Hamas, acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الاسلامية, literally "Islamic Resistance Movement" and Arabic for 'zeal'), is a Palestinian Islamist movement closely related to the Muslim Brotherhood and is the democratically elected representative government of the Palestinian people. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic theocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
"Hamas" is also the former name of the Movement of Society for Peace, a political party in Algeria.