Hamas – which translates as the Islamic Resistance Movement – is leading a military operation in response to decades of Israeli aggression and atrocities against the Palestinian people and the repeated desecration of the Sacred al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, al-Quds. The Palestinian Islamic Jihaad movement is also engaged in the campaign. A defining element and the guiding principle of these resistance outfits is that their approach is underpinned by Islamic principle.

Media sympathetic to Israel incessantly characterise the Palestinian resistance as an indiscriminate one which deliberately targets civilians. What are the Islamic tenets guiding military engagement and acts during times of war?

Guest: Sheikh Dr Shahid Mathee – Senior lecturer in the Department of Religion Studies. University of Johannesburg