Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

HARAKAT UL ANSAR • 237diplomatically isolated. Following the dismissal of Haniyah as primeminister by the PA, Egypt, which recognizes the al Fatah–controlledPA government as the sole legal voice of the Palestinians, sealed itsborders with Gaza. Saudi Arabia, which formerly backed Hamas,has become less supportive due to fears of growing Iranian influenceand political destabilization of the Middle East, and supported theNovember 2008 Annapolis conference. Following the 10 January2008 announcement by al Fatah that it was disbanding the al AqsaMartyrs’ Brigade, Hamas carried out a suicide bombing in Dimona,Israel, on 4 February 2008 to undermine al Fatah’s credibility. Followingtalks by PA representatives with Hamas leaders in Gaza on17 June 2008 and following mediation between Israel and Hamas byEgypt, Hamas agreed to a hudna, or cease-fire, with Israel, effective19 June 2008, and also is attempting reconciliation with al Fatah.When the cease-fire lapsed without renewal on 19 December 2008,Hamas began launching rockets from Gaza into Israel. This provokedan Israeli incursion into Gaza beginning on 27 December 2008 thatlasted until 18 January 2009, in the course of which at least 13 Israelisand 1,370 Palestinians were killed and an estimated $2 billionin damages was inflicted on Gaza. The exact numbers of combatantversus noncombatant deaths among the Palestinians remains a matterof disagreement. Although Hamas and Israel declared separate ceasefireson 18 January after the IDF completed its withdrawal from Gazaon 21 Janaury 2009, there have been sporadic rocket attacks on Israelby Hamas to which Israel has responded with air strikes.HARAKAT UL ANSAR (HUA). The Harakat ul Ansar, or Movementof the Helpers, is an Islamic fundamentalist group involvedin Kashmiri separatism, formed in October 1993 from the mergerof the Harakat ul Mujahideen and the Harakat al Jihad al Islami.Indian terrorism analysts believe that HUA and the current Harakatul Mujahideen are the same group. In 1998 many of the 1,000 adherentswere split between the Harakat al Mujahideen group and theLashkar-e Tayyaba group, also active in the Kashmiri separatistinsurgency. About 60 percent of the active members are of Pakistanior Afghani origin rather than being natives of the Indian state ofJammu and Kashmir.On 4 July 1995 the HUA, operating under the name al Faran, kidnappedfive Western tourists. Until this time all such kidnappings