Hamas (the Arabic acronym for Harakat Al-Muqawama Islamiya fi Filistin, or the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine) was established in 1988 by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, then a preacher with the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, to offer Palestinians an alternative to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Hamas' charter calls for an Islamic-based Palestinian state on all of what is currently Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The group has conducted violent action against Israeli military and civilian targets, including suicide bombings.

Hamas has been named a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. It is supported by the governments of Syria and Iran and many wealthy private individuals in Saudi Arabia, among others in the Arab world. In 2006, Hamas participated in legislative elections in the Gaza Strip and won the majority vote. With their recent election, Israel has declared that it will cut off all ties to any Palestinian government that includes the group, labeling it a terrorist organization. Since its takeover of the Gaza Strip Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into cities in southern in Israel.