Hamas media is reporting that the Hamas military wing has said it is ended its truce with Israel. According to a MEMRI translation:
Hamas spokesman Mushir Al-Masri stated that the ‘Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the organization’s military wing, had ended the hudna (truce) with Israel after the latter had violated it with its military strikes in Gaza. He said that the Brigades were prepared for and would spearhead any confrontation with Israel and would put an end to Israel’s crimes in Gaza. Speaking at Hamas’s annual fast-breaking meal in Beirut, ‘Ali Baraka, Hamas’s representative in Lebanon, reacted to the attacks in Eilat by saying that the Palestinian people had the right to oppose the occupation by all means, including military operations, until Israel withdrew from the Palestinians’ lands and holy places. The meal was attended by representatives of Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and former Lebanese prime minister S’ad Al-Hariri.
Source: Alresalah.ps, August 20, 2011; Palestine-info.info, August 19, 2011″
The Hamas charter states that it is ” is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an early media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations. In 2007, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons and in 2008, an Israeli TV station reported that Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” had traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. Hamas is supported financially and politically by the global Muslim Brotherhood and a NEFA Foundation report has documented the Hamas fund-raising activities of the Union of Good, a coalition of Islamic charities linked to the Brotherhood that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. Previous posts have also discussed the worldwide campaign orchestrated by the global Brotherhood against Israeli actions in Gaza during the 2008-2009 conflict with Israel.