On Hamas and the Palestinian Struggle for Self-Determination: Explainer
A brief guide to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas.
Originally published on January 10, 2026, this article was substantially updated on June 13, 2026, to include additional information and improve clarity.
What is Hamas? Is it antisemitic?
Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, is often described in the West as an “illegal terrorist group” that “kills civilians,” and their October 7th campaign is often used as justification by the “Israeli” colonial and occupational forces for so-called “self-defense,” which, despite the term, has often led to mass killings.1
Whether Hamas is “antisemitic” is perhaps the most important question to liberals and those who refuse support to a side due to secondary contradictions.
While it is true that Hamas’ original charter at the time of founding included some aspects of anti-Jewish sentiment, this is no longer the case, as Hamas and other resistance movements have sharply distinguished Jewish identity and Judaism from Zionism.2
To add, as Palestinians themselves are often considered a Semitic people, the current “Israeli” genocide in historic Palestine can itself be considered one of the biggest acts of antisemitism since the Holocaust.
L'Chaim Intifada defines the movement as “the steadfastness of the Palestinian people … [that] will ultimately liberate Palestine.” The article also includes a comprehensive list of resources on the movement, including on-the-ground coverage by journalists and analysts, articles, podcasts, videos, and books.
The Electronic Intifada in April 2026 published an article titled “Debunking the Lie that ‘Israel Created Hamas,’” which can be accessed here.
Is Hamas’ resistance legal under international law?
In August 2023, the organization Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, or CJPME, released a fact sheet regarding the right of Palestinians to resist “Israel’s” military occupation as enshrined under international law, followed by a brief historical summary of Palestinian resistance. It asserts:
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has explicitly affirmed the right of Palestinians to resist Israel’s military occupation, including through armed struggle. This right was affirmed in the context of the right to self-determination of all peoples under foreign and colonial rule.
UNGA Resolution 3314 (1974) “affirmed the right of self-determination, freedom, and independence for all ‘peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination,’ and affirmed the ‘right of these peoples to struggle to that end and to seek and receive support.’
Also cited was UNGA Resolution 37/43 (1982), which “reaffirmed the ‘inalienable right’ of the Palestinian people ‘and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination’ to self-determination.
It also reaffirmed the legitimacy of ‘the struggle of peoples for […] liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.’”
It notes that “[although] UNGA resolutions are not legally binding, they ‘accurately reflect the customary international legal opinion among the majority of the world’s sovereign states.’”
Further, the fact sheet references supplementary amendments to the Fourth Geneva Convention under Protocol I (1977), which:
…expanded the scope of the [original] law, … which had little to say about the use of force against an occupying power … explicitly affirming that it applies to situations including “armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination.”
Further, it asserts:
This update to international law gave legal legitimacy to “the resort to arms by national liberation movements, including the PLO,” giving Palestinians a “legal right” to use force against military occupation, similar to that enjoyed by sovereign nations.
This legality is largely ignored by Western states and Westerners alike.
Of course, I will also note that even if this resistance were “illegal,” legality does not inherently equate to correctness.3 It is impossible to expect an entire people to simply roll onto their backs and allow themselves to be slaughtered.
Slavery was once legal, after all, yet almost no one condemns past slave revolts or similar historical resistance. As Chairman Mao asserted, “Resistance is justified” (造反有理)—or as the West often says, “Power to the People!”
What about October 7th and the alleged killing of civilians?
While Hamas has admitted to “faults” during the October 7th operation, they have affirmed that they did not intentionally target civilians and have voiced openness to an independent, impartial investigation.
The “State of Israel” has forbidden this from occurring.
At the time of writing, most (if not all) reports of “mass civilian killings by Hamas” were made by Western media or Western-funded humanitarian organizations, who reported based on information provided by “Israel.” These sources are hardly unbiased.
Many such organizations depend on Western government funding and access, hire staff predominantly from Western/Global North contexts, apply frameworks that are themselves products of Western post-WWII power arrangements, and are unable to investigate impartially when the accused, in this case “Israel,” controls access, evidence, and witness movement.
In fact, “Israeli” authorities have been accused of failing to ensure proper forensic evidence collection, “undermining the possibility of future judicial proceedings, accountability, and justice.” It is, in plain words, an echo chamber that helps further “Israel’s” narrative.
As reported by Middle East Eye:
Hamas repeated previous assertions that killing civilians was against its “religion, morality, and education … we avoid it whenever we can. … The resistance did not target any hospital, school, or house of worship; it did not kill a single journalist or any member of ambulance crews.4 We challenge [“Israel”] to prove otherwise.”
However, on the other end, “Israel’s” Hannibal Directive, which allows “Israeli” soldiers to target their own to avoid capture, was used during the operation despite having been supposedly decommissioned years ago, as reported by “Israeli” news networks such as Haaretz.
It is worth noting that October 7th was not the beginning of the struggle for liberation, as widely believed. Hamas and other resistance groups did not merely appear out of thin air.
Settler-colonial violence in historic Palestine has been occurring since the late 1940s, when “Israeli” settlers first arrived with permission from the UN and British colonizers.
Ways to support Palestine
Voice of the Proletariat remains committed to supporting Palestine in all ways possible.
We stand with a growing number of heroic activists who support the Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination as well as other anti-Zionist groups.
We also stand with states such as China and Russia, who have consistently supported victim-centered approaches, including Russia’s counter-proposal for Trump’s “peace plan” at the UN.
In the imperial core, the easiest way to support Palestine is through the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as well as providing material support to Palestinians directly through fundraisers.
In May 2026, Voice of the Proletariat interviewed Aseel, a Palestinian mother in Gaza living with her young son, Sufyan. You can read the full interview here and donate directly.
In addition, Voice of the Proletariat is actively supporting many other fundraising campaigns in Palestine.
Before anyone criticizes Hamas for being a right-wing, religious group, I will kindly note that Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups have done far more for Palestine than any Westerner.
My article “On the Conflation of Antisemitism with Anti-Zionism” explains my choice for using the term “anti-Jewish sentiment” rather than “antisemitism” and discusses the conflation in more depth.
A long philosophical argument could be made here about natural law vs human/positive law, but I digress.
This refers to “Israel’s” countless murders of journalists and humanitarian staff. As reported by Reporters Without Borders (RSF, not to be confused with the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces committing genocide in Sudan), “Palestine has become the most dangerous state for journalists in the world.” The United Nations has reported on this as well.