Hamas attacking Israel

[Provost]

1 hour ago, 24K said:

Hence why saying Palestinians deserves whatbis coming cause they voted for them is disingenuous. 

Yes, that would be the point even if his point about Hamas banning them was true… which it isn’t.

 

Even more nuanced is that there are pretty distinct and discrete  arms of Hamas and they don’t really have the same kind of fully centralized command like we see in western governments.  They have a loose politburo where the higher ups (most of whom don’t live in Gaza) have similar aims but are largely independently operated.
 

There is the political wing.  There is a social welfare wing that basically provide limited public stuff like garbage pick up, hospitals, schools, etc.  Then there is the militant wing, countries like the UK and Australia until recently only considered that wing as a terrorist organization.  In the EU they have listed and delisted Hamas as a terrorist organization depending on the court cases of the day and their own internal domestic temperature.

 

All that is to just say it is complicated.  Hamas also means your local garbage man, electrician, and sewer worker who haven’t done anything to anyone except make your poop go away when you flush your toilet.  They would have had no knowledge of any terrorist attacks or had any part of it.  The same as if you worked in the civil service here in something like the fisheries department…. it doesn’t mean you are in the army or if the army went to war you would be considered a combatant.

 

Does the destruction of Hamas also mean killing all the garbage men?  If Israel doesn’t distinguish between every day Palestinians for collective punishment, presumably civil service workers are on the list of vermin to be eradicated.

It also explains why there is some popularity for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, while at the same time every day citizens regularly are polled and found to want peace.  

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Provost

[bolt]

14 minutes ago, moosehead said:

 

 

This conflict is sickening . Enough is enough. No more innocent  civilian suffering.   

The time for peace is now.  Start the negotiations now.  Make peace. 

 

Colonialism should be a thing of past .   Historical.  injustices needs to redressed.

Apartheid / ethnic cleansing  should not be allowed to happen in 2023 in Israel. 

Yes, but both don't even recognize each other.  Both sides -(the radicals in power)  believe in apartheid.  Many believe the opposite side doesn't deserve any land, so it's not going to be easy.   

 

I was raised to curse Israel and pray for the destruction of Jews, writes AYAAN HIRSI ALI... That's why I know all too well Hamas is another ISIS - whatever useful idiots in the West say | Daily Mail Online

Edited October 13, 2023 by bolt

[moosehead]

2 minutes ago, bolt said:

Yes, but both don't even recognize each other.  Both sides -(the radicals in power)  believe in apartheid.  Many believe jews don't deserve any land, so it's not going to be easy.   

 

Just because it will not be easy does NOT mean it should not be done immediately.

 

If the world can get involved with peacemaking forces and help financially , i  sure any conflict can be resolved.

A 2 state solution needs to be negotiated.  NOW.    Both sides need to be forced to the table.  Both sides will need to make compromises.  

[Ryan Strome]

42 minutes ago, bolt said:

Gaza is controlled by Hamas.  If not why isn't there a resistance?

Trudeau has about 22% support of the country. However, he controls the country. Why isn't there resistance? Maybe because people don't want to be killed or go to jail? Maybe they want to see their kids again? Why don't you just answer the very direct question that was asked of you?

[Bob Long]

1 minute ago, Ryan Strome said:

Trudeau has about 22% support of the country. However, he controls the country. Why isn't there resistance?

 

its 33% overall, 43% with women.

 

1 minute ago, Ryan Strome said:

 

Maybe because people don't want to be killed or go to jail? Maybe they want to see their kids again? Why don't you just answer the very direct question that was asked of you?

 

bingo. 

[Ryan Strome]

Just now, Bob Long said:

 

its 33% overall, 43% with women.

 

 

bingo. 

#fakenews!

[JangoFett]

 

[bolt]

6 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

Trudeau has about 22% support of the country. However, he controls the country. Why isn't there resistance? Maybe because people don't want to be killed or go to jail? Maybe they want to see their kids again? Why don't you just answer the very direct question that was asked of you?

There are innocent people everywhere including in Gaza.    

[Provost]

47 minutes ago, bolt said:

You keep posting sympathizing with Hamas terrorists.   

"Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has fought three wars with it since seizing control of Gaza. It has also carried out scores of attacks over the past three decades that have killed hundreds of Israeli civilians."

 

 

Well the Hamas charter doesn’t actually say that.

 

It says it would recognize the 1967 borders (the internationally recognized ones) for a Palestinian State, but not formally recognize Israel as a state…. Same as Israel doesn’t recognize Palestine as a state.

 

It also makes a delineation between not wanting to wage war against Jewish people, but only Zionist expansion into their country.

 

Who knows if a Palestinian State would

work with the help of international peacekeepers to keep tensions down.  Maybe it wouldn’t, maybe it would.  Not a lot of trouble out of the Golan Heights and Cyprus nowadays… so we know peacekeeping forces between hated parties has the ability to work.  The alternative sure isn’t working.  The side that doesn’t want to try it is Israel which moves the bar every day away from any peaceful solution by becoming more and more right wing and anti-Arab.

 

If you are keeping score… Israel has carried out thousands of attacks over the past three decades on Palestinians, and on land that is internationally recognized as Palestinian.  Armed “civilian” settlers who are ex service members routinely stand shoulder to shoulder with Israeli police and military forces to kill Palestinians who protest being evicted from their homes.

[Ryan Strome]

Just now, bolt said:

There are innocent people everywhere including in Gaza.    

I appreciate that. Thank you. I think all that people are trying to make clear actually let me only speak for myself because that's all I can be sure of. the point I'm trying to make is Hamas needs to be eradicated! But we need to recognize Palestinian children are absolutely innocent in all this and Palestinian people are innocent. Indiscriminate killing will only make things worse for the Israelis. This is the mentality of world war II where the British and the Americans and I hate to admit it. The Canadians thought it was okay to just carpet bomb German cities. There is no way to know if somebody is a Hamas supporter or not. So to just indiscriminately bomb is wrong. Now, please don't ask me what the answer is because that I don't know, it's a very tricky situation. But what we could start by doing would be Israel to let Canadian, American, British etc citizens out of the Gaza strip which they haven't done thus far. In my opinion, the only way forward is a two-state solution that's respected by both sides, but under no circumstances can Hamas be the governing power. They aren't a warring party in this. They are a terrorist group in this. While I can agree if somebody says what were they supposed to fight with, I can agree with that. But killing innocent women and children on the Israeli side is no excuse either. They are just as innocent as innocent Palestinians.

[JangoFett]

The Israelis are doing to Palestiniens what the Nazis did to Jews under similar pretence of security of the nation. Somehow because they were hurt horrifically in the past makes it seemingly ok for them to carry on treating innocent palestiniens in similar horrific ways. 
 

the irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone. 

[King Heffy]

20 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

I appreciate that. Thank you. I think all that people are trying to make clear actually let me only speak for myself because that's all I can be sure of. the point I'm trying to make is Hamas needs to be eradicated! But we need to recognize Palestinian children are absolutely innocent in all this and Palestinian people are innocent. Indiscriminate killing will only make things worse for the Israelis. This is the mentality of world war II where the British and the Americans and I hate to admit it. The Canadians thought it was okay to just carpet bomb German cities. There is no way to know if somebody is a Hamas supporter or not. So to just indiscriminately bomb is wrong. Now, please don't ask me what the answer is because that I don't know, it's a very tricky situation. But what we could start by doing would be Israel to let Canadian, American, British etc citizens out of the Gaza strip which they haven't done thus far. In my opinion, the only way forward is a two-state solution that's respected by both sides, but under no circumstances can Hamas be the governing power. They aren't a warring party in this. They are a terrorist group in this. While I can agree if somebody says what were they supposed to fight with, I can agree with that. But killing innocent women and children on the Israeli side is no excuse either. They are just as innocent as innocent Palestinians.

Appreciate that although we disagree which side is most to blame, we can agree that Hamas cannot be allowed to govern.

[moosehead]

7 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Appreciate that although we disagree which side is most to blame, we can agree that Hamas cannot be allowed to govern.

 Most to blame.....  Yeah right....

 

It is a horrible conflict gone on way too long.   Time to look for solutions and not time to play the blame game. 

[Mike Vanderhoek]

43 minutes ago, moosehead said:

 

Just because it will not be easy does NOT mean it should not be done immediately.

 

If the world can get involved with peacemaking forces and help financially , i  sure any conflict can be resolved.

A 2 state solution needs to be negotiated.  NOW.    Both sides need to be forced to the table.  Both sides will need to make compromises.  

 

If the world could get involved over a cause to deter and stop the horrors of war and oppression you would have seen something if tangible quality come from the world community in regards to Ukraine over a year ago. Nobody is riding in on a white horse on this one sad to say.

 

Both sides in this conflict are to blame, nobody's hands are clean here and its doubtful either side stops to truly be constructive to better the whole of the region. That is the truly disappointing aspect, so many people brought up in this form of " normalcy " or conditioned and desensitized to it and who will dig their heals in rather than save face. 

 

You can see this in the tone of people in this very thread and so many people with a means to express through social media and the media. 

 

 

[moosehead]

Just now, Mike Vanderhoek said:

 

If the world could get involved over a cause to deter and stop the horrors of war and oppression you would have seen something if tangible quality come from the world community in regards to Ukraine over a year ago. Nobody is riding in on a white horse on this one sad to say.

 

Both sides in this conflict are to blame, nobody's hands are clean here and its doubtful either side stops to truly be constructive to better the whole of the region. That is the truly disappointing aspect, so many people brought up in this form of " normalcy " or conditioned and desensitized to it and who will dig their heals in rather than save face. 

 

You can see this in the tone of people in this very thread and so many people with a means to express through social media and the media. 

 

 

 

You may be right but i prefer to hope for / believe in a possible peace.   

 

[Mike Vanderhoek]

Just now, moosehead said:

 

You may be right but i prefer to hope for / believe in a possible peace.   

 

Oh I am right with you, its disgusting how humans can treat each other and cause so much pain and suffering and argue to justify it rather than just stop it and resolve the issues. People suck.

[Canuck Surfer]

8 hours ago, Provost said:

Now imagine it it the 2000’s and you replace Warsaw with Gaza.  The ghetto is about to be obliterated and the world is cheering instead of mobilizing against it.

 

I don't think you can turn back the clock, request 1940's boundaries?  And at the time, it was British rule. 

 

I condemn the expulsion of Palestinians as it occurred. I also call for a homeland for them now. Palestinian style displacement was unfortunately not only common, but truthfully minor compared to events of WWI & WWII. Dozens upon dozens of cultures suffered, not just at Nazi hands, also by each other. Imagine if Germany asked for Prussia back today, including Kaliningrad? We would have WWIII?

 

I also share concerns over Israeli heavy handedness. I call for Jewish settlers to leave occupied territories. Jewish people were offered some reparations by Nazi Germany over their losses.  It would get a talk started to offer land owners who lost properties. They absolutely need to stop indignant acts, armed marches by RW ultra conservatives going door to door, mosque to mosque beating and doing things we know should not occur.  Accountable security, and transparent review of incidents, particularly where occupied territory civilians die. 

 

That said? 

 

Much of the ME's leadership is made up of warlords. Israel has been at war, in many cases for good reasons within the context of their own security.  Warlords, who rise from the ghetto, as has been mentioned?  Are rarely, by my observation & opinion, representing the best interests of the people in Gaza & elsewhere.  Religious minorities experience genocide like oppression in almost every ME autocratic country, Kingdom.  Human rights abuses inclusive where whort of genocide. Almost all 'countries' in Islamic & Arabic ME/Africa have these issues.  Forgiving calling Hamas leadership the last 18 years, Palestinian's really have not had their own sovereign territory for nearly 200 years. Islamic leaders are as much an issue as Israel. 

 

Their own leaders were among the reasons why their expulsion occurred, again condemning that it happened. Their own leadership engaged in their own thirst for power, and wealth amongst illegal trade. Without significant regard for Palestinian welfare. Happy to use gangs & gang control to establish control over what territory they do have in Palestine.  I suspect Hamas, Asaad, Saddam Hussein, Iran, Egypt or similar, probably Russia would all be fighting for control over Palestine if the West, and Israel were not part of the current picture. There is no rule of law in Gaza, its gang warfare. Its unfortunate Israel treats that with contempt. Almost the entirety of the ME world had and does condemn Israel to death. 

 

So with lawless boundaries on all sides, perhaps save Jordan? (?) Even occupied territories as a buffer are almost, well in reality they are, a necessity for Israeli survival.  Again mentioning disdain for abuses within occupied territory. Israel needs to act within the law.  Yet, so do Islamic nations surrounding it. That Lebanon & Gaza, Syria are led by miltia and warlords contributes nothing to any confidence Israel will receive peace even if they behave as they should. 

 

But I call for Israel, a first world nation, to take the first step towards peace by showing restraint. By committing to a rule of law within its security borders. 

 

I call for Islamic nations to recognize Israel, negotiate a rule of law outside gun runners and civil war, even amongst each other.  Help establish a Palestinian sovereign territory, one for Yazidi as well, Kurds. Not slaughter and displace them either. Provide a footprint for law and order in territories, probably demilitarized, surrounding Israel & these new nations. Be part of a world community that recognizes the rights of all peoples. Israel to do the same, be a leader in establishing functioning governance and investment within said nations.

 

 

[King Heffy]

13 minutes ago, moosehead said:

 Most to blame.....  Yeah right....

 

It is a horrible conflict gone on way too long.   Time to look for solutions and not time to play the blame game. 

UN peacekeepers are the only realistic solution.

[bolt]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

UN peacekeepers are the only realistic solution.

Yup, there's no way negotiating with a Hamas terrorist will result in peace.

Edited October 13, 2023 by bolt

[Provost]

4 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

UN peacekeepers are the only realistic solution.

Which legislatively means there must be a peace to keep before the UN sends peacekeepers.  That is the way it works.  Imposing a peace and sending in troops would be something new.

 

Both sides need to be brought to a table and hammer out a peace.  The UN can then support by enforcing the terms of that peace.

 

It probably starts with 1967 borders and removal of Israeli settlers in those areas.  International control of Jerusalem like was originally the case.  Probably in the short term at least a buffer zone between the two sides.  A commitment to a free and fair election in both Palestine and Israel.  A shit ton of reconstruction aid for Palestine to start them having a viable economy.  Access for UN arms inspectors to know that either side isn’t using a peace to build capacity to launch more war.

 

Smarter people than me, including many liberal Israelis and Palestinians know what this would need to look like and have studied it.

 

It isn’t impossible, it just needs political will.

[Darius]

3 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said:

 

I don't think you can turn back the clock, request 1940's boundaries?  And at the time, it was British rule. 

 

I condemn the expulsion of Palestinians as it occurred. I also call for a homeland for them now. Palestinian style displacement was unfortunately not only common, but truthfully minor compared to events of WWI & WWII. Dozens upon dozens of cultures suffered, not just at Nazi hands, also by each other. Imagine if Germany asked for Prussia back today, including Kaliningrad? We would have WWIII?

 

I also share concerns over Israeli heavy handedness. I call for Jewish settlers to leave occupied territories. Jewish people were offered some reparations by Nazi Germany over their losses.  It would get a talk started to offer land owners who lost properties. They absolutely need to stop indignant acts, armed marches by RW ultra conservatives going door to door, mosque to mosque beating and doing things we know should not occur.  Accountable security, and transparent review of incidents, particularly where occupied territory civilians die. 

 

That said? 

 

Much of the ME's leadership is made up of warlords. Israel has been at war, in many cases for good reasons within the context of their own security.  Warlords, who rise from the ghetto, as has been mentioned?  Are rarely, by my observation & opinion, representing the best interests of the people in Gaza & elsewhere.  Religious minorities experience genocide like oppression in almost every ME autocratic country, Kingdom.  Human rights abuses inclusive where whort of genocide. Almost all 'countries' in Islamic & Arabic ME/Africa have these issues.  Forgiving calling Hamas leadership the last 18 years, Palestinian's really have not had their own sovereign territory for nearly 200 years. Islamic leaders are as much an issue as Israel. 

 

Their own leaders were among the reasons why their expulsion occurred, again condemning that it happened. Their own leadership engaged in their own thirst for power, and wealth amongst illegal trade. Without significant regard for Palestinian welfare. Happy to use gangs & gang control to establish control over what territory they do have in Palestine.  I suspect Hamas, Asaad, Saddam Hussein, Iran, Egypt or similar, probably Russia would all be fighting for control over Palestine if the West, and Israel were not part of the current picture. There is no rule of law in Gaza, its gang warfare. Its unfortunate Israel treats that with contempt. Almost the entirety of the ME world had and does condemn Israel to death. 

 

So with lawless boundaries on all sides, perhaps save Jordan? (?) Even occupied territories as a buffer are almost, well in reality they are, a necessity for Israeli survival.  Again mentioning disdain for abuses within occupied territory. Israel needs to act within the law.  Yet, so do Islamic nations surrounding it. That Lebanon & Gaza, Syria are led by miltia and warlords contributes nothing to any confidence Israel will receive peace even if they behave as they should. 

 

But I call for Israel, a first world nation, to take the first step towards peace by showing restraint. By committing to a rule of law within its security borders. 

 

I call for Islamic nations to recognize Israel, negotiate a rule of law outside gun runners and civil war, even amongst each other.  Help establish a Palestinian sovereign territory, one for Yazidi as well, Kurds. Not slaughter and displace them either. Provide a footprint for law and order in territories, probably demilitarized, surrounding Israel & these new nations. Be part of a world community that recognizes the rights of all peoples. Israel to do the same, be a leader in establishing functioning governance and investment within said nations.

 

 

Your posts are always well thought out and interesting because they dont look at the issue in isolation - the whole region has a complicated history that needs to be considered.

 

Since you bring up the Kurds -Id be interested in hearing your opinion on the the Kurds.  A stateless people that have been massacred, displaced, and treated horribly by the countries that have taken control of their lands.  

 

There are many similarities between the Kurds and the Palestinians imho - there are differences of course.  The primary difference imho is the Palestinians are being used in a geopolitical tug of war to keep the region destabilized.  The state sponsors of the extremists/Hamas want to manipulate the stability in the region so it is in their interest to keep the Palestinians in a perpetual state of conflict.  Afterall, what was Hamas' (and their sponsors) motivation in what they did and how did it serve their populace?  Surely they knew the Israelis would follow with their decades long precedent and  respond with overwhelming force and this would only perpetuate the issue. This does not (obviously) absolve Israel's role in the matter - nor its sponsors who push for hegemony in the region.  So while Turkey and other Islamic nations call out the Israelis some of them have a significant Kurdish population that they have treated - and continue to treat-horribly.  I am trying to wrap my head around this.

 

[Sharpshooter]

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BE KIND, EMPATHIZE OR USE THE IGNORE FUNCTION. 

 

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[Provost]

36 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said:

 

I don't think you can turn back the clock, request 1940's boundaries?  

 

I certainly didn’t suggest that, and I haven’t seen anyone on here suggest it.

 

Almost universally, it is recognized that the 1967 borders are the framework for peace.  Not even the 1948 borders.

 

People can have absolutely valid arguments as to the level of injustice the creation of Israel in the middle of Palestine.  It was certainly unjust to the Palestinians.  It was done to balance out injustices to Jews.  That doesn’t mean it is really possible to go back and undo it… no more than reconciling with indigenous people here means packing up and going to Europe or wherever folks came from.

 

https://www.un.org/unispal/history2/origins-and-evolution-of-the-palestine-problem/part-i-1917-1947/

 

 

[Alflives]

2 hours ago, moosehead said:

 

It all depends on  how important it is for Israel to get the  100-150  Israeli hostages back alive.... 

 

Israel has 4500 palestinian hostages locked up in Israel also....

So children are the equivalent to adult terrorists? 
Make Alf understand how these are the same. 

1 hour ago, moosehead said:

 Most to blame.....  Yeah right....

 

It is a horrible conflict gone on way too long.   Time to look for solutions and not time to play the blame game. 

Isn’t hard for Israel to recognize HAMAS though? Maybe the Palestinian people need to push these HSMAS terrorists out into the open? 

[Coconuts]

2 hours ago, bolt said:

Gaza is controlled by Hamas.  If not why isn't there a resistance?

 

On 10/12/2023 at 12:45 PM, Coconuts said:

 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/protests-against-hamas-reemerge-in-the-streets-of-gaza-but-will-they-persist/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-security-forces-disperse-rare-protests-against-the-group-in-gaza/

 

https://apnews.com/article/gaza-hamas-demonstration-israel-blockade-palestinians-306b19228f9dd21f1036386ce3709672

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/world/middleeast/gaza-strip-protests-hamas.html

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60173481

 

Let's work through them, picking out chunks from each. It's pretty clear why pushback against Hamas doesn't happen as often as you'd like. The Palestinian people aren't impacted by one oppressive force, but two. 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Link 1.

 

Given the near-complete absence of free media in the Strip, it is difficult for outside analysts to gauge how many people participated in the latest round of protests. According to videos circulating on social media, numbers seemed to be significantly larger in the first demonstration than in the second, when Hamas’s security apparatus adopted preventive measures.

 

Protests were scheduled to take place once again throughout the strip on Monday. However, Hamas came prepared to thwart them.

 

“In all the locations where we announced that gatherings would take place, there was a heavy presence of civilian and military security, and police cars everywhere,” a source inside Gaza told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

 

“Whenever two people were walking together, they were forbidden to stop on the street, after not even a minute [security forces] would go up to them and tell them ‘get out of here or we will take you with us,'” he said.

 

“People are much more outspoken against Hamas on social media today than they were 10 or five years ago,” said Rami Aman, a prominent Gazan peace activist living in Cairo, and a critic of the terror group that rules the enclave. “Back then, people would not dare make their opinions heard online for fear of retaliation.”

 

“There is not a single family in Gaza that has not suffered at the hands of Hamas in one way or another, because of arrests or persecution. People are tired of having no opportunities and no way out. The only way to make a decent living is to be affiliated with Hamas. If you want to apply for a government job, you need a letter from your mosque,” he explained.

 

Popular discontent with the Hamas regime in Gaza has been simmering for years. Since the group wrested control of the coastal strip from the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority in 2007, large-scale protests have taken place on several occasions, most recently in April 2015, January 2017 and again in 2019. Each time, protests were repressed by Hamas security forces and did not lead to any significant changes for the local population.

 

 

On the afternoon of July 30 marches took place throughout Gaza, with protesters chanting “shame” against the regime. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, while some were filmed tearing up the Hamas flag.

In one case, some people reportedly burned the group’s banner, before security services quickly intervened to break up the gathering.

 

In preparation for the following round of protests on August 4, Hamas rounded up dozens of activists in the days prior, according to local activists. Videos on social media showed Hamas security forces deploying in large numbers throughout the Strip on Friday morning, hours before the start of the protests. Hamas also rallied its own base and organized counter-protests in support of the regime.

 

 

“Hamas, since its coup against the legitimate ruler [the PA], has not made any improvement to the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, and has not been able to provide the basic services that our people are deprived of, such as electricity,” al-Bardeni added.

 

“The uprising of the people of Gaza against Hamas is not surprising even for those who voted for them in the 2006 elections,” he said, referencing the last elections held in the Palestinian territories, “because Hamas eventually reneged on all their slogans.”

 

“Still, 70 percent of the Gazan population receives food aid from international humanitarian organizations, and unemployment stands at 45%. The work permits granted by Israel to about 17,000 Gazan laborers are only a drop in the ocean,” he said. “Every year, tens of thousands of young Gazans finish college, but they have no employment opportunities, and nowhere else to go.

 

Under a regime that does not allow room for political dissent, electricity has become the rallying cause for citizens to express their grievances.

 

Mustafa said that with over 70% youth unemployment and an average per capita income per day of NIS 20, or $5.5, intermittent access to electricity, and undrinkable tap water, life in the enclave is barely livable for the vast majority of citizens who are not somehow tied to Hamas.

 

Leaving the Strip requires at least $10,000 to be smuggled out illegally, with high chances of dying on the way to freedom, he added. This is all because “Gazan civilians are exploited as a pawn in a struggle between regional forces, and Hamas uses its citizens as human shields to defend its project of ‘Islamic resistance’ while it silences and threatens to kill any opposition,” he continued.

 

 

“The Israeli side looks at us as terrorists, not as people with dreams and aspirations,” Mustafa said. “But the reality is quite different: Most of the people of Gaza are innocent civilians living in dire humanitarian conditions. They only dream of a decent life, freedom, justice, peace and democratic elections.

 

“This is why people took to the streets. To demand their most basic rights, an improvement in their living conditions, an end to poverty, unemployment, the lack of water and electricity, and to protest the imposition of power by force, being silenced and spied on,” he said.

 

“You can divide the people of Gaza in two: a large majority living under the poverty line, and a small ruling elite affiliated with Hamas and other Islamist factions, who live off the funding received by the ‘resistance,’” he added.

 

Link 2.

 

 

Hamas-run security forces broke up protests against the terror group in the Gaza Strip Thursday, eyewitnesses said, cracking down on a rare public show of dissent in the coastal enclave.

Dozens of security officials, many in plain clothes, dispersed a demonstration in northern Gaza, the eyewitnesses said. Dozens of people had been protesting there.

 

In a separate protest in central Gaza, dozens of people demonstrated, including by setting tires on fire.

 

The protests had been organized to call for an improvement in the quality of life in Gaza, which suffers from high unemployment, widespread poverty and poor electricity and water infrastructure

 

Hamas seized Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in a 2007 near civil war. The terror group had surprisingly won Palestinian parliamentary elections a year earlier. Since then it has controlled Gaza, while the PA has maintained limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

 

Link 3.

 

Several thousand people briefly took to the streets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday to protest chronic power outages and difficult living conditions, providing a rare public show of discontent with the territory’s Hamas government. Hamas security forces quickly dispersed the gatherings.

 

Marches took place in Gaza City, the southern town of Khan Younis and other locations, chanting “what a shame” and in one place burning Hamas flags, before police moved in and broke up the protests.

 

Hamas rules Gaza with an iron fist, barring most demonstrations and quickly stamping out public displays of dissent.

 

Protesters also criticized Hamas for deducting a roughly $15 fee from monthly $100 stipends given to Gaza’s poorest families by the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar.

 

Link 4.

 

Requires a subscription, but again, another news story. Find a workaround if you really want to read it. 

 

Link 5. 

 

Hundreds of Palestinian activists have been taking part in a rare online event strongly criticising Hamas governance of the Gaza Strip.

 

Living conditions in Gaza are dire. There is a severe lack of water, poor sewage treatment and long daily power cuts. Some 67% of the youth workforce are unemployed - with the highest figures among graduates.

 

The economy has been badly hit by the pandemic and an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in May 2021. However, it is unusual to hear residents voice any complaints about those in charge out of fear.

 

"Hamas has billions of dollars in investments in many countries, while people [in Gaza] starve to death and migrate in search of work," said another activist, Amer Balosha, during the social media event.

 

In 2019, demonstrations over the high price of food and lack of jobs brought hundreds of Gazans out on the streets of city centres and refugee camps. They were of a scale and intensity that had not previously been seen under Hamas's iron rule.

 

Videos shared online showed security services hitting people and shooting live ammunition into the air to disperse the crowds.