Israel Bombing Indicates Hamas' Expanding Influence

June 20, 2002

The Palestinian radical group Hamas claimed responsibility for another suicide bombing in Israel June 18. Twenty people were killed and at least 50 others wounded when a Palestinian militant detonated a bomb on a bus passing through the Gilo neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Hamas claimed the bomber was a 22-year-old student from the West Bank city of Nablus.
An ever-greater number of Hamas suicide bombers are coming from the West Bank, especially from towns like Jenin and Nablus. The decision to use West Bank locals rather than militants from the Gaza Strip -- which is Hamas' home base and a past recruitment site for bombers -- may be prompted largely by target selection and logistics: it is easier to access populated areas in Israel from the West Bank than Gaza.

But there is a political dimension to the decision as well. Hamas has worked for years building its membership base in the poor, urban areas of the West Bank. The strategy is partly aimed at keeping Israel's focus away from Gaza, thus protecting Hamas' home base and activities. It also creates a challenge to the Palestinian Authority, which traditionally has enjoyed greater popularity in the West Bank.

This expansion of Hamas' power is intended to bolster the group's influence over Palestinian politics. The Palestinians are split into several camps; the two largest divisions are between the Palestinian Authority -- with its stronghold primarily in the West Bank -- and Hamas, which often plays the role of a local government in Gaza and enjoys widespread popularity there due to the social services it provides.

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