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The Israeli government has been involved in assisting or empowering the Palestinian political and military organizationHamas at various points in its history.[a] This support continued during and in spite of active military hostilities between the two sides.
During the 1970s, Israel began providing support toAhmed Yassin, a PalestinianMuslim Brotherhood leader who controlled a network of Islamic schools, mosques, and clubs, in order to weaken the secular nationalistPalestine Liberation Organization.[2] It continued to encourage the expansion of Yassin's network during the first year and a half of theFirst Intifada, as the network re-organised into Hamas. This support lasted until 1989, when Hamas launchedits first attacks on Israelis, leading to a significant crackdown against the organisation.[7] Multiple Israeli officials have acknowledged Israel's role in strengthening Yassin's network.[2]
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Israeli officials encouragedQatar to support Hamas,[8] especially by approving the transfer of large sums of financial aid byQatar to the organization.[9] Several Israeli intelligence officials have cited Qatari money as a contributing factor to the success of Hamas in leading theOctober 7 attacks in 2023;[10] Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu has called the notion that Israel strategically propped up Hamas "ridiculous", and stated that Qatar's aid transfers to the Hamas government had beenapproved for humanitarian reasons.[11]
During the 1970s and 1980s, one of the Israeli government's main goals in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict was the defeat of the secular and leftistPalestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), including through military actions such as the1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Internationally, the Israeli government aimed to contain the influence of Arab nationalist and Arab socialist governments, such as by the French-British invasion of Egypt during the mid-1950sSuez Canal Crisis, to the royalists in the 1960sNorth Yemen civil war, andto the Islamic Republic of Iran during the 1980sIran–Iraq war. It also refused to negotiate with the PLO, instead carrying out any negotiations over the future of the occupied Palestinian territories via Arab state intermediaries,especially Jordan, and Egypt following the late 1970sCamp David Accords. Within the occupied territories, the Israeli government took a range of measures to repress Palestinian nationalism and suppress PLO-linked movements, including banning theNational Guidance Committee and thedismissing elected Palestinian city councils. It also sought to encourage the growth of conservative and religious groups, which were frequently hostile to the PLO and assumed to be more cooperative with Israeli officials. The most prominent of these groups was thePalestinian Village Leagues.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Another conservative, religious, and anti-PLO movement that was encouraged by Israeli officials was that of Islamist politicianAhmed Yassin, aMuslim Brotherhood member who ran a network of mosques, clubs, and schools in theGaza Strip through hisMujama al-Islamiya charity. During the 1970s and 1980s, Israel granted licences and support to Yassin so that he could build and expand his network.[2][19] American researchJonathan Schanzer wrote that "by the late 1970s, the Israelis believed that they had found Fatah's Achilles' heel ... Fatah had become anxious over the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza," saying that the Israelis subsequently "made the ill-fated decision to permit the Brotherhood to operate with relatively little oversight" so that it would undermine thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO).[20]
Israeli Brigadier GeneralYitzhak Segev, who served as the Israeli military governor in Gaza during the early 1980s, admitted to providing financial assistance toMujama al-Islamiya, the precursor of Hamas, on the instruction of the Israeli authorities.[2][21][22] In March 1981, Segev toldThe New York Times that "the Israeli Government gave me a budget and the military government gives to the mosques."[23] Other former Israeli officials have also openly acknowledged Israel's role in providing funding and assistance to Yassin's network as a means of undermining the secular, left-wing Palestinian factions that made up the PLO.[24] FormerIsraeli Civil Administration directorEfraim Sneh stated in 1992 that "we saw the fundamentalists mainly as an unthreatening social force aiming to improve the bad conditions and standards of living of the Palestinians ... We know now that we must make a distinction between Hamas, with whom we have nothing in common, and the moderates, mainstream secular elements among the Palestinians."[14] In 2018, historianUri Milstein quotedYitzhak Mordechai, who served as head of theSouthern Command from 1986 to 1989, as saying that "I was very familiar with Gaza from my previous positions. But when I took charge of the Southern Command, I was shocked by the number of mosques that had been recently constructed in Gaza. As it turned out, Israel’s strategists had been supportive of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s charitable organization."[25]
Several incidents occurred during the 1980s after which leftist Palestinians accused the Israeli government of supporting Islamist fundamentalists. One such incident was theJanuary 1980 Mujama al-Islamiya riot, after which thePalestine Red Crescent Society accused the Israeli military of "complicity" in the riot.[26] Another was the conflict between Mujama al-Islamiya and the PLO for control over theIslamic University of Gaza. In February 1981, seven of the thirteen members of the university's senate were fired by the Israeli Military Governorate, allegedly at Mujama al-Islamiya's request.[27]
After the outbreak of theFirst Intifada in 1987, Yassin's networkre-organised itself into an armed organisation:Hamas, issuing anextremist founding charter in 1988.[28] However, until Hamas carried out itsfirst attacks in the spring of 1989, the Israeli government continued to encourage its growth.John Kifner ofThe New York Times wrote in September 1988 that "Israeli authorities have taken no direct action against Hamas despite repeated crackdowns and roundups" onUnified National Leadership of the Uprising and PLO factions, quoting an anonymous Western diplomat as saying that "It certainly is remarkable with all these arrests, that someone like Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who just goes on saying the most awful things about Jews, isn't touched."[7] In May 1989, Gil Sedan and Hugh Orgel of theJewish Telegraphic Agency wrote that, during the first year and a half of the First Intifada, "the official attitude toward Hamas and its leadership has been more or less tolerant. Senior figures in the defence establishment have stated privately that two considerations supported the policy of encouraging Hamas' influence among the Palestinians. One was the notion that granting a firm public standing to the Islamic elements, even religious and political extremists, would offset the influence of violent groups, such as theIslamic Jihad. The other consideration was to strengthen the hand of PLO opponents within the Palestinian population."[29]
This support lasted until 1989, when Hamas launchedits first attacks on Israelis, leading to a significant crackdown against the organisation.[7]
After a visit to Israel from Turkish Prime MinisterMesut Yilmaz and Turkish lawmakerFeyzi İşbaşaran [tr] in 1998, İşbaşaran later revealed that Netanyahu suggested Turkey support Hamas. Netanyahu reportedly said, "Hamas also has bank accounts for aid in banks, we help them too, you [Turkey] can help too."[30][31]
In a cable leaked byWikiLeaks in 2010,Amos Yadlin, former general of theIsraeli Air Force, said in 2007 that Israel would be "happy" ifHamas take over Gaza and regarded it as a positive step, in order to make Gaza to be treated as a hostile state.[32][33] An Israeli financial investigative team called "Task Force Harpoon" in 2015 discovered a network of businesses and investments that were owned and controlled by Hamas. The terrorism finance task force briefed the government, but no actions were taken in either Israel or Washington until seven years later.[34][35]
Yossi Kuperwasser, an Israeli intelligence and security expert, said that Qatari's support for Hamas could help deter the group from war by improving life in Gaza.[36] Kuperwasser stated in 2015: "We believe that better conditions in Gaza would lessen the incentive of Hamas and the population to go again to a war. So in a way, it is helping the deterrence. But the purpose is to improve the conditions of the people of Gaza and enable them to live a respectable life."[36]
Qatar started sending money to the Gaza Strip on a monthly basis in 2018. $15 million worth of cash-filled suitcases were transported into Gaza by the Qataris via Israeli territory. The payments commenced due to the 2017 decision by thePalestinian Authority (PA), an administration in the Israeli-occupiedWest Bank and rival to Hamas, to cut government employee salaries in Gaza. At the time, the PA objected to the funds, which Hamas said was intended for both medical and governmental salary payments. In August 2018, Israel's government approved the agreement.[9] That same year,Meir Ben-Shabbat, the thenNational Security Advisor, received a note inHebrew written byYahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, addressed to Netanyahu, titled "Calculated risk." The note was part of a broader strategy by Sinwar to portray Hamas as open to a long-term truce and also referring to Israel's agreement with Qatar to allow Qatari aid to enter to Gaza in order to pay civil servants, as well as to families in need.[37][38]
In February 2020, former Mossad DirectorYossi Cohen and Israeli generalHerzi Halevi, under Netanyahu's orders, went to Qatar to plead Qatari officials to continue the payments for Hamas.[8] Later, in September 2023,David Barnea, the Director ofMossad since 2021, went to Qatar to meet Qatari officials to discuss about the payments for Hamas.[10][39] Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has defended allowing transfer of millions of dollars to Hamas-run Gaza despite criticism from within his own government, including the education ministerNaftali Bennet.[40] After theOctober 7 attacks, Netanyahu went on record denying the claims that he facilitated financing of Hamas in order to create a 'divide and conquer' situation. He also said that he transferred funds to avoid "humanitarian collapse" in Gaza.[11] Israeli intelligence officials believe that the money had a role in the success of 2023 Hamas-led attack.[10] Talks regarding expanding the amount of work permits Israel issued to Gazan laborers also included officials from Hamas. This kept money flowing into Gaza.[1]
In an interview with Israeli journalist,Dan Margalit in December 2012, Netanyahu told Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Netanyahu also added that having two strong rivals, this would lessen pressure on him to negotiate towards a Palestinian state.[10] In an interview with theIsraeli Army Radio in August 2019,Ehud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, said that Netanyahu's main strategy is to keep Hamas "alive and kicking" in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority, even at the expense of "abandoning the citizens [of the south]."[41] In an interview withPolitico in 2023, former Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Olmert said, "In the last 15 years, Israel did everything to downgrade the Palestinian Authority and to boost Hamas", before adding that "Gaza was on the brink of collapse because they had no resources, they had no money, and the PA refused to give Hamas any money. Bibi saved them. Bibi made a deal with Qatar and they started to move millions and millions of dollars to Gaza."[42]
At aLikud party conference in 2019, Netanyahu said: "Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas ... This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank."[43][44] Netanyahu responded to the accusations of funding and strengthening Hamas by calling them "ridiculous".[45] In an interview withTime in 2024, he denied of giving support to Hamas and said that it was one of "many misquotes" attributed to him.[46]
Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the7th Armored Brigade and an associate of Netanyahu, said in 2019 in an interview: "Netanyahu's strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner. Openly Hamas is an enemy. Covertly, it's an ally."[47][48]Bezalel Smotrich, afar-right lawmaker and finance minister under the Netanyahu government, called the Palestinian Authority a "burden" and Hamas an "asset".[49][50]
Yuval Diskin, former director ofShin Bet from 2005 to 2011, told Israeli newspaperYedioth Ahronoth in 2013, that "if we look at it over the years, one of the main people contributing to Hamas's strengthening has been Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu, since his first term as prime minister."[41][51] In October 2023, formerIntelligence Chief of Saudi Arabia, PrinceTurki Al-Faisal, accused Israel of "funnelling Qatari money" to Hamas.[52]
On 19 January 2024,Reuters reported thatJosep Borrell, theEU foreign policy chief, said while receiving an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of Valladolid that "Israel had financed the creation of Palestinian militant group Hamas, publicly contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has denied such allegations." and that "Borrell added the only peaceful solution included the creation of a Palestinian state. 'We only believe a two-state solution imposed from the outside would bring peace even though Israel insists on the negative,' he said."[53][54][55] Borrell also described Israel as having "created Hamas", but immediately continued saying that "yes, Hamas was financed by Israel to weaken thePalestinian Authority".[b]
ProfessorAvner Cohen, a former Israeli religious affairs official and Tunisian-born Jew, publicly acknowledged that "Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel's creation" and that Israel had "encouraged them as a counterweight to ... Palestine Liberation Organization and its dominant faction, Yasser Arafat's Fatah."[61] David Hacham, who worked in Gaza as an Arab affairs expert in the Israeli military in the late 1980s and early 1990s stated, "When I look back at the chain of events, I think we made a mistake. But at the time, nobody thought about the possible results."[62] Similar statements have been made byYasser Arafat. For example, in an interview with Italian newspaper,Corriere della Sera in December 2001, he referred to Hamas as a "creature of Israel".[63][64]
Shlomo Brom [he], retired general and former deputy to Israel's national security adviser, believes that an empowered Hamas helps Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu avoid negotiating over a Palestinian state, suggesting that there is no viable partner for peace talks.[10]
Filiu 2024 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page)."Hamás ha sido financiado por Israel durante años para intentar restar poder a la autoridad palestina de Fatah", ha declarado Borrell durante su intervención en el solemne acto de investidura
"We believe that a two-state solution must be imposed from outside to bring peace. Although, I insist, Israel is reaffirming its refusal (of this solution), and to prevent it they have gone so far as to create Hamas themselves," Borrell said.
"Sí, Hamas fue financiado por el gobierno de Israel en un intento de debilitar a la Autoridad Palestina liderada por Al Fatah", defendió ayer el alto representante ..., Josep Borrell, en una vehemente defensa de la solución de los dos estados. ... En su empeño de "debilitar" a la Autoridad Palestina, el ejecutivo israelí habría llegado a "crear" y "financiar" al grupo terrorista islámico Hamas, remató
(from transcript at 1:16) Aunque insisto Israel se reafirme en esa negativa que para impedirla han llegado ellos mismos a crear jamás sí jamás ha sido financiado por el gobierno de Israel para intentar debilitar a la autoridad Palestina
