who profit off of war and the conflict, the Palestinians and Israelis. There is no reason for this to continue longer than it is.”
Having a background in Middle Eastern history, El-Badawi thinks the younger generation will have a better chance at finding peace than the current and older generations.