An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, Hamas (an Arabic acronym for “the Islamic resistance movement”) commits itself to armed resistance against Israel (including attacks targeting its civilians), the annihilation of the Jewish state, and the establishment of an Islamic regime in its stead. The party emerges as the primary rival to the secular Fatah party of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. The United States lists Hamas as a terror organization in 1997.
