Gaza Under Hamas: From Islamic Democracy to Islamist Governance

273 Pages·2017·3.35 MB·English

by  Björn Brenner

Bjo¨rn Brenner is Lecturer at the Swedish Defence University in
Stockholm and Research Fellow at Institut franc¸ais du Proche-Orient in
Amman,Jordan.HeholdsadoctorateinPeaceandDevelopmentStudies
from the University of Gothenburg and an MA inPolitical Science from
Uppsala University. He is the author of numerous articles on Palestinian
andIsraelipoliticsandisafrequentcommentatorinthemediaonMiddle
Easternaffairs.
‘In Gaza Under Hamas, Bjo¨rn Brenner provides an inside view of Hamas in
power, based on extensive fieldwork alongside trenchant insights and incisive
analysis. His book is an important contribution to the literature by greatly
enhancing our understanding of the evolution of terrorist organizations from
grassrootsviolencetoformalgovernance.’
BruceHoffman,ProfessorandDirectorofSecurityStudies,
GeorgetownUniversity;authorofInsideTerrorism
‘ThisisoneoftherarebooksaboutHamasthatmanagestobebothbalancedand
insightful. Based on a broad range of primary sources, this in-depth study of
GazaunderHamasruleprovidesasfullandcomprehensiveapictureaspossible.
Amust-readforscholars,studentsanddiplomatsalike.’
PeterR.Neumann,ProfessorofSecurityStudiesattheWarStudies
Department,King’sCollegeLondon;Directorofthe
InternationalCentrefortheStudyofRadicalisation
‘For academic researchers, policy makers, NGOs and broader civil society
membersinterestedinIslamistexperiencesandpracticesofgovernancethisisa
mustread.Thebooknotonlyhelpsaddressmanymisconceivednotionsaboutthe
challengeswhichHamashasfacedsinceitwaselectedin2006butitalsoassists
readers in nuancing the particular context in which such a case of Islamist
governanceactuallyoperates.’
MichellePace,ProfessorofPoliticsandInternationalStudies,
DepartmentofSocialSciencesandBusiness,RoskildeUniversity;
HonoraryProfessor,UniversityofBirmingham
‘Bjo¨rn Brenner provides a well-researched, timely and extensive account of
Hamas’scomplexapproachtogovernance,alsoofferingaveryinterestingportrait
oflifeintheGazaStrip.’
BenedettaBerti,FellowattheInstitutefor
NationalSecurityStudies;RobertA.FoxSeniorFellowatthe
ForeignPolicyResearchInstitute;TEDSeniorFellow
‘GazaUnderHamasisafascinating,original,anduniquelywell-researchedanalysis
of how Hamas governs. Drawing on four years of ethnographic research, the
authorcombinesempiricalgranularityandanalyticalclaritytoprovideawealthof
newinsightsonthedomesticpoliticsoftheGazaStrip.Thebookwillbecomethe
standard work on the Hamas administration and a must-read for anyone
interestedinrebelgovernance,politicalIslam,MiddleEastpolitics,Islamiclawor
Palestinianhistory.’
ThomasHegghammer,DirectorofTerrorismResearch
attheNorwegianDefenceResearchEstablishment(FFI);
AdjunctProfessorofPoliticalScienceattheUniversityofOslo
GAZA UNDER
HAMAS
From Islamic Democracy to Islamist
Governance
BJO¨RN BRENNER
Publishedin2017by
I.B.Tauris&Co.Ltd
London(cid:129)NewYork
www.ibtauris.com
Copyrightq2017Bjo¨rnBrenner
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bytheauthorinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypart
thereof,maynotbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,or
transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
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inthisbook.Anyomissionswillberectifiedinfutureeditions.
Referencestowebsiteswerecorrectatthetimeofwriting.
LibraryofModernMiddleEastStudies192
ISBN:9781784537777
eISBN:9781786721426
eISBN:9781786731425
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vi
Foreword by Magnus Ranstorp vii
Preface and Acknowledgements xv
Glossary of Terms xvii
1. Islamists in Power by Democratic Means: Hamas in Palestine 1
2. Gaining Power and Relating to the Opposition 29
3. Radicalisation and the Emergence of Splinter Groups 65
4. The Deradicalisation of Islamists by Islamists 83
5. Social Order in the Midst of Political Chaos 117
6. The New Political Order and the Judicial System 141
7. Islamist Governance Hamas-Style 171
Notes 201
Select Bibliography 231
Index 245
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Map
Map 1 The Gaza Strip xx
Figures
Figure 1.1 Governing styles based on ideal types 15
Figure 7.1 Islamist governance Hamas-style 190
FOREWORD
Sir Mark Allen once observed that understanding Middle Eastern
politicsislikeplayingthree-dimensionalchessunderwater,withallthe
piecesmovingsimultaneously.Thisanalogyaptlyfitsthecauldronofthe
interlockingMiddleEastconflictsaroundwhichtheIsraeli–Palestinian
conflicthasrevolvedforoveracentury.Muchhasbeenpennedaboutthe
variousdimensionsofPalestinianpolitics,oftenthroughthelensofthe
conflictual relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
However, relatively little research has been carried out attempting to
understand one of this conflict’s most central actors, the Islamist
movementHamas.WithoutHamasonboard,atleastwithasilentnod,
there will be no resolution to the conflict and no security for Israel.
Western scholars and policy makers alike tend to forget that Hamas
enjoysstrongandwidespreadgrassrootssupportacrosstheMiddleEast,
particularly in the surrounding Arab states. Hamas is here to stay and
will not go away, not even if Israel and the PLO would manage to
negotiate a peace accord. In turn, this means that figuring out how to
cope with Hamas is one of the pivotal issues for resolving the Israeli–
Palestiniannexus.CouldHamasinsomewaybecoercedand/orinduced
intopeacefulcoexistencewithIsrael?Inordertofindthecrucialanswer
tothisquestion,weneedtodigdeepertounderstandhowitsleadersand
cadreactuallyperceivetheircurrentsituationandreasonabouthowthey
should act on it.
One of the key gaps in the existing research on Hamas is our poor
understanding of the ways in which the group reconciles its seemingly
unwaveringideologywiththerealitiesitfacesontheground.Theextent
viii GAZA UNDER HAMAS
to which extremist groups demonstrate a capacity to distinguish
between their utopian ideological visions, on the one hand, and the
compromisestheyneedtomakewiththeiridealsinreality,ontheother,
constitutes a litmus test for their relationship to democratic politics.
So when in 2006, through its participation in democratic elections,
Hamaswascatapultedstraightintogovernmentalofficefromaposition
of extra-parliamentary spoiler, its behaviour in government became a
matter of great scholarly interest.
By exploring precisely this subject – Hamas’s governance within
the borders of the Gaza Strip – Gaza Under Hamas is a much-needed
contribution to this under-researched field of enquiry. Focusing in
detail on the Hamas government’s domestic behaviour, as opposed to
its relations with the rest of world, Bjo¨rn Brenner’s book breaks new
scholarly ground. In addition to its timely subject and relevant focus,
Brenner’s extensive fieldwork carried out on location in Gaza – in
particular his many interviews with leaders and cadres as well as field
observations – provides an empirically rich and analytically unique
insightintoHamas’srecordingovernmentadecadeafteritsascension
to power.
The history of al-Harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya, the Islamic
resistance movement in Palestine, is a remarkable story of steadfastness
and adaptation in the face of Israeli occupation and in confronting
adversityatboththelocalandregionallevels.Mostcommentatorstrace
the origins of Hamas to the outbreak of the intifada in 1987, but its
foundations run deeper within Palestinian society and are aimed at
restoring its Islamic identity and character. Hamas considers itself a
chapteroftheMuslimBrotherhood,imbuedwithamissiontogradually
re-Islamise society from below. The Brotherhood emerged as a direct
consequence of the Egyptian crackdown on Islamists and the 1967 war
which resulted in Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
In1973ShaykhAhmedYassinestablishedal-Mujammaal-islami,the
IslamicCentre,whichbecameafrontfortheBrotherhood’sreligiousand
social activities in Gaza. Eventually, the Mujamma developed into a
powerful political force with impressive social leverage, transforming
the community from within. Ziad Abu Amr notes that ‘between 1967
and 1987, the number of mosques in Gaza more than doubled, from
77 to 160’.1 Gradually, Hamas’s influence grew and consolidated,
challenging the dominance and failure of the secular, nationalist
FOREWORD ix
ideology of the PLO. It was the outbreak of the intifada in December
1987thatsawHamasseizethe opportunitytoannounceitsposition at
the forefront of Palestinian aspirations.
Having the opportunity to interview the late Shaykh Ahmed Yassin
in Gaza back in 1998, alongside the current leader Ismail Haniyeh,
IaskedHamas’sspiritualleaderwhenheenvisagedtheestablishmentof
an Islamic Palestine. Shaykh Yassin answered confidently that it would
happen around 2022. He saw this as inevitable due to the interlocking
developmentsunfoldingintheregion:‘thesteadfastnessandunwavering
commitment of the resistance fighters; the hadiths of leaders emerging
every100years;thedemographicaltrends;theIslamicrevolutionsseen
in adjacent lands; and notably, the miracle of number 19; all this is on
our side’.2
However,ashewaskilledinanIsraeliairstrikeinMarch2004,Yassin
neverlivedtoseethefulfilmentofhisideologicallyweightedprophecy.
Under his leadership, Hamas was vehemently opposed to the peace
processwithIsraelandconsideredPalestinetobeawaqf,asacredIslamic
land‘consecratedforfuturegenerationsuntilJudgementDay’.Hamas’s
military wing gradually escalated its confrontation with Israel,
embarkingonsuicideoperationsandotherterrorattacksagainstIsraeli
military and civilian targets. At the same time, Israel’s often
overwhelmingly brutal military response and the consolidation of its
occupation only served to deepen Palestinian dispossession and
destitution, which in turn strengthened the position of Hamas.
Hamasused violenceasasource ofbothlegitimacyandauthority.This
militantpostureraisedconcernsthatHamaswouldremaininflexibleand
uncompromising in its ideological position, not only against Israel but
also in its long and fraught relationship with Fatah over power and
control of Palestine.
However, Hamas’s decision to participate in the municipal and
legislativeelections2004–6sentsomeunexpectedsignalsandshoweda
newfaceofthemovement.Inthebuild-uptoitselectoralvictory,many
Palestinians considered Hamas to stand for ‘incorruptibility, account-
abilityandefficiency’ – everythingthatFatahwasnot.3Hamashadalso
positioneditselfas‘theguardianoftheresistance’againstIsrael.Itsnew
strategyofpoliticalparticipation,combinedwithitsspearheadingofthe
resistance, gave Hamas a high degree of institutional protection, much
as Hizbollah had done in Lebanon earlier. However, after entering