Hamas and the Media


Book Description

The Islamic resistance movement ‘Hamas’ is, arguably, one of the most important Palestinian organizations in recent decades. Since Hamas' establishment, it has extensively utilized media as a means of mobilization for its political and ideological agendas, and its tactics have undergone a remarkable evolution, from graffiti art to satellite broadcasting. This book presents the first systematic and historical contextualization of the development of Hamas' media strategy. It determines three key phases in Hamas’ development and explores the complex and important relationship at work between its politics and use of media. Assessing four elements of the Hamas media strategy; the media message (discourse), the media objectives, the infrastructure, and the target audience, this book tracks how Hamas grew its media infrastructure, and looks at how the idea of resistance has permeated the media discourse. Determining both tactical and strategic objectives and detailing the various layers to the target audience, it offers the first in-depth academic study of the Hamas media strategy. This book’s exploration of the key role the media plays in the Palestinian issue makes it a timely and relevant contribution to the study of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and a valuable resource for students, scholars and policymakers working in Middle Eastern studies.




Hamas and the Media


Book Description

The Islamic resistance movement ‘Hamas’ is, arguably, one of the most important Palestinian organizations in recent decades. Since Hamas' establishment, it has extensively utilized media as a means of mobilization for its political and ideological agendas, and its tactics have undergone a remarkable evolution, from graffiti art to satellite broadcasting. This book presents the first systematic and historical contextualization of the development of Hamas' media strategy. It determines three key phases in Hamas’ development and explores the complex and important relationship at work between its politics and use of media. Assessing four elements of the Hamas media strategy; the media message (discourse), the media objectives, the infrastructure, and the target audience, this book tracks how Hamas grew its media infrastructure, and looks at how the idea of resistance has permeated the media discourse. Determining both tactical and strategic objectives and detailing the various layers to the target audience, it offers the first in-depth academic study of the Hamas media strategy. This book’s exploration of the key role the media plays in the Palestinian issue makes it a timely and relevant contribution to the study of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and a valuable resource for students, scholars and policymakers working in Middle Eastern studies.




Hamas


Book Description

How does a group that operates terror cells and espouses violence become a ruling political party? How is the world to understand and respond to Hamas, the militant Islamist organization that Palestinian voters brought to power in the stunning election of January 2006? This important book provides the most fully researched assessment of Hamas ever written. Matthew Levitt, a counterterrorism expert with extensive field experience in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, draws aside the veil of legitimacy behind which Hamas hides. He presents concrete, detailed evidence from an extensive array of international intelligence materials, including recently declassified CIA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security reports. Levitt demolishes the notion that Hamas’ military, political, and social wings are distinct from one another and catalogues the alarming extent to which the organization’s political and social welfare leaders support terror. He exposes Hamas as a unitary organization committed to a militant Islamist ideology, urges the international community to take heed, and offers well-considered ideas for countering the significant threat Hamas poses.




Hamas in Politics


Book Description

In January 2006, Hamas, an organisation classified by Western governments as terrorist, was democratically elected to govern the Palestinian territories. The inherent contradictions in this situation have left many analysts at a loss. Hamas uses terror tactics against Israel, yet runs on a law and order ticket in Palestinian elections; it pursues an Islamic state, yet holds internal elections; it campaigns for shar'iah law, yet its leaders are predominantly secular professionals; it calls for the destruction of Israel, yet has reluctantly agreed to honour previous peace agreements. In "Hamas in Politics", Jeroen Gunning challenges the assumption that religion, violence and democracy are inherently incompatible and shows how many of these apparent contradictions flow from the interaction between Hamas' ideology, its local constituency and the nature of politics in Israel/Palestine. Drawing on interviews with members of Hamas and its critics, and a decade of close observation of the group, he offers a penetrating analysis of Hamas' own understanding of its ideology and in particular the tension between its dual commitment to 'God' and 'the people'. The book explores what Hamas' political practice says about its attitude towards democracy, religion and violence, providing a unique examination of the movement's internal organisation, how its leaders are selected and how decisions are made.




Hamas


Book Description

When the radical Islamist group Hamas was elected to lead Palestine in 2006, the Western world was shocked. How had the majority of Palestinians come to support an extremist organization and how would the group’s new political power affect the larger Israel/Palestine conflict? Italian journalist and historian Paola Caridi offers a clear-eyed account of how the conditions in this war-torn region led to the rise of Hamas and an unbiased look at the complex feelings that Palestinians have toward getting behind a government that supports violent resistance. By breaking from the sensationalist journalism surrounding the elections, Caridi is able to tell the story of a movement caught between the desire to resist its oppressor and the need to provide support for a refugee people. Caridi, informed by years of on-the-ground research and interviews with residents of Gaza and leaders of Hamas, covers the history of Gaza from its golden age as a port city to the formal birth and slow militarization of Hamas. This English-language translation brings the reader to present-day Palestine by offering a never-before-seen chapter on Operation Cast Lead, the shocking WikiLeaks disclosures, and the Cairo Revolution. Hamas paints a picture, with intelligence, dexterity, and heart, of a people trapped in the most historic of political battles and reveals the strange complexities behind the controversy by explaining one of the key players in the search for peace and justice that runs through the central crisis of the Middle East today.




Media and Terrorism


Book Description

This is an excellent source which puts students in the heart of the contemporary discussion and encourages them to form opinions. It is a great resource for seminars as well as gateways to research. - Paul Matthews, University College Birmingham "An excellent text that covers not only how the media cover acts of terrorism but also how terror groups can manipulate the media." - David Lowe, Liverpool John Moores University Have the media contributed to exacerbating the political, cultural and religious divides within Western societies and the world at large? How can media be deployed to enrich, not inhibit, dialogue? To what extent has the media, in all its forms, questioned, celebrated or simply accepted the unleashing of a ′war on terror′? Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives brings together leading scholars to explore how the world′s media have influenced, and in turn, been influenced by terrorism and the war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11. Accessible and user-friendly with lively and current case studies, it is an essential handbook on the dynamics of war and the media in a global context.




Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent


Book Description

"This report evaluates patterns of arrest and detention conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 25 years after the Oslo Accords granted Palestinians a degree of self-rule over these areas and more than a decade after Hamas seized effective control over the Gaza Strip. Human Rights Watch detailed more than two dozen cases of people detained for no clear reason beyond writing a critical article or Facebook post or belonging to the wrong student group or political movement."--Publisher website.




War in 140 Characters


Book Description

A leading foreign correspondent looks at how social media has transformed the modern battlefield, and how wars are fought Modern warfare is a war of narratives, where bullets are fired both physically and virtually. Whether you are a president or a terrorist, if you don't understand how to deploy the power of social media effectively you may win the odd battle but you will lose a twenty-first century war. Here, journalist David Patrikarakos draws on unprecedented access to key players to provide a new narrative for modern warfare. He travels thousands of miles across continents to meet a de-radicalized female member of ISIS recruited via Skype, a liberal Russian in Siberia who takes a job manufacturing "Ukrainian" news, and many others to explore the way social media has transformed the way we fight, win, and consume wars-and what this means for the world going forward.




Engaging the World


Book Description




Hamas vs. Fatah


Book Description

In June 2007 civil war broke out in the Gaza Strip between two rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. Western peace efforts in the region always focused on reconciling two opposing fronts: Israel and Palestine. Now, this careful exploration of Middle East history over the last two decades reveals that the Palestinians have long been a house divided. What began as a political rivalry between Fatah's Yasir Arafat and Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin during the first intifada of 1987 evolved into a full-blown battle on the streets of Gaza between the forces of Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, and Ismael Haniyeh, one of Yassin's early protégés. Today, the battle continues between these two diametrically opposing forces over the role of Palestinian nationalism and Islamism in the West Bank and Gaza. In this thought-provoking book, Jonathan Schanzer questions the notion of Palestinian political unity, explaining how internal rivalries and violence have ultimately stymied American efforts to promote Middle East peace, and even the Palestinian quest for a homeland.