From its foundation 28 years ago, Hamas represented a significant addition to the Palestinian and resistance against the Zionist Israeli occupation. 28 years ago, on Dec. 14th 1987, a handful of firmly committed Palestinians, most of whom were assassinated in later years by the Israeli occupation forces, gathered in Gaza and decided it was high time they began a movement to complement and correct the resistance path. 

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Dr. Abedelaziz Al-Rantisi, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Maqadmah, Eng. Ismail Abu Shanab and many others are but examples of Hamas leadership sacrificing everything they have for the sake of a free Palestine and to end the oppression and injustices imposed on Palestinians for decades.

Since its inception, Hamas has been a valuable asset to the social, economic, political and armed Palestinian struggle for freedom and equal human rights. Its deep-rooted support manifests annually when the anniversary of the establishment of Hamas is celebrated by hundreds of thousands who, in the past few years, would gather to show support of Hamas and its ideology.

Hamas has become an icon in the Palestinian struggle. Attempt to subdue or get rid of Hamas were attempts to weaken and put an end to resistance against the occupation of Palestine. Hamas and Palestinians knew that, and neither Hamas nor the Palestinian people would allow that to happen.

In 1992 the Israeli occupation deported 400 Palestinian activists, most of whom were from Hamas, to south Lebanon; an attempt aimed at breaking the Palestinian resistance and silencing the first Intifada. This tactic only made Hamas and the intifada stronger. The deportees refused to surrender. They camped at the border and, a year later, Israel was forced to allow them back into Palestine.

In 2006 Hamas was democratically elected, a crucial transition in the history of Hamas and Palestine. Clearly Hamas was not the horse Israel or the western powers bet on, and in a barbaric and uncivilized way, the world backed Israel to impose a siege and wage three wars on Gaza to end Hamas rule and put an end to the free and democratic choice of the Palestinian people.

A year earlier, Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, with the other resistance factions, fought tooth and nail and prevented Israel from taking over the Gaza strip. This year’s anniversary comes while Hamas leads the resistance in Gaza, working day and night to protect the people and deter the occupier. Hamas is also engaged in another battle in West Bank and Jerusalem, where the Jerusalem intifada has shattered the Zionist dreams of usurping more lands and stealing al-Aqsa from the hands of Muslims.

This year’s anniversary comes while Hamas holds in its hands the fate of an undisclosed number of Israeli soldiers it captured during the last aggression on Gaza. Day after day, Hamas’s promise to liberate all Palestinian prisoners seems closer.

Hamas cannot be wiped out or pushed into the sea despite the conspiracies of the Israeli occupation, and its proxies and allies. Hamas is a genuine part of the Palestinian community, and in less than 30 years of its establishment, Hamas managed to contribute immensely to Palestine and to freedom and justice. 

For Hamas and for its rivals and the Israeli enemy, the anniversary is the yearly event that measures Hamas accomplishments and popularity. A mediaeval siege and three wars on Hamas and Gaza did not stop Hamas from celebrating its anniversary. This year, however, Hamas has decided not to hold its annual anniversary and rallies all across occupied Palestine—instead, the movement decided that the resources spent on the event would be directed to help Palestinians who bear the heavy weight of Israeli measures that aim to stop Jerusalem intifada.

28 years ago, a handful of Hamas members were a crucial part of the first Palestinian intifada, throwing stones, barricading the roads so that the Israeli military jeeps do not pass, and fighting the occupiers’ brutality with Molotov, knives, and later on pistols. Today, 28 years later, Hamas has strategically improved and developed and grown militarily, socially, politically, and institutionally. Hamas now is capable of defending the Palestinian people against Israeli aggression without kneeling, without giving up Palestinian rights and demands. Hamas is here to acheive an independent, free Palestine. Hamas is here to stay.