Overview

An examination performed in January 2005 ¹ revealed that five of Hamas' seven leading Internet sites have Eastern European ISPs ²: three in Russia and two in the Ukraine . A Hamas English-language site had its ISP in Indonesia .

More recently (beginning October 2005), we examined nine of Hamas' leading Internet sites to determine whether their ISPs had changed. The examination revealed that most of Hamas' sites still use Eastern European (Russian and Ukrainian) and South East Asian (Malaysian and Indonesian) ISPs . Another leading site receives its ISP services from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) . In certain instances ( Russia and the Ukraine ) even the ISP companies are the same as they were in January 2005 .

It should be noted that some of the aforementioned countries play host to liaison personnel employed, in our assessment, by Hamas and linked to the operator of the organization's Internet infrastructure in Beirut . The entire infrastructure is operated by Nizar al-Hussein from the office of Osama Hamdan, the head of the Hamas branch in Lebanon , himself, in our assessment, guided by Hamas' headquarters in Damascus .

In addition, secondary Hamas Internet sites were examined. Two of them have Russian ISPs, and the others receive their services from Malaysia , Saudi Arabia , Kuwait/Sudan and Netherlands (one in each country).

Hamas' leading Internet sites

Www.palestine-info.net is the Hamas terrorist organization's leading group of sites (a main site and several secondary sites) , operating under the cover name of “The Palestinian Information Center . ” It first appeared in 1998 and began regular operations in 1999. It provides both basic information and current news and is primarily oriented towards Hamas, its ideology and history. It posts official announcements and interviews with high-ranking members of the movement, and vicious hate propaganda aimed at Israel and on occasion at the Palestinian Authority (PA). It also encourages acts of terrorism against Israeli targets and praises the terrorists who commit them. In addition, it conducts surveys and “research” and provides propaganda and “information,” including posters and pictures.

The main site is in Arabic and has links to sister sites in English , French , Farsi ( Iran ), Urdu ( Pakistan ), Russian and Malaysian (currently inoperative). Each link and its contents are different and designed with the target populations in mind. Each link also has its own ISP (See below).

The site's home page, with links to sites in seven languages:
“The voice of Palestine [calls out] to the world, and the voice of the world [calls out] to Palestine .”  

The main site in Arabic

The main site in Arabic is Hamas' most important Internet presence and serves as its primary “information” and propaganda tool, aimed at both the Palestinians and other target audiences in Arab and Muslim countries, as well as in Arab and Muslim communities around the world; it is regularly updated on a daily, often hourly, basis. During the disengagement Hamas assiduously inundated its readers with postings, pictures and announcements about disengagement progress and Hamas activity. The site served as the spearhead of the propaganda campaign Hamas conducted against Israel and the PA . It repeatedly referred to Israel 's withdrawal as a Hamas “victory” and stated that the movement was firm in its commitment not to disarm, and to continue its terrorist attacks on Israel until its destruction .

The main site in Arabic – unusual for an Internet site – has at least three different URLs, each provided by a different ISP . That might suggest a desire to reach as wide an audience as possible and/or it might be a security measure stemming from the fear that one of more of the sites might be shut down at the result of political or technical factors.

The ISPs for the main site in Arabic are located in three countries in three different geographical areas, each with its own political orientation: Russia , the UAE and Malaysia . In our assessment, all three are countries Hamas considers resistant to external pressures which might be exerted to suspend ISP services and close the sites , thus preventing the proliferation of Hamas terrorist and hate propaganda. This is not the first time Hamas has used ISPs in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia ; it is a common phenomenon .

Information about the three addresses of the Arabic site

The address of the first site in Arabic ( www.palestine-info.com ):

The address of the second site in Arabic ( http://palestine-info.info/index.html ):

The address of the third site in Arabic ( www.palestine-info.net ):

The English link ( www.palestine-info.co.uk ):
The contents and style of the English link are different from the Arabic sites and adapted to the English-speaking target audience in the Western world. The site posts mainly news stories written from Hamas' point of view which contain a much lower level of hate propaganda than what appears on the Arabic site.

The Russian link ( palestine-info.ru ):

The Urdu (the official language of Pakistan ) link ( palestine-info-urdo.com )

The Farsi link ( palestine-persian.info ):

Other leading Hamas Internet sites

An official site of the Hamas leadership based in Damascus ( www.infopalestina.com ) is operated from Beirut , and also appears in Arabic, English, French, Farsi, Urdu Russian and Malaysian.

The official site of the Izzedine al-Qassam Battalions, Hamas' terrorist-operative wing ( alqassam.ws/arabic/ -- there is a link to the site in English as well):

Other Hamas Websites

Hamas has an online children's magazine called Al-Fateh ( www.al-fateh.net ). The first issue appeared in September 2002 and it has appeared monthly since. The site features comics, poems, entertainment and stories celebrating the heroism of the shaheeds (martyrs for the sake of Allah). The format is comic strip-like and is user-friendly for an audience of young readers. Every new issue is widely publicized on Hamas' main site.

Hamas' official forum ( www.palestinianforum.net ):

The site features chat rooms for various subjects (politics, culture and history, Muslim religious law and faith). It provides a forum for Hamas activists and supporters to express their opinions . In October 2004 the site's general manager announced it would cease its activity because, he claimed, of an official request lodged by the Russian government to close down the server. However, the site continues functioning with the same IP and continues receiving its services from the same Russian company whose details appear below:

The site of the Islamic Block, Hamas' student wing ( www.alkotla.com ). It posts articles encouraging terrorism and glorifying the suicide bombers as role models, and serves as a forum for indoctrination: