Crushing Hamas?

Abstract This article examines Hamas's growth in Lebanon after the 1992 deportation of 415 members to the no-man's land between Lebanon and Israel, leading to ties with the Lebanese branch of the Islamic Brotherhood. Over time, Hamas developed a complex organization rivaling the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with offices and representatives in Lebanon's refugee camps. The article argues that Hamas, rooted in the camps and driven by pragmatism, cannot be easily destroyed. Its claims to statehood, the right of return, and resistance, symbolized by Naji al-Ali's character Handala, embodies the enduring Palestinian nationalism. Despite the targeted killing of Hamas leaders, the movement's ideas persist, with poetry reflecting its deep connection to Palestinian social and political life, resistant to the military actions that has made Gaza a humanitarian disaster.