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First, it is worth distinguishing the US government from the acts of independent American citizens. The US government has not supported the IRA in any serious capacity, but Irish Americans have. Additionally, the United States has listed the RIRA (the militant successor to the Provisional IRA in 1997) as a terrorist organization and has blacklisted them. Irish Americans supported the IRA for sectarian reasons, namely to free Ireland from British rule.

In the case of Hamas and Hezbollah, there are far fewer Americans of Arab descent to support these organizations, but there is such support. This has ended up in a number of court cases concerning the money-trails that lead to these organizations, most notably the Holy Land Foundation Trials. The reason that the United States government goes after supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah is that both organizations are directly hostile to the United States.

As a final note, Hamas and Hezbollah are not "pals" of the IRA. Not all paramilitary/terrorist groups have warm (or even extant relationships).

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10y ago

Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist groups. The IRA merely wants a unified Ireland. That's why.

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Q: Why do Americans support the Irish Republican Army but don't support the IRA's pals Hamas or Hezbollah?
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What are some differences between Hamas and Hezbollah?

Answer 1Hamas originates primarily from Palestine.Hezbollah originates primarily from Lebanon.Both organizations are considered terrorist groups by the US & Israel.Answer 2There are a few major differences between the two groups:Religious Affiliation and ProselytismHamas: Hamas considers itself Sunni and does not see proselytism as terribly important as the overwhelming majority of Palestinians are Sunni Muslims.Hezbollah: Hezbollah considers itself to be Shiite Muslim and operates in countries where Shiites are a minority (primarily Syria and Lebanon). Therefore Hezbollah actively tries to proselytize Shiite Islam to the Sunni Muslim population.Methods of Government ControlHamas: Hamas militants have actually evicted the de jure Palestinian Authority Government after issues in setting up a multi-party state. Hamas maintains sole control of the Gaza Strip and has no representation in any government outside of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is headquartered in Damascus, yet has no say in the Syrian governmentHezbollah: Hezbollah is an active part of both the Lebanese and Syrian regimes where it operates. It has government ministers in Lebanon that serve alongside other Shiite and non-Shiite confessional representatives. However, when things did not go according to Hezbollah's desires, they rioted in central Beirut. In Syria, it has committed members to operating alongside the Shiite Alawite Regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Hezbollah considers itself part of governments, but not exclusively.Territories of OperationHamas: While Hamas headquarters are in Damascus, the organization spends most of its time and effort in Palestine (and attacks into Israel).Hezbollah: Hezbollah spends the majority of its efforts domestically in Syria and Lebanon and occasionally attacks Israel.Military HardwareHamas: Hamas has a large variety of simple rockets, equipped pick-up trucks, and knowledge of how to assemble bombs. Hamas can effectively fight guerrilla wars and thug-type engagements, but does not have aircraft, armored cars, or missile weaponry.Hezbollah: Hezbollah has all of the types of armaments that Hamas has, but does have armored cars, simple tanks, long-range Soviet missiles and other more established military technologies. Hezbollah operates more like an under-equipped private army than an over-equipped guerrilla organization.


What are Hamas Fatah and Hezbollah?

All three of these groups are Jihadist terrorist organizations with a number of discernible characteristics. The most common and identifiable Muslim terrorist action is the suicide bomber who blows himself up to take out some enemies as well as himself. Muslim terrorist organizations tell their membership that the fight in which they are engaged is part of the holy Islamic struggle of Jihad and anyone who opposes them is not properly guided. Therefore, Muslim terrorist organizations will identify what sect of Islam they belong to and whether or not they oppose the other sects. Most Muslim terrorists wish to inspire fear in their enemies and therefore primarily attack civilians, considering them part of the enemy. Some "moderate" non-associated clerics have defended these activities claiming that the civilians represent part of the group that "is opposed to Islam". Since Muslim terrorists exist in countries with a weak internal support structure, in many cases such as with Hezbollah, Hamas, or Fatah, they will use their own funds to build schools, parks, hospitals, and other social services in the communities they occupy. It provides goodwill with the local inhabitants and allows them to more effectively spread whatever messages they may wish to say. Finally, Muslim terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Fatah have all actively engaged in elections (Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Fatah in Palestine) with their own political parties. If the governments formed after these elections were not desirable to these parties, they engaged in military actions to force the national government to capitulate to their desires. In the case of Hezbollah this created a violent stand-off in Beirut and in the case of Hamas and Fatah, this prompted a Palestinian Civil War in Gaza and the West Bank.


Is Hamas a terrorist organization?

Yes. According to United States, European Union, Israel, and numerous impartial organizations, Hamas is a terrorist organization. There are others who critique that Hamas is more complex than just a terrorist organization. What makes it less clear is that Hamas has social and political wings. These wings promote the same ideology of the organization but its members do not necessarily commit the violent actions that the militant wing does. However, those members condone and provide support to the militants.


When was the group Hamas created?

1987 Question: are the Hamas is a pro- Jewish group.


Is Islamabad the Hamas?

No. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan. Hamas is a Terrorist/Paramilitary organization which governs the Gaza Strip of Palestine.

Related questions

What are 4 terrorist groups?

Irish Republican Army (IRA), Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Hamas


Who Syria support?

Syria support, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi resistance, and all freedom fighters in this world.


Do the Israelis fear Hezbollah more than Hamas?

Israelis fear Hezbollah's capabilities more than they fear Hamas's capabilities since Hezbollah has superior numbers, better training, and superior weaponry. However, Israelis fear Hamas more because Hamas is a persistent threat whereas Hezbollah has other issues on its radar, such as maintaining power in Lebanon, fighting to support Assad in Syria, and Iranian sloganeering.


Who Australia's enemies?

hamas hezbollah


What are Hezbollah's allies?

Hezbollah is directly supported by the Iranian and Syrian governments and Hezbollah also has a strong alliance with Hamas.


Why do Liberals support Israel?

Most true liberals do not support Israel, as they listen and consider propaganda from the lying mouths of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.


Who is the Islamic Shiite Resistance?

Hezbollah in Lebonan and Hamas in Palestine


What do Hezbollah and Hamas have in common?

Hamas and Hezbollah are Arab Muslim Terrorist and Paramilitary Organizations. Hamas operates out of Syria and the Gaza Strip while Hezbollah operates out of Syria and Lebanon.General CharacteristicsThe most common and identifiable Hamas terrorist action is the suicide bomber who blows himself up to take out some enemies as well as himself while Hezbollah and Hamas have increasingly used missiles and rockets. These organizations tell their membership that the fight in which they are engaged is part of the holy Islamic struggle of Jihad and anyone who opposes them is not properly guided. Therefore, Hamas and Hezbollah will identify what sect of Islam they belong to and whether or not they oppose the other sects. (Hamas is avowedly Sunni, but accepts Shiites because Iran provides most of its funding. Hezbollah is Shiite and does not recognize the validity of Sunni Islam.) Most Muslim terrorists wish to inspire fear in their enemies and therefore primarily attack civilians, considering them part of the enemy. Since Hamas and Hezbollah exist in countries with a weak internal support structure, in many cases they will use their own funds to build schools, parks, hospitals, and other social services in the communities they occupy. It provides goodwill with the local inhabitants and allows them to more effectively spread whatever messages they may wish to say. Finally, Hamas and Hezbollah have all actively engaged in elections (Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine) with their own political parties. If the governments formed after these elections were not desirable to these parties, they engaged in military actions to force the national government to capitulate to their desires. In the case of Hezbollah this created a violent stand-off in Beirut and in the case of Hamas, this prompted a Palestinian Civil War in Gaza and the West Bank.


How is Hamas different than Hezbollah?

Answer 1Hezbollah is against doctors and hospitals in the middle east because of the abuses that go on there by medical staff,forced medical treatment without the persons consent and other things that cannot be mentioned here.Hezbollah has always tried to change the unjust regeime that is Lebanon and protect the people.But Hamas is not helping the people and is working more for self gain.It has done nothing to protect the people of Gaza from Israel and there have been cases of Hamas the Government using torture in their prisons.Answer 2Religion: The clearest difference between Hamas and Hezbollah is that the former identifies as Sunni Islamists and the latter as Shiite Islamists. (Note: Islamist IS NOT a synonym of Muslim, it is a specific political term.) Islamic terrorist organizations tell their membership that the fight in which they are engaged is part of the holy Islamic struggle of Jihad and anyone who opposes them is not properly guided. Therefore, Muslim terrorist organizations will identify what sect of Islam they belong to and whether or not they oppose the other sects. Hamas and Hezbollah have both put out broadcasts claiming that Muslims of the other sects (Shiites for Hamas and Sunnis for Hezbollah) are Kuffar (Unbelievers) and will be punished by God for their sin.Social Welfare: Hamas and Hezbollah exist in countries with a weak internal support structure, in many cases such as with Hezbollah and Hamas they will use their own funds to build schools, parks, hospitals, and other social services in the communities they occupy. It provides goodwill with the local inhabitants and allows them to more effectively spread whatever messages they may wish to say. Since Hamas operates in the Gaza Strip, its institutions are there. Since Hezbollah operates in Lebanon and Syria, it builds its institutions there. Contrary to Answer 1, Hezbollah actually does build hospitals and fund medicine.Politics: Hezbollah and Hamas have actively engaged in elections with Hezbollah running in Lebanon and Hamas running in Palestine with their own political parties. If the governments formed after these elections were not desirable to these parties, they engaged in military actions to force the national government to capitulate to their desires. In the case of Hezbollah this created a violent stand-off in Beirut and in the case of Hamas, this prompted a Palestinian Civil War in Gaza and the West Bank to overthrow Fatah.


What is the terrorist group that is fighting for the freedom of the Palestinians?

Hamas in the Gaza strip Hezbollah in Lebanon


Are hamas sunnis?

Mostly Sunnis But many of them are converting to shia because of seeing successes of Shia Hezbollah.


What are some terrorist group?

The five main ones are alkida Taliban Hezbollah Hamas and debatably the Muslim brotherhood