George Szamuely in his article
Israel’s Hamas refers to the UPI article posted:
The terrorist organization Hamas is largely an Israeli creation. A UPI story last year quoted a U.S. government official as saying: "The thinking on the part of some of the right-wing Israeli establishment was that Hamas and the other groups, if they gained control, would refuse to have anything to do with the peace process and would torpedo any agreements put in place." UPI story from 6/18/2002:
Hamas history tied to Israel
Good find. It is more likely that Israel, or any other country,
would attempt to create division in the opposition than they would not. Why some are so defensive about it is a puzzle. Perhaps there is a lot more here we don't know about and they do. That is usually the case when someone denies the obvious.
This would not be the first time Israel has been a victim of Blow-Back. Ranks right up with Operation Susannah if that is the case.