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{{Gaza blockade}}
The [[Cabinet of Israel| Israeli government]] has been involved in assisting or empowering the Palestinian political and military organization [[Hamas]] at various points in its history.{{Efn|Attributed to multiple sources:<ref name="isr" /><ref name="blowback" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahmatović |first1=Šejla |title=EU's top diplomat accuses Israel of funding Hamas |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-funded-hamas-claims-eu-top-diplomat-josep-borrell/ |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=Politico |date=19 January 2024 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501014541/https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-funded-hamas-claims-eu-top-diplomat-josep-borrell/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=How Israel helped create Hamas|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/07/30/how-israel-helped-create-hamas/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Why Netanyahu Bolstered Hamas|url= https://www.thenation.com/article/world/why-netanyahu-bolstered-hamas/tnamp/|website=The Nation|date=11 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Israel's historical role in the rise of Hamas|url= https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2023/11/21/world/israel-failed-policy/|date=21 November 2023|last=Chellaney|first=Brahma|website=[[The Japan Times]]|access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref>}} This support continued during and in spite of active military hostilities between the two sides.

During the 1970s, Israel began providing support to [[Ahmed Yassin]], a Palestinian [[Muslim Brotherhood]] leader who controlled a network of Islamic schools, mosques, and clubs, in order to weaken the secular nationalist [[Palestine Liberation Organization]].<ref name="blowback"/> It continued to encourage the expansion of Yassin's network during the first year and a half of the [[First Intifada]], as the network re-organised into Hamas. This support lasted until 1989, when Hamas launched [[Killing of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon|its first attacks on Israelis]], leading to a significant crackdown against the organisation.<ref name="NYT Splitting"/> Multiple Israeli officials have acknowledged Israel's role in strengthening Yassin's network.<ref name="blowback"/>

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Israeli officials encouraged [[Qatari support for Hamas|Qatar to support Hamas]],<ref name=ToI/> especially by approving the transfer of large sums of financial aid by [[Qatar]] to the organization.<ref name=CNN/> Several Israeli intelligence officials have cited Qatari money as a contributing factor to the success of Hamas in leading the [[October 7 attacks]] in 2023;<ref name="buyingquiet" /> Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] has called the notion that Israel strategically propped up Hamas "ridiculous", and stated that Qatar's aid transfers to the Hamas government had been [[International aid to Palestinians|approved for humanitarian reasons]].<ref name="Ynet News"/>

== History ==
=== 1970s–1980s ===
During the 1970s and 1980s, one of the Israeli government's main goals in the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] was the defeat of the secular and leftist [[Palestine Liberation Organisation]] (PLO), including through military actions such as the [[1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon]]. Internationally, the Israeli government aimed to contain the influence of Arab nationalist and Arab socialist governments, such as by the French-British invasion of Egypt during the mid-1950s [[Suez Canal Crisis]], to the royalists in the 1960s [[North Yemen civil war]], and [[Israeli support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war|to the Islamic Republic of Iran]] during the 1980s [[Iran–Iraq war]]. It also refused to negotiate with the PLO, instead carrying out any negotiations over the future of the occupied Palestinian territories via Arab state intermediaries, [[Jordanian option|especially Jordan]], and Egypt following the late 1970s [[Camp David Accords]]. Within the occupied territories, the Israeli government took a range of measures to repress Palestinian nationalism and suppress PLO-linked movements, including banning the [[National Guidance Committee]] and the [[March 1982 Palestinian general strike|dismissing elected Palestinian city councils]]. It also sought to encourage the growth of conservative and religious groups, which were frequently hostile to the PLO and assumed to be more cooperative with Israeli officials. The most prominent of these groups was the [[Palestinian Village Leagues]].<ref name="Globes Obssession">{{cite web|date=24 December 2023|title=The obsession that led to war with Hamas|url=https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-the-obsession-that-led-to-war-with-hamas-1001465970|author-last=Karny|author-first=Yoav|access-date=26 December 2024|work=[[Globes (newspaper)|Globes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=17 October 2023|title=What the World Can Learn From the History of Hamas|url=https://time.com/6324221/hamas-origins-history/|author-last=Al-Marashi|author-first=Ibrahim|access-date=12 January 2025|work=Time Magazine}}</ref><ref name="LAT Client">{{cite web|date=20 December 1992|title=Hamas: When a Former Client Becomes an Implacable Enemy : Israel: The Likud government originally saw this Muslim fundamentalist organization as a welcome alternative to the PLO.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-20-op-4428-story.html|author-last=Melman|author-first=Yossi|access-date=15 January 2025|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=13 September 2016|title=The Story Of The Palestinian Village Leagues|url=https://www.memri.org/reports/story-palestinian-village-leagues|author-last=Carmon|author-first=Yigal|access-date=26 December 2024|work=[[Middle East Media Research Institute]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=30 August 1982|title=West Bank, Gaza Village Leagues Termed As Israeli 'collaborators'|url=https://www.jta.org/archive/west-bank-gaza-village-leagues-termed-as-israeli-collaborators|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=28 December 2024|work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2 April 1982|title=King in the middle of another Mid-East crisis|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19820402.2.75.1|author-last=MacManus|author-first=James|access-date=28 December 2024|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=27 March 1982|title=Israelis in a colonial bind|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19820327-1.2.69|author-last=Drysdale|author-first=John|access-date=28 December 2024|work=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Another conservative, religious, and anti-PLO movement that was encouraged by Israeli officials was that of Islamist politician [[Ahmed Yassin]], a [[Muslim Brotherhood]] member who ran a network of mosques, clubs, and schools in the [[Gaza Strip]] through his [[Mujama al-Islamiya]] charity. During the 1970s and 1980s, Israel granted licences and support to Yassin so that he could build and expand his network.<ref name="blowback">{{cite news |last1=Sayedahmed |first1=Dina |title=Blowback: How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas to Bombing It |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/ |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=The Intercept |date=19 February 2018 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201211111/https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How and why Israel helped create Hamas?|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2302309/how-and-why-israel-helped-create-hamas?amp=1|website=The Express Tribune|last=Ahmar|first=Moonis |date=29 May 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref> American research [[Jonathan Schanzer]] wrote that "by the late 1970s, the Israelis believed that they had found Fatah's Achilles' heel ... Fatah had become anxious over the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza," saying that the Israelis subsequently "made the ill-fated decision to permit the Brotherhood to operate with relatively little oversight" so that it would undermine the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO).<ref>{{cite web|date=22 September 2019|title=1989 and the rise of Hamas|url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/1989-and-the-rise-of-Hamas-611745|author-last=Durns|author-first=Sean|access-date=12 January 2025|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref> 

Israeli Brigadier General [[Yitzhak Segev]], who served as the Israeli military governor in Gaza during the early 1980s, admitted to providing financial assistance to [[Mujama al-Islamiya]], the precursor of Hamas, on the instruction of the Israeli authorities.<ref name="blowback"/><ref>{{cite web|date=19 May 2021|title= Israel's Failed Strategies|url= https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/05/19/israels-failed-strategies/|website=[[Washington Monthly]]|author=David K. Shipler|access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=6 November 2023|title=Israel's role in the creation of Hamas|url=https://www.mmegi.bw/ampArticle/110490|website=[[Mmegi]]|last=Rakgomo|first=Sally|access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref> In March 1981, Segev told ''[[The New York Times]]'' that "the Israeli Government gave me a budget and the military government gives to the mosques."<ref>{{cite web|date=28 March 1981|title=UNDER GAZA'S CALM SURFACE: DEATH, DRUGS, INTRIGUE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/28/world/under-gaza-s-calm-surface-death-drugs-intrigue.html|author-last=Shipler|author-first=David K.|access-date=10 June 2025|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Other former Israeli officials have also openly acknowledged Israel's role in providing funding and assistance to Yassin's network as a means of undermining the secular, left-wing Palestinian factions that made up the PLO.<ref>{{cite web|title= Israel gave major to aid to Hamas|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/02/24/Israel-gave-major-to-aid-to-Hamas/6023982990800/|agency=[[United Press International]]|date=24 February 2001}}</ref> Former [[Israeli Civil Administration]] director [[Efraim Sneh]] stated in 1992 that "we saw the fundamentalists mainly as an unthreatening social force aiming to improve the bad conditions and standards of living of the Palestinians ... We know now that we must make a distinction between Hamas, with whom we have nothing in common, and the moderates, mainstream secular elements among the Palestinians."<ref name="LAT Client" /> In 2018, historian [[Uri Milstein]] quoted [[Yitzhak Mordechai]], who served as head of the [[Southern Command (Israel)|Southern Command]] from 1986 to 1989, as saying that "I was very familiar with Gaza from my previous positions. But when I took charge of the Southern Command, I was shocked by the number of mosques that had been recently constructed in Gaza. As it turned out, Israel’s strategists had been supportive of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s charitable organization."<ref>{{cite web|date=4 January 2018|title=IT HAS BEEN 30 YEARS SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRST INTIFADA|url=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/IT-HAS-BEEN-30-YEARS-SINCE-THE-OUTBREAK-OF-THE-FIRST-INTIFADA-532851|author-last=Milstein|author-first=Uri|access-date=12 January 2025|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref>

Several incidents occurred during the 1980s after which leftist Palestinians accused the Israeli government of supporting Islamist fundamentalists. One such incident was the [[January 1980 Mujama al-Islamiya riot]], after which the [[Palestine Red Crescent Society]] accused the Israeli military of "complicity" in the riot.<ref name="Filiu 2024"/> Another was the conflict between Mujama al-Islamiya and the PLO&nbsp;for control over the [[Islamic University of Gaza]]. In February 1981, seven of the thirteen members of the university's senate were fired by the Israeli Military Governorate, allegedly at Mujama al-Islamiya's request.<ref name="Milton-Edwards & Farrell 2024">Milton-Edwards, Beverely & Stephen Farrell. ''Hamas: The Quest for Power''. John Wiley & Sons, 2024. Page 42–45.</ref>

=== First Intifada (1987–1989) ===
After the outbreak of the [[First Intifada]] in 1987, Yassin's network [[Hamas in the First Intifada|re-organised itself]] into an armed organisation: [[Hamas]], issuing an [[1988 Hamas charter|extremist founding charter]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|date=21 December 2023|title=A Gaza Conundrum: The Story Behind the Rise of Hamas|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-gaza-conundrum-the-story-behind-the-rise-of-hamas-a-d9e30bb6-2295-45a1-825c-dbd0c43c3613|author-last=Zand|author-first=Bernhard|access-date=12 January 2025|work=Der Spiegel}}</ref> However, until Hamas carried out its [[Killing of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon|first attacks]] in the spring of 1989, the Israeli government continued to encourage its growth. [[John Kifner]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote in September 1988 that "Israeli authorities have taken no direct action against Hamas despite repeated crackdowns and roundups" on [[Unified National Leadership of the Uprising]] and PLO factions, quoting an anonymous Western diplomat as saying that "It certainly is remarkable with all these arrests, that someone like Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who just goes on saying the most awful things about Jews, isn't touched."<ref name="NYT Splitting">{{cite web|date=18 September 1988|title=Islamic Fundamentalist Group Splitting Palestinian Uprising|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/18/world/islamic-fundamentalist-group-splitting-palestinian-uprising.html|author-last=Kifner|author-first=John|access-date=20 January 2025|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In May 1989, Gil Sedan and Hugh Orgel of the [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] wrote that, during the first year and a half of the First Intifada, "the official attitude toward Hamas and its leadership has been more or less tolerant. Senior figures in the defence establishment have stated privately that two considerations supported the policy of encouraging Hamas' influence among the Palestinians. One was the notion that granting a firm public standing to the Islamic elements, even religious and political extremists, would offset the influence of violent groups, such as the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad|Islamic Jihad]]. The other consideration was to strengthen the hand of PLO opponents within the Palestinian population."<ref name="JTA Shift">{{cite web|date=24 May 1989|title=Crackdown on Hamas Movement Seen As Shift of IDF Strategy|url=https://www.jta.org/archive/crackdown-on-hamas-movement-seen-as-shift-of-idf-strategy|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=15 January 2025|work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref>

This support lasted until 1989, when Hamas launched [[Killing of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon|its first attacks on Israelis]], leading to a significant crackdown against the organisation.<ref name="NYT Splitting"/>

=== Oslo era (1993–2010s) ===
After a visit to Israel from Turkish Prime Minister [[Mesut Yilmaz]] and Turkish lawmaker {{ill|Feyzi İşbaşaran|tr}} in 1998, İşbaşaran later revealed that Netanyahu suggested Turkey support Hamas. Netanyahu reportedly said, "Hamas also has bank accounts for aid in banks, we help them too, you [Turkey] can help too."<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-10-12 |title=Bu iddia çok tartışılır: Netanyahu'dan Hamas'a destek |url=https://www.odatv.com/guncel/bu-iddia-cok-tartisilir-netanyahudan-hamasa-destek-120005580 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Odatv |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=12 October 2023|title= Revealing Israel’s Strategic Vision in Supporting Hamas: Insights from Turkish Ex-Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz’s 1998 Visit|url= https://politurco.com/revealing-israels-strategic-vision-in-supporting-hamas-insights-from-turkish-ex-prime-minister-mesut-yilmazs-1998-visit.html|website=Politurco|access-date=30 May 2025}}</ref> 

In a cable leaked by [[WikiLeaks]] in 2010, [[Amos Yadlin]], former general of the [[Israeli Air Force]], said in 2007 that Israel would be "happy" if [[Battle of Gaza (2007)|Hamas take over Gaza]] and regarded it as a positive step, in order to make Gaza to be treated as a hostile state.<ref>{{cite web|title= Yadlin: Israel would be 'happy' if Hamas takes over Gaza|url= https://www.jpost.com/defense/yadlin-israel-would-be-happy-if-hamas-takes-over-gaza|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=21 December 2010|last=Katz|first=Yaakov|access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= WikiLeaks: Yadlin wanted Hamas takeover|url= https://www.ynet.co.il/article/4002043|website=Ynet|date=20 December 2010|last=Somfalvi|first=Attila|access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref> An Israeli financial investigative team called "Task Force Harpoon" in 2015 discovered a network of businesses and investments that were owned and controlled by Hamas. The terrorism finance task force briefed the government, but no actions were taken in either Israel or Washington until seven years later.<ref>{{cite web|title= Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/world/europe/israel-hamas-money-finance-turkey-intelligence-attacks.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PU8.fpIH.iwjrssJOOXa4&smid=url-share|website=The New York Times|date=16 December 2023|author1=Jo Becker|author2=Justin Scheck|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= NY Times: Israel uncovered vast Hamas financial network in 2018, took no action|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-times-israel-uncovered-vast-hamas-financial-network-in-2018-took-no-action/|website=The Times of Israel|date=16 December 2023|access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref>

=== Israeli backing of Qatar sending millions of dollars to Gaza ===
[[Yossi Kuperwasser]], an Israeli intelligence and security expert, said that Qatari's support for Hamas could help deter the group from war by improving life in Gaza.<ref name="npr">{{cite web|title= Why Israel Lets Qatar Give Millions To Hamas|url= https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/06/18/414693807/why-israel-lets-qatar-give-millions-to-hamas|website=NPR|last=Harris|first=Emily|access-date=18 June 2015}}</ref> Kuperwasser stated in 2015: "We believe that better conditions in Gaza would lessen the incentive of Hamas and the population to go again to a war. So in a way, it is helping the deterrence. But the purpose is to improve the conditions of the people of Gaza and enable them to live a respectable life."<ref name="npr" />

Qatar started sending money to the Gaza Strip on a monthly basis in 2018. $15 million worth of cash-filled suitcases were transported into Gaza by the Qataris via Israeli territory. The payments commenced due to the 2017 decision by the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]] (PA), an administration in the Israeli-occupied [[West Bank]] and rival to Hamas, to cut government employee salaries in Gaza. At the time, the PA objected to the funds, which Hamas said was intended for both medical and governmental salary payments. In August 2018, Israel's government approved the agreement.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news |last1=Elbagir |first1=Nima |title=Qatar sent millions to Gaza for years – with Israel's backing. Here's what we know about the controversial deal |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/11/middleeast/qatar-hamas-funds-israel-backing-intl/index.html |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=CNN |date=11 December 2023 |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416022127/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/11/middleeast/qatar-hamas-funds-israel-backing-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> That same year, [[Meir Ben-Shabbat]], the then [[National Security Council (Israel)|National Security Advisor]], received a note in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] written by [[Yahya Sinwar]], the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, addressed to Netanyahu, titled "Calculated risk." The note was part of a broader strategy by Sinwar to portray Hamas as open to a long-term truce and also referring to Israel's agreement with Qatar to allow Qatari aid to enter to Gaza in order to pay civil servants, as well as to families in need.<ref>{{cite web|title= "סיכון מחושב": הפתק בעברית שכתב סינוואר לנתניהו, בזמן המגעים להסדרה|url= https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/synawisv9|website=Ynet News|date=14 April 2022|access-date=15 May 2025|language=Hebrew}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title= Hamas leader Sinwar sent a Hebrew letter to Netanyahu during 2018 truce talks|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leader-sinwar-sent-a-hebrew-letter-to-netanyahu-during-2018-truce-talks/|website=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=14 April 2022|access-date=15 May 2025 |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

In February 2020, former Mossad Director [[Yossi Cohen]] and Israeli general [[Herzi Halevi]], under Netanyahu's orders, went to Qatar to plead Qatari officials to continue the payments for Hamas.<ref name=ToI>{{Cite news|title= Liberman: Netanyahu sent Mossad head, general to Qatar, 'begged' it to pay Hamas|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-chief-top-general-visited-qatar-begged-it-to-pay-hamas-liberman-says/|website=[[The Times of Israel]]|access-date=22 February 2020 |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> Later, in September 2023, [[David Barnea]], the Director of [[Mossad]] since 2021, went to Qatar to meet Qatari officials to discuss about the payments for Hamas.<ref name="buyingquiet">{{cite web|title= 'Buying Quiet': Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html|website=The New York Times|date=10 December 2023|last1=Mazzetti|first1=Mark|last2=Bergman|first2=Ronen|archive-date=1 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501235259/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= ימים לפני הטבח: הממשלה אישרה העברת  [Days before the massacre: The government approved the transfer of money to Hamas] דיווח|url= https://m.maariv.co.il/news/politics/article-1058689|website=Maariv|date=10 December 2023}}</ref> Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] has defended allowing transfer of millions of dollars to Hamas-run Gaza despite criticism from within his own government, including the education minister [[Naftali Bennet]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu defends Qatari cash infusion to Gaza |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181111-netanyahu-defends-qatari-cash-infusion-gaza-0 |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=France 24 |date=11 November 2018 |language=en |archive-date=16 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516181658/https://www.france24.com/en/20181111-netanyahu-defends-qatari-cash-infusion-gaza-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[October 7 attacks]], Netanyahu went on record denying the claims that he facilitated financing of Hamas in order to create a '[[Divide and rule|divide and conquer]]' situation. He also said that he transferred funds to avoid "humanitarian collapse" in Gaza.<ref name="Ynet News">{{cite news |title=Netanyahu dismisses claims he built up Hamas with Qatari funds as 'ridiculous' |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1cqppnba |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=Ynetnews |date=29 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=13 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313024614/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1cqppnba |url-status=live }}</ref> Israeli intelligence officials believe that the money had a role in the success of 2023 Hamas-led attack.<ref name="buyingquiet" /> Talks regarding expanding the amount of work permits Israel issued to Gazan laborers also included officials from Hamas. This kept money flowing into Gaza.<ref name="isr">{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Tal |title=For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it's blown up in our faces |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/ |access-date=30 April 2024 |date=8 October 2023 |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010105701/https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/ |url-status=live|website=[[The Times of Israel]]  |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

== Debates ==
=== Use of Hamas to undermine the Palestinian Authority ===

In an interview with Israeli journalist, [[Dan Margalit (journalist)|Dan Margalit]] in December 2012, Netanyahu told Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Netanyahu also added that having two strong rivals, this would lessen pressure on him to negotiate towards a Palestinian state.<ref name="buyingquiet"/> In an interview with the [[Israeli Army Radio]] in August 2019, [[Ehud Barak]], the former Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, said that Netanyahu's main strategy is to keep Hamas "alive and kicking" in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority, even at the expense of "abandoning the citizens [of the south]."<ref name="policy">{{cite web|title= How Netanyahu's Hamas policy came back to haunt him — and Israel|url= https://www.cbc.ca/1.7010035|date=28 October 2023|last=Dyer|first=Evan|website=[[CBC News]]|access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref> In an interview with ''[[Politico]]'' in 2023, former Israeli Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]] said, "In the last 15 years, Israel did everything to downgrade the Palestinian Authority and to boost Hamas", before adding that "Gaza was on the brink of collapse because they had no resources, they had no money, and the PA refused to give Hamas any money. Bibi saved them. Bibi made a deal with Qatar and they started to move millions and millions of dollars to Gaza."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dettmer |first1=Jamie |title=Our warnings on Hamas were ignored, Israel's women border troops say |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-border-troops-women-hamas-warnings-war-october-7-benjamin-netanyahu/ |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=Politico |date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122015508/https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-border-troops-women-hamas-warnings-war-october-7-benjamin-netanyahu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At a [[Likud]] party conference in 2019, Netanyahu said: "Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas ... This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank."<ref>{{cite news |title=כל המערכת הפוליטית תומכת באותה אסטרטגיה: לשמר את הברית הסמויה עם החמאס (The entire political system supports the same strategy: preserving the secret alliance with Hamas) |url=https://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/opinions/Article-1008080 |access-date=30 April 2024 |work=www.maariv.co.il |date=19 May 2023 |language=he |archive-date=20 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120005456/https://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/opinions/Article-1008080 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Freedland |first=Jonathan |date=2023-10-20 |title=Warning: Benjamin Netanyahu is walking right into Hamas's trap |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-israel-prime-minister |access-date=2024-07-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Netanyahu responded to the accusations of funding and strengthening Hamas by calling them "ridiculous".<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu: Don't accuse me of boosting Hamas with Qatari money |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-qatar-money-war-israel-gaza-palestine/ |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=Politico |date=28 November 2023 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421052306/https://www.politico.eu/article/benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-qatar-money-war-israel-gaza-palestine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In an interview with ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' in 2024, he denied of giving support to Hamas and said that it was one of "many misquotes" attributed to him.<ref>{{cite web|title= Read the Full Transcript of Benjamin Netanyahu's Interview With TIME|url= https://time.com/7008852/benjamin-netanyahu-interview-transcript/|website=Time|date=8 August 2024|last=Cortallessa|first=Eric|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250628121737/https://time.com/7008852/benjamin-netanyahu-interview-transcript/ |archive-date=28 June 2025|access-date=28 June 2025}}</ref> 

Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the [[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th Armored Brigade]] and an associate of Netanyahu, said in 2019 in an interview: "Netanyahu's strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner. Openly Hamas is an enemy. Covertly, it's an ally."<ref>{{cite web|date=11 October 2023|title= Why Did Netanyahu Want to Strengthen Hamas?|url= https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-11/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-needed-a-strong-hamas/0000018b-1e9f-d47b-a7fb-bfdfd8f30000?v=1697032057551 |website=Haaretz|access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= How Israel helped prop up Hamas for decades|url= https://www.analystnews.org/posts/how-israel-helped-prop-up-hamas-for-decades|website=Analyst News|date=30 October 2023|access-date=13 October 2025}}</ref> [[Bezalel Smotrich]], a [[Far-right politics in Israel|far-right]] lawmaker and finance minister under the Netanyahu government, called the Palestinian Authority a "burden" and Hamas an "asset".<ref>{{cite news |title=Israeli far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich described Hamas as 'asset' in unearthed tweet |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/palestine-israel/2024/01/23/israel-bezalel-smotrich-hamas-asset/ |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=The National |date=23 January 2024 |language=en |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501014540/https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/palestine-israel/2024/01/23/israel-bezalel-smotrich-hamas-asset/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Before They Vowed to Annihilate Hamas, Israeli Officials Considered It an Asset|url= https://theintercept.com/2023/10/14/hamas-israel-palestinian-authority/|date=14 October 2023|last=Speri|first=Alice|website= The Intercept|access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref>

=== Allegations of Israeli support for the creation of Hamas ===
[[Yuval Diskin]], former director of [[Shin Bet]] from 2005 to 2011, told Israeli newspaper [[Yedioth Ahronoth]] in 2013, that "if we look at it over the years, one of the main people contributing to Hamas's strengthening has been Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu, since his first term as prime minister."<ref name="policy" /><ref>{{cite web|title= Dyer: Military success in Gaza as bad for Bibi as failure|url= https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/dyer-military-success-in-gaza-as-bad-for-bibi-as-failure|website=[[The London Free Press]]|date=29 October 2023|last=Dyer|first=Gwynne|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250626034705/https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/dyer-military-success-in-gaza-as-bad-for-bibi-as-failure|archive-date=26 June 2025|access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref> In October 2023, former [[General Intelligence Presidency|Intelligence Chief of Saudi Arabia]], Prince [[Turki Al-Faisal]], accused Israel of "funnelling Qatari money" to Hamas.<ref>{{cite web|title= Video: Ex-Saudi intel chief accuses Israel of 'funnelling' Qatari money to Hamas|url= https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/video-saudi-intel-chief-prince-turki-al-faisal-accuses-israel-of-funnelling-qatari-money-to-hamas-2451348-2023-10-20|website=[[India Today]]|date=31 October 2023|last=Sharma|first=Rishabh|access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref>

On 19 January 2024, [[Reuters]] reported that [[Josep Borrell]], the [[EU foreign policy chief]], said while receiving an honorary doctorate from the [[University of Valladolid]] that "Israel had financed the creation of Palestinian militant group Hamas, publicly contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has denied such allegations." and that "Borrell added the only peaceful solution included the creation of a Palestinian state. 'We only believe a two-state solution imposed from the outside would bring peace even though Israel insists on the negative,' he said."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eus-borrell-says-israel-financed-creation-gaza-rulers-hamas-2024-01-19/|title=EU's Borrell says Israel financed creation of Gaza rulers Hamas|work=Reuters|date=19 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.elindependiente.com/internacional/2024/01/19/borrell-carga-contra-israel-financio-a-hamas-durante-anos-para-restar-poder-a-fatah/|title=Borrell carga contra Israel: "Financió a Hamás durante años para restar poder a Fatah"|date=19 January 2024|work=El Independiente|language=Spanish|quote="Hamás ha sido financiado por Israel durante años para intentar restar poder a la autoridad palestina de Fatah", ha declarado Borrell durante su intervención en el solemne acto de investidura}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= EU Top Diplomat Repeats Claim Israel Helped Create Hamas|url= https://www.barrons.com/news/eu-top-diplomat-repeats-claim-israel-helped-create-hamas-b3f23322|website=[[Barron’s]]|date=26 February 2024}}</ref> Borrell also described Israel as having "created Hamas", but immediately continued saying that "yes, Hamas was financed by Israel to weaken the [[Palestinian Authority]]".{{Efn|Sources: <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/borrell-accuses-israel-of-creating-and-financing-hamas/|title= Borrell accuses Israel of 'creating' and 'financing' Hamas|work=[[Euractiv]]|date=20 January 2024|quote=“We believe that a two-state solution must be imposed from outside to bring peace. Although, I insist, Israel is reaffirming its refusal (of this solution), and to prevent it they have gone so far as to create Hamas themselves,” Borrell said.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/es-es/noticias/espana/borrell-acusa-a-israel-de-haber-financiado-a-hamas/ar-BB1gXzhf|title=Borrell acusa a Israel de haber financiado a Hamas|author=Beatriz Navarro|website=[[MSN]] |quote=“Sí, Hamas fue financiado por el gobierno de Israel en un intento de debilitar a la Autoridad Palestina liderada por Al Fatah”, defendió ayer el alto representante ..., Josep Borrell, en una vehemente defensa de la solución de los dos estados. ... En su empeño de “debilitar” a la Autoridad Palestina, el ejecutivo israelí habría llegado a “crear” y “financiar” al grupo terrorista islámico Hamas, remató}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ULJkRXztA&t=79s|title=BORRELL acusa a ISRAEL de FINANCIAR la CREACIÓN de HAMÁS para DEBILITAR a PALESTINA|work=YouTube, channel: RTVE Noticias|date=19 January 2024 |quote= (from transcript at 1:16) Aunque insisto Israel se reafirme en esa negativa que para impedirla han llegado ellos mismos a crear jamás sí jamás ha sido financiado por el gobierno de Israel para intentar debilitar a la autoridad Palestina}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Israel financed Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority, Josep Borrell claims|url= https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/01/19/israel-financed-hamas-to-weaken-the-palestinian-authority-josep-borrell-claims|website=Euronews|date=19 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell accuses Israel of 'creating' and 'financing' Hamas|url= https://www.lemonde.fr/en/european-union/article/2024/01/20/eu-s-top-diplomat-josep-borrell-accuses-israel-of-creating-and-financing-hamas_6449311_156.html|date=20 January 2024|website=[[Le Monde]]}}</ref>}}

Professor [[Avner Cohen]], a former Israeli religious affairs official and Tunisian-born Jew, publicly acknowledged that "Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel's creation" and that Israel had "encouraged them as a counterweight to ... Palestine Liberation Organization and its dominant faction, Yasser Arafat's Fatah."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |title=How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847 |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=WSJ |date=24 January 2009 |archive-date=26 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926212507/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275572295011847.html |url-status=live }}</ref> David Hacham, who worked in Gaza as an Arab affairs expert in the Israeli military in the late 1980s and early 1990s stated, "When I look back at the chain of events, I think we made a mistake. But at the time, nobody thought about the possible results."<ref>{{cite web|title= GOLDSTEIN: Israel's enormous blunder — it helped to create Hamas|url= https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-israels-enormous-blunder-it-helped-to-create-hamas|date=18 October 2023|last=Goldstein|first=Lorrie|website=[[Toronto Sun]]|access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref> Similar statements have been made by [[Yasser Arafat]]. For example, in an interview with Italian newspaper, [[Corriere della Sera]] in December 2001, he referred to Hamas as a "creature of Israel".<ref>{{cite news |title=How Israel went from helping 'create' Hamas to bombing it |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/hamas-israel-war/how-israel-went-helping-create-hamas-bombing-it-718378 |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=The Business Standard |date=14 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501014540/https://www.tbsnews.net/hamas-israel-war/how-israel-went-helping-create-hamas-bombing-it-718378 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= A nation turns against itself|url= https://gulfnews.com/story/general%2Fa-nation-turns-against-itself-1.39982|website=Gulf News|date= 6 July 2007|access-date=6 July 2007}}</ref>

=== Use of Hamas as a tool to disengage from peace talks ===
{{ill|Shlomo Brom|he|שלמה ברום}}, retired general and former deputy to Israel's national security adviser, believes that an empowered Hamas helps Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu avoid negotiating over a Palestinian state, suggesting that there is no viable partner for peace talks.<ref name="buyingquiet" />

== See also ==
*[[Blowback (intelligence)]]
*[[Foreign relations of Hamas]]
*[[History of Hamas]]
*[[Operation Cyclone]], US aid to Afghan mujahideen.
*[[Popular Forces]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Hamas}}
{{Gaza–Israel conflict}}
{{Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}

[[Category:State-sponsored terrorism]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of Hamas]]
[[Category:Gaza war]]
[[Category:Fatah–Hamas conflict]]
[[Category:Gaza–Israel conflict]]
[[Category:Politics of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Benjamin Netanyahu]]
[[Category:Israel–Palestine relations]]