The name HAMAS is the combination of the capital letters, in Arabic, of the words - The Islamic Resistance Movement – was founded by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in 1987 as a Palestinian branch of the Muslims Brotherhood on the eve of the first Palestinian uprising – Intifada. The Muslim Brotherhood is the ideological source of the idea that true Islam is the solution for the economical, social and political problems of the Muslims in the World and especially in the Middle East. 

Muslim Brotherhood originally opposed violent means to achieve its goals. But the war with Israel, ever since 1948, the peace between Egypt and Israel in 03/1979 and the brutal treatment of devoted Muslims by Arab socialist regimes, such as the Hama Massacre, convinced many followers to advocate violence.  

Although HAMAS opposed the existence of Israel and preached openly that "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad“, Israeli Authority in 1987 helped HAMAS to organize and position itself in the Palestinian society as an adversary to the prominent enemy of Israel at that time - the PLO and its’ leading party Fatah.  Some Israeli also believed that HAMAS will, mainly, be focused on social welfare which is typical to all Islamic fundamentalist organizations. 

In 1992, in the middle of the first Intifada, HAMAS founded his military wing the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades and joined, officially, the war against Israel.

The Oslo accords of 09/1993 were treated by HAMAS as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause by PLO and Fatah as it recognized the existence of Israel. The HAMAS was determent, in the first stage, to prevent any implementation of the agreement and in the second stage any recognition of the existence of Israel. In 1993 HAMAS began its’ suicide bomb attacks, which put HAMAS in confrontation with Fatah as it disrupted the political agenda of Fatah. Many argued that the political differences between HAMAS and Fatah are only about tactics - after all, also the Fatah never recognized Israel as a Jewish state.

HAMAS always had a reputation of being an uncorrupted organization that care about the people, while Fatah was regarded by the Palestinians as a very corrupted organization supported by the Western World and Israel that ignore the basic needs of the Palestinian people. No wonder that in the first free election, imposed by USA on all the parties involved, in 01/25/2006 the HAMAS won 73 from 128 delegates in the Palestinian Parliament.      

The refusal of USA and Israel to accept the result and to negotiate with HAMAS government and to undermine the legitimacy of HAMAS elected regime by supporting the corrupted Fatah, increased the anarchy in the Palestinian Authority and brought the Palestinians to the verge of civil war.

Summary

The ideology of HAMAS is not much deferent than the ideology of other Islamic movements supporting the Global Jihad. In practice the priority of HAMAS is deferent: first of all to liberate Palestine and only afterwards all the rest. HAMAS is willing to compromise on its attitude towards the Western democracies or USA if and when it can help in the war against Israel.