CBN.com - JERUSALEM — While the battle against terrorism continues in Afghanistan, there are numerous terrorist groups in other places ready to strike their enemies. One such Palestinian group targets civilians, including Americans, leading the U.S. State Department to list them as a terrorist group. This is "Hamas," which in Arabic means "excitement."

What excites Hamas is fighting enemies, especially Israel, as a so-called Islamic liberation movement. But what motivates these warriors and why is the U.S. a target as well? CBN News interviewed one of the founders of Hamas and received some disturbing answers.

Footage of Hamas rallies shows how they literally call on Palestinian Muslim fighters to liberate them from the infidels. That liberation means bloody operations, including suicide bombings throughout Israel, on a smaller scale, but not unlike the Trade Center terror in New York. They also employ kidnapping and assassinations.

Groups like Hamas believe that by ascribing the terror to Islam, Muslims worldwide will rise up and protect the group from punishment for their deadly deeds.

Like the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's network, Hamas has gained support and sympathy from many Muslims. They are calling on the U.S. to stop the bombing in Afghanistan because some innocent Afghan Muslims are being killed unintentionally. But they make no reference to the thousands of victims intentionally slaughtered in the September 11^th terror.

But how does Hamas fit into the worldwide campaign of terror? From Gaza, Dr. Abed el Salam Rantisi, one of the founders of Hamas, explained to CBN News the link between Hamas, bin Laden and the Islamic movement.

"We consider ourselves inseparable from the Muslim nation. We are a part of this nation which consists of more than one billion, 300 million Muslims. This is our Islamic vision. The truth is we are defending Muslim land, the al-Aqsa mosque which is the prophet's place of worship," Rantisi said.

The mosque is in Jerusalem next to the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall. Osama bin Laden has called that mosque the second holiest site in Islam. When asked if some Muslims would consider bombings a curse on Islam, Rantisi said, "We are at the first foxhole fighting for all Muslim nations to defend the land of Islam and Islamic holy sites."

The Palestinian Muslims of Hamas feel they are the victims, trapped, robbed of their homeland — to the point where they have built up myths about their enemies. Many actually believe the Holocaust was concocted by the Jews. They also believe thousands of Jews were warned not to go into work at the World Trade Center towers because the Jews planned that as well. There are also myths about American involvement in Middle East tension, going back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

"There is no way out except to remove the causes of the tension and one of the reasons is that there were Americans and Europeans calling themselves Jews came with a racist mentality and they drove us from our homeland," Rantisi claimed.

In other words, Rantisi believes Americans pretended to be Jews to start the nation of Israel more than 50 years ago.

So Hamas shouts phrases like, "burn them, kill them, cut them into pieces..." They hope this incitement of hate and violence will help drive the Jewish nation out of existence. But the question that baffles westerners is why would a Palestinian father teach his own child to embrace hatred and death, even his own? We asked Rantisi why not give children the opportunity to be educated and join civilized society?

"What are you expecting from him? Will his training be in how to work with a computer and join civilization? But the [important training] is a national mobilization of all the Palestinian people," Rantisi said. That is, a mobilization for war based on hatred, especially for Israel.

Rantisi insists this is what any nation would do in a similar situation. Hamas views Israel as their oppressors and the primary source of their problems. But America runs a close second because, to the warriors of Hamas, most Americans are infidels and supporters of Israel. Although they claim America is not a target, a number of Americans have died at the hands of Hamas suicide bombers.

"At this time when America is fully supporting the Zionist enemy, [the Americans] will lose on a daily basis their credibility in the sight of Arabs and Muslims and will ignite the fires of [our] aggression," Rantisi said.

Hamas remains on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorists, but the Bush administration has not made them a top priority, perhaps because Hamas has not specifically targeted Americans. Still, Hamas is certain to have a major impact on the balance of power in the Middle East, as it continues to use the tools of terrorism against Israelis and their friends.