aka Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, Islamic Resistance Movement, Students of Ayyash, Students of the Engineer, Yahya Ayyash Units, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades

The main Islamic movement in the Palestinian territories, Hamas (“zeal” in Arabic and also an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamia, or Islamic Resistance Movement) opposes the Oslo Peace Accords and does not recognize Israel's right to exist. The military faction of the group, called the Izz-al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has carried out scores of suicide bombings and terror attacks inside Israel and the occupied territories since Hamas began in 1987. The group's military wing is also said to have carried out attacks on Fatah rivals and Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel.

Formed in 1987 during the first intifada by members of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group aims to establish an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel, on the land once ...