The deportation of Marj al-Zuhur: The international consecration of Hamas and the establishment of ties with regional actors

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of Israel's expulsion of the main leaders of the Palestinian organization Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to the Lebanese town of Marj al-Zuhur in 1992. The text examines the historical circumstances surrounding Hamas at that time, the transformation that the experience brought about, which served to review and modernize its internal political and armed structures, and the impact it had on Hamas in terms of media coverage, especially for an Arab and Islamic audience. It also analyses how the so-called “Camp Jerusalem-The Return”, where the leaders settled, served as a “pilot programme” for a possible Islamist government and as a platform from which the organization deepened and created regional alliances that have proved significant in the decades since.