By Yaakov Amidror and David Keyes
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs | November 22, 2004

In light of Israel's planned disengagement from Gaza, to take place in 2005, and the termination of Yasser Arafat's hold on power, the eventual take-over of the Gaza Strip by Hamas certainly cannot be ruled out. Would a Gaza "Hamas-stan" become another al-Qaeda sanctuary in the future? In the past, al-Qaeda sought to establish itself wherever there was a security vacuum - in remote mountain areas or in economically weak, failed states. Would a security vacuum in a post-withdrawal Gaza facilitate al-Qaeda's entry there?

The affinity of Hamas for groups that are part of the al-Qaeda network was dramatically demonstrated in 2004 when Hamas distributed computer CDs in the West Bank and Gaza that express the organization's identification with Chechen terrorists and with other "holy wars" in the Balkans, Kashmir, and Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda and Hamas are often funded by the same people and organizations. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, "Hamas [leaders]...often use the very same methods and even the same institutions [as al-Qaeda] to raise and move their money."

Both al-Qaeda and Hamas legitimize the use of suicide bombing based on the same religious authorities: Sheikh Salman al-Auda (Saudi), Sheikh Safar al-Hawali (Saudi), Sheikh Hamud bin Uqla al-Shuaibi (Saudi), Sheikh Sulaiman al-Ulwan (Saudi), and Sheikh Qardhawi (Egypt-Qatar). All five clerics appear on the Hamas website.

To prevent a safe haven for terrorism from emerging in Gaza, Israel must maintain control over the strategic envelope around Gaza even after its disengagement, particularly air, land, and sea access to the territory, though Israel will face enormous international pressure to ease its grip as a gesture to a post-Arafat regime.

Similarly, Western powers may seek to limit Israel's freedom of movement to re-enter Gaza, should security conditions deteriorate (i.e., an increase in Kassam rocket attacks on Israel). Ironically, by seeking to neutralize Israeli military power, Western states would help create the very sort of security vacuum in Gaza that al-Qaeda requires in order to establish a new sanctuary.
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Al-Qaeda and Hamas were both established in the period of 1987-1989 as offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood, though al-Qaeda is heavily influenced by the Wahhabi roots of bin Laden in Saudi Arabia as well. Bin Laden's mentor was Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian who headed the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan until he moved to Saudi Arabia and later to Pakistan. Hamas grew out of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gaza Strip. While al-Qaeda is an anti-civilization movement that seeks the total eradication of all non-Islamic governments, Hamas has historically chosen to focus chiefly on one particular territorial region. Yet despite differing focuses, al-Qaeda and Hamas share similar qualities.

In April 1991, leading Islamists from around the globe convened in Khartoum to create an umbrella organization for a new global Islamist network. Among those in attendance were Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, leader of the Afghan Mujahadin faction, Ibrahim Ghawsha, spokesman of the Palestinian Hamas, Yasser Arafat,3 and Osama bin Laden. Additional meetings followed in December 1993 and March-April 1995.4

One 1993 communique of the Popular Arab and Islamic Conference was signed by Hassan al-Turabi, the conference's general secretary, and Hamas leader Mussa Abu Marzook.5 Al-Turabi, who organized many of these meetings in Sudan, was funded largely by bin Laden and both shared the goal of fostering anti-capitalist pan-Islamism through global jihad. That a financial beneficiary and collaborator of bin Laden signed the official communique of this Islamist conference with the Hamas leader underscores the history of shared goals and communications between the two organizations.

U.S. security and administration officials told the Washington Post they had received "multiple confirmations of a meeting in March [2003] between al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hizballah figures."6 As already noted, there are increasing signs of a growing Hamas identification with figures associated with the global jihad. In the last year, additionally, Hamas publications have been extolling the writings of Abdullah Azzam with his message of global jihad, even though after 9/11 he is well known as the mentor of Osama bin Laden.7

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