Donnerstag, 04.10.2018 / 22:51 Uhr

Proteste gegen die Hamas in Gaza

Von
Aus dem Netz

Al-Monitor über jüngste Proteste gegen die Herrschaft der Hamas im Gazastreifen

Virtually all Israeli and international media outlets were unaware of other protests in recent weeks that were generated by opponents of Gaza’s Hamas rulers. One of the main reasons for this lack of publication is that Palestinian media in the Strip does not dare publish “the banned things” to which almost every Gaza resident has been exposed in recent weeks.

They are protesting against the terrible reality imposed on them by Hamas since it took control of Gaza by force in 2007.

What are these “banned things”? They are the underground activities taking place alongside the public protests against Israel while residents openly and almost fearlessly express themselves against Hamas. They are protesting against the terrible reality imposed on them by Hamas since it took control of Gaza by force in 2007.

Al-Monitor has learned that dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in recent weeks in the Khan Yunis refugee camp and the adjacent Abasan neighborhood. They called on Hamas to take care of its people or “disappear” — a few waved signs against what they termed Gaza’s “dictatorial regime.” Similar protests took place some two weeks ago in the Shabura camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and in the northern Gaza refugee camp Jabalia. Some protests turned into altercations between Hamas supporters and protesters. The latter claimed Gaza’s rulers had taken the Strip back to the Middle Ages; supporters accused the demonstrators of treason and aiding the Zionist enemy.

Tensions between Hamas supporters and opponents have intensified following the US decision announced Sept. 1 to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and uncertainty over the future of the organization that provides food and schooling for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Protests against the aid agency erupted around UNRWA compounds in southern and northern Gaza, and threats were made against the lives of senior agency officials. Mass clashes broke out between Hamas supporters and opponents over who was responsible for this state of affairs.