Hamas is an Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, which translates to the "Islamic Resistance Movement". Founded in 1987 during the first Intifada, the name also connotes "zeal," "strength," or "bravery" in Arabic. It is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip.
From the time nations began, the Bible calls the Promised Land “the land of Canaan” until the days of Joshua around 1390 BC when that region took on the designation “the land of Israel.” The Bible never calls it Palestine.
Hamas officials stated that the attack was a response to the Israeli occupation, blockade of the Gaza Strip, desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, whom Hamas sought to release by ...
HAMAS is the largest and most capable militant group and largest political party in the Palestinian territories. HAMAS is committed to the armed resistance against Israel and to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas has promoted Palestinian nationalism in an Islamic context and initially sought a state in all of former Mandatory Palestine. It began acquiescing to 1967 borders in the agreements it signed with Fatah in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Originally, the letter ח stood for /ħ/, the same sound as ح in Arabic. כ was /x ~ χ/, similar to Arabic خ. Modern Israeli Hebrew has merged these sounds because they were pronounced the same in Ashkenazi Hebrew (under the influence of Yiddish).
Palestinians primarily want an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of their own independent state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as its capital, but views vary, with some favoring a one-state solution for equal rights or the return of all historic Palestine, all while seeking self-determination, justice, and an end to the blockade and settlements. The two-state solution (an independent Palestine alongside Israel) is a common goal, though support fluctuates, with many desiring full liberation and an end to the occupation as the core objective.
Israel "gave up" Gaza through a unilateral 2005 disengagement, removing settlers and troops due to the heavy costs, security burdens, and demographic pressures, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seeing it as a strategic move to redefine borders and improve long-term security by avoiding prolonged occupation and shifting resources to more defensible areas, despite internal divisions and the eventual rise of Hamas in Gaza after the withdrawal.
The Gaza Strip is a small area of land in the Middle East, between Israel, the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt. The Gaza Strip is part of the State of Palestine.
Qatar has been a key financial supporter of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, transferring more than $1.8 billion to Hamas over the years. In consultation with the U.S. and Israeli governments, $30 million were transferred monthly to Hamas, according to a Qatari official interviewed by Der Spiegel in 2023.
Hamas (or the Islamic Resistance Movement) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist military and sociopolitical movement, and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Hamas's primary base of action and support is in the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled since 2007.
So, were Jesus and his parents Palestinian? Bethlehem is now a city located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Palestinian Territories, about ten kilometres south of Jerusalem. So the short answer is: yes, Jesus was a Palestinian, according to modern geopolitics at least.
Whose land was it originally, Israel or Palestine?
By more than 1,000 years, “Israel” predates “Palestine.” The land then became home primarily to an Arab population, again for more than a millennium. Both Jews and Arabs thus have a legitimate claim to the land. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen myriad wrongs and brutalities on both sides.
Israel is God's chosen people. Not only that, but God promised to Israel the presently disputed land from the time of Abraham onward. God said, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring'” (Deuteronomy 34:4).
Under the terms of the Gaza war peace plan that went into effect on 10 October 2025, Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City, and the 20 living Israeli hostages, all Jewish, were released by Hamas on October 13. Thus, there are no known Jews present in Gaza City as of this date.
The wars commenced a long period of violence, enslavement, expulsion, displacement, forced conversion, and forced migration against the local Jewish population by the Roman Empire (and successor Byzantine State), beginning the Jewish diaspora.
The arrival of Zionist settlers to Palestine during this period is widely seen as the start of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Zionist claim to Palestine was based on the notion that the Jews' historical right to the land outweighed that of the Arabs.
The Israel-Palestine conflict stems from a long, complex dispute over land and self-determination in the region of former Mandatory Palestine, centered on competing claims to the same territory by Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Arabs, with key issues including Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, security, and borders, all fueled by historical grievances, religious significance, and unresolved political aspirations.
Acquisition of Israeli citizenship in East Jerusalem has been scarce, as only 5% of Palestinians in East Jerusalem were Israeli citizens in 2022, largely due to Palestinian society's disapproval of naturalization as complicity with the occupation.
Gaza is important to Jews due to deep historical roots in the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), mentioned in the Bible as part of Judah's inheritance and a site of Jewish life and learning for centuries, including significant Jewish communities and scholarly centers. Its significance stems from ancient biblical connections, a strong historical Jewish presence, and its location within biblical boundaries, making it a strategically and historically resonant area for Jewish heritage and the modern State of Israel.
As a frontline state in the global fight of the free world against terrorism, Israel's ability to effectively deter and defeat ultraviolent organizations like Hamas is critical for maintaining stability and security, not just in the Middle East, but around the world.
Originally an independent Canaanite cultural hub already renown in the 15th century BCE, Gaza first came under the control of the ancient Egyptians before re-emerging as an independent city kingdom, one of the pentapolis of Philistia.
