Hamas history tied to Israel

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday October 06, 2004 17:58 by Pete - Information anarchy pete67 at yahoo dot com

Israel like Hamas!

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=18062002-051845-8272r

Active in Gaza and the West Bank, Hamas wants to liberate all of Palestine and establish a radical Islamic state in place of Israel. It is has gained notoriety with its assassinations, car bombs and other acts of terrorism.

Israel and Hamas may currently be locked in deadly combat, but, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials, beginning in the late 1970s, Tel Aviv gave direct and indirect financial aid to Hamas over a period of years.

Israel "aided Hamas directly -- the Israelis wanted to use it as a counterbalance to the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization)," said Tony Cordesman, Middle East analyst for the Center for Strategic Studies.

Israel's support for Hamas "was a direct attempt to divide and dilute support for a strong, secular PLO by using a competing religious alternative," said a former senior CIA official.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=18062002-051845-8272r