Hamas

Hamas parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik speaks to reporters after Hamas lawmakers in the West Bank were prevented by Palestinian security forces from entering the Palestinian Legislative Council's building in the West Bank City of Ramallah on March 01 2010. The Palestinian Authority held its weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank town of Hebron to affirm its claim over a contested holy site at the centre of a growing row with Israel. The Islamist Hamas movement has also slammed the move and sought to hold a special meeting of Palestinian lawmakers in Ramallah but was prevented from doing so by Palestinian security forces. Hamas has had little visible presence in the occupied West Bank since security forces loyal to the Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas began curbed its activities following its bloody takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

Hamas parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik (C) and other Hamas lawmakers in the West Bank walk after they were prevented by Palestinian security forces from entering the Palestinian Legislative Council's building in the West Bank City of Ramallah on March 01 2010. The Palestinian Authority held its weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank town of Hebron to affirm its claim over a contested holy site at the centre of a growing row with Israel. The Islamist Hamas movement has also slammed the move and sought to hold a special meeting of Palestinian lawmakers in Ramallah but was prevented from doing so by Palestinian security forces. Hamas has had little visible presence in the occupied West Bank since security forces loyal to the Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas began curbed its activities following its bloody takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

Palestinian Hamas policemen patrol the streets of Gaza City on April 15, 2010. The Hamas rulers of Gaza executed two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel despite objections from human rights groups. In the first such executions in Gaza for five years and the first since Hamas seized power in 2007, the two men were killed by firing squad before dawn, said Samir Zakut of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Misan.

Palestinian Hamas policemen patrol the streets of Gaza City on April 15, 2010. The Hamas rulers of Gaza executed two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel despite objections from human rights groups. In the first such executions in Gaza for five years and the first since Hamas seized power in 2007, the two men were killed by firing squad before dawn, said Samir Zakut of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Misan.

Palestinian Hamas policemen inspect a truck carrying wood supplies for construction as it enters Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on April 15, 2010. Israel allowed a shipment of wood and aluminium to enter the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip for the first time in three years, according to a Palesitnian official. The Jewish state, which authorised the entry on April 4 for the first time in two years of 10 trucks carrying clothing and shoes for the inhabitants of the impoverished enclave, has sealed Gaza off from all but vital aid since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June 2007, tightening sanctions imposed after the 2006 capture of an Israeli soldier.

Palestinian Hamas policemen patrol the streets of Gaza City on April 15, 2010. The Hamas rulers of Gaza executed two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel despite objections from human rights groups. In the first such executions in Gaza for five years and the first since Hamas seized power in 2007, the two men were killed by firing squad before dawn, said Samir Zakut of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Misan.

Palestinian Hamas policemen patrol the streets of Gaza City on April 15, 2010. The Hamas rulers of Gaza executed two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel despite objections from human rights groups. In the first such executions in Gaza for five years and the first since Hamas seized power in 2007, the two men were killed by firing squad before dawn, said Samir Zakut of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Misan.

Hamas legislators Khaled Abu Arafa (R), Ahmed Atun (C) and Mohammed Totah (L) attend Friday prayer inside the Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem on October 8, 2010 as they mark 100 days that the three Hamas MPs are taking refuge at organization�s headquarters to avoid expulsion from Jerusalem. Israel announced in July 2010 that four Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council were stripped of their residency rights and given a deadline to leave the city.

Hamas legislators Ahmed Attun (R), Mohammed Totah (2R) and Khaled Abu Arafa (2L) sit in the International Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem near a banner reading 'we will stay here forever' on December 9, 2010 as they protest against the expulsion of fellow Hamas legislator, Mohammad Abu Teir, after an Israeli court freed and expelled Abu Teir, who as jailed for entering Jerusalem despite the withdrawal of his residence permit, court sources said. The Hamas MPs have been living inside the ICRC compound for the past 162 days fearing expulsion by the Israeli authorities.

Hamas legislators Ahmed Attun (R), Mohammed Totah (2R) and Khaled Abu Arafa (2L) sit in the International Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem near a banner reading 'we will stay here forever' on December 9, 2010 as they protest against the expulsion of fellow Hamas legislator, Mohammad Abu Teir, after an Israeli court freed and expelled Abu Teir, who as jailed for entering Jerusalem despite the withdrawal of his residence permit, court sources said. The Hamas MPs have been living inside the ICRC compound for the past 162 days fearing expulsion by the Israeli authorities.

A Hamas traffic policeman stands amid cars in the heart of Gaza City on April 15, 2010. The Hamas rulers of Gaza executed two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel despite objections from human rights groups. In the first such executions in Gaza for five years and the first since Hamas seized power in 2007, the two men were killed by firing squad before dawn, said Samir Zakut of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Misan.

Hamas parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik stands in front of the closed Palestinian Legislative Council's building in the West Bank City of Ramallah on March 01 2010. The Palestinian Authority held its weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank town of Hebron to affirm its claim over a contested holy site at the centre of a growing row with Israel. The Islamist Hamas movement has also slammed the move and sought to hold a special meeting of Palestinian lawmakers in Ramallah but was prevented from doing so by Palestinian security forces. Hamas has had little visible presence in the occupied West Bank since security forces loyal to the Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas began curbed its activities following its bloody takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

Hamas legislators Ahmed Attun (R), Mohammed Totah (2R) and Khaled Abu Arafa (2L) sit in the International Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem near a banner reading 'we will stay here forever' on December 9, 2010 as they protest against the expulsion of fellow Hamas legislator, Mohammad Abu Teir, after an Israeli court freed and expelled Abu Teir, who as jailed for entering Jerusalem despite the withdrawal of his residence permit, court sources said. The Hamas MPs have been living inside the ICRC compound for the past 162 days fearing expulsion by the Israeli authorities.

Hamas parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik stands in front of the closed Palestinian Legislative Council's building in the West Bank City of Ramallah on March 01 2010. The Palestinian Authority held its weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank town of Hebron to affirm its claim over a contested holy site at the centre of a growing row with Israel. The Islamist Hamas movement has also slammed the move and sought to hold a special meeting of Palestinian lawmakers in Ramallah but was prevented from doing so by Palestinian security forces. Hamas has had little visible presence in the occupied West Bank since security forces loyal to the Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas began curbed its activities following its bloody takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

Hamas legislators Khaled Abu Arafa (R), Ahmed Atun (C) and Mohammed Totah (L) attend Friday prayer inside the Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem on November 19, 2010 as they mark 142 days that the three Hamas MPs are taking refuge at organization�s headquarters to avoid expulsion from Jerusalem. Israel announced in July 2010 that four Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council were stripped of their residency rights and given a deadline to leave the city.

Masked HAMAS militants burn US and Israeli flags under the gaze of slain HAMAS bombmaker Yehia Ayash (on stage), 05 January, during a rally in the West Bank town of Hebron. Some 1,500 supporters of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) attended the rally which marked the second anniversary of the assassination of Ayash, presumably by Israeli agents.

Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (R) meets with delegates of The Elders group of retired prominent world figures, former Irish president Mary Robinson (C-L), Indian activist Ela Bhatt (2nd L) and former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (L), in Gaza City on October 16, 2010 during the group's visit to the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (R) meets with delegates of The Elders group of retired prominent world figures, former Irish president Mary Robinson (L), Indian activist Ela Bhatt (unseen) and former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (unseen), in Gaza City on October 16, 2010 during the group's visit to the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

Palestinian Hamas policemen take part in a training session in Gaza City on 01March, 2010. A Hamas-run court extended by 15 days the detention of a British journalist, the first foreigner arrested in Gaza since the Palestinian Islamist group seized power in 2007, his lawyer said.

Mohammed Dababesh (R), a top Hamas security official, is greeted by a comrade after his release in Gaza City on September 24, 2010. Egypt freed the top Hamas security official after holding him for 10 days on what Cairo media described as allegations of involvement in smuggling to the Gaza Strip and the killing of an Egyptian border guard.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) gestures as he meets with Palestinian lawmaker and Fatah strongman Azzam al-Ahmed and other Palestinian officials (unseen) in the Syrian capital Damascus, on September 24, 2010, during a meeting between the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and Fatah.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) meets with Palestinian lawmaker and Fatah strongman Azzam al-Ahmed and others (unseen) in the Syrian capital Damascus, on September 24, 2010, during a meeting between the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and Fatah.

Mohammed Dababesh, a top Hamas security official, is greeted by comrades after his release in Gaza City on September 24, 2010. Egypt freed the top Hamas security official after holding him for 10 days on what Cairo media described as allegations of involvement in smuggling to the Gaza Strip and the killing of an Egyptian border guard.

Palestinian Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. Hamas has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal to end the war in the Gaza Strip and Cairo is awaiting Israel's response, a senior Egyptian diplomat told.

Hamas political bureau member Musa Abu Marzouk (L), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) leader Ahmad Jibril (C) and Fatah Intifada leader Abu Mussa appear at a meeting of Palestinian organizations opposed to the Middle East peace process in Damascus 25 September 1999. This is Marzuq's first public appearance since being expelled from Jordan 22 September, when the kingdom hardened its clampdown on Hamas and arrested three of its leaders, including Marzuq, who was then expelled because he holds a Yemeni passport.

Palestinian Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. Hamas has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal to end the war in the Gaza Strip and Cairo is awaiting Israel's response, a senior Egyptian diplomat told.

Hamas security police inspect a truck loaded with flowers and strawberries at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2010, after Israel granted special approval for the export of a small amount of Palestinian Strawberries and flowers from the Gaza Strip to the European market. Two trucks loaded with flowers and Strawberry will be able to leave the impoverished territory over the next two weeks with European coordination. Sealed off from the outside world, Gaza's farmers are entering their fourth year of export restrictions, imposed by Israel after the Islamist Hamas party took control of the impoverished strip.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) reaches out to shakes hands with Palestinian lawmaker and Fatah strongman Azzam al-Ahmed in the Syrian capital Damascus, on September 24, 2010, during a meeting between the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and Fatah.

The coffin with the remains of Hamas activist Yehiya Ayash, also nicknamed 'The Engineer', is carried out of the Palestine Mosque in Gaza City 06 January. Ayash, the alleged mastermind of a series of bombings that killed dozens of Israelis, was killed 05 January in the northern Gaza Strip village Beit Lahia. Tens of thousand of Gaza Palestinians participated in the funeral and shouted calls for revenge. The green flag of the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas organization was seen as much as Palestinian flags.

Hamas security police inspect a truck loaded with flowers and strawberries at the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2010, after Israel granted special approval for the export of a small amount of Palestinian Strawberries and flowers from the Gaza Strip to the European market. Two trucks loaded with flowers and Strawberry will be able to leave the impoverished territory over the next two weeks with European coordination. Sealed off from the outside world, Gaza's farmers are entering their fourth year of export restrictions, imposed by Israel after the Islamist Hamas party took control of the impoverished strip.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) shakes hands with Palestinian lawmaker and Fatah strongman Azzam al-Ahmed in the Syrian capital Damascus, on September 24, 2010, during a meeting between the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and Fatah.

Mohammed Dababesh (R), a top Hamas security official, is greeted by a comrade after his release in Gaza City on September 24, 2010. Egypt freed the top Hamas security official after holding him for 10 days on what Cairo media described as allegations of involvement in smuggling to the Gaza Strip and the killing of an Egyptian border guard.

Palestinian Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. Hamas has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal to end the war in the Gaza Strip and Cairo is awaiting Israel's response, a senior Egyptian diplomat told.

Palestinian children watch Hamas militants taking part in a march in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2010 to mark the 23rd anniversary for the establishment of the Islamist movement that falls on December 14.

Palestinian Senior Hamas legislator and east Jerusalem resident Mohammed Abu Teir is welcomed by supporters after crossing into the West Bank town of Betunya following his released from Israel's Offer prison and deported to the West Bank, on December 8, 2010.

Palestinian Hamas policemen inspect cars which arrived in Rafah through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on September 20, 2010, following the Israeli authorities' decision to allow some 20 passenger vehicles to be transported into the impoverished Palestinian territory, the first such shipment in more than three years, the military said.

Palestinian children watch Hamas militants taking part in a march in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on December 6, 2010 to mark the 23rd anniversary for the establishment of the Islamist movement that falls on December 14.

Palestinian Senior Hamas legislator and east Jerusalem resident Mohammed Abu Teir talks on the phone as he is welcomed by supporters after crossing into the West Bank town of Betunya following his released from Israel's Offer prison and deported to the West Bank, on December 8, 2010.

Palestinian Senior Hamas legislator and east Jerusalem resident Mohammed Abu Teir is welcomed by supporters after crossing into the West Bank town of Betunya following his released from Israel's Offer prison and deported to the West Bank, on December 8, 2010.

Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Abdul Rahman Zeidan speaks to the press after he accused the Palestinian Authority of arresting him for few hours, as parliamentary speaker Aziz al-Dweik (L) stands next to him in the West Bank city of Ramallah on September 21, 2010.

Palestinian Senior Hamas legislator and east Jerusalem resident Mohammed Abu Teir is welcomed by supporters after crossing into the West Bank town of Betunya following his released from Israel's Offer prison and deported to the West Bank, on December 8, 2010.

A Palestinian vendor pushes his bagels cart past the International Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem where Hamas legislators Ahmed Attun (R), Mohammed Totah (2R) and Khaled Abu Arafa (2L) sit under a banner reading 'we will stay here forever' on December 9, 2010 as they protest against the expulsion of fellow Hamas legislator, Mohammad Abu Teir, after an Israeli court freed and expelled Abu Teir, who as jailed for entering Jerusalem despite the withdrawal of his residence permit, court sources said. The Hamas MPs have been living inside the ICRC compound for the past 162 days fearing expulsion by the Israeli authorities.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Palestinian Muslim worshippers join Hamas legislators Khaled Abu Arafa (R), Ahmed Atun (C) and Mohammed Totah (2nd L) for Friday prayers in front of the Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem on November 19, 2010 as they mark 142 days that the three Hamas MPs are taking refuge at organization�s headquarters to avoid expulsion from Jerusalem. Israel announced in July 2010 that four Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council were stripped of their residency rights and given a deadline to leave the city.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.

Armed members of Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas shoot in the air on January 12, 1996 during a rally held in Gaza city to commemorate the death of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayash who was the alleged mastermind of suicide bomb attacks against Israel. Hamas militant Yehya Ayash, nicknamed 'the engineer', was killed on January 05, 1996 by Israeli security forces in Gaza strip.