Australia/Israel Review

The people of Gaza have finally turned on Hamas publicly. As a Palestinian human-rights activist, I can’t say I’m shocked. Those of us who long for Palestinian governance free of violence and corruption have certainly waited long enough. 

The massive protests in recent weeks against the terror organisation that oppresses Gaza with an iron fist have created visuals that were stunning.

Large crowds of perhaps thousands of people marched through the streets of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, chanting slogans like “For god’s sake, Hamas out” and “Hamas terrorists”, and even calling to free the hostages that Hamas abducted during its horrific invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023.

How did Hamas come to power in Gaza? Through a brutal act of military conquest in 2007 that involved throwing supporters of the Fatah opposition party off tall buildings, causing a complete political split with the Palestinian Authority (PA) Government in the West Bank, a split that has now lasted 18 years.

Hamas was never elected to lead Gaza, and while it did win an election for the PA legislature in 2006, the PA suspended the legislature in 2007 and formally dissolved it in 2018. The PA’s leader, Mahmoud Abbas, 89, is currently serving the 21st year of the four-year term he was elected to in 2005.

So much for Palestinian democracy.

What kind of government has Hamas given Gazans instead? In a word, theocracy. 

Hamas’ repression, inspired by a harsh interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, is brutal. Women require the presence of a male guardian to travel outside their homes. LGBTQ+ individuals face torture and execution. Children under Hamas rule are brainwashed into believing that Israelis and Jews, including civilians, are evil and must be destroyed – even at the cost of “martyrdom”.

Hamas is turning the Gazan people into cannon fodder for its endless wars.

Hamas uses its own people as human shields, using residents to disguise military activities, including by launching attacks from civilian sites like schools, hospitals, mosques and churches. As for the lifesaving aid that the world, and Israel, delivered for the benefit of the civilian population in Gaza, even at the height of the military action, Hamas stole and repurposed it to benefit itself. Hamas has even used civilian water pipes to make rockets to attack Israel.

Palestinian polling consistently shows that Hamas is much less popular in Gaza than in the West Bank. The Gazan people, having actually suffered the reality of Hamas’ rule, are opposed to its hateful ideology – similar to the Europeans who fled the Eastern Bloc after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Hamas consistently attempts to present a falsely moderate face to the West. America’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff recently said that Hamas “duped” him into thinking it was interested in a deal to release the hostages and end the fighting. No such luck, sadly – the diehards of Hamas are true believers. Their core interest is controlling the Palestinian population, accumulating wealth and armed support from terror states like Iran and Qatar, and waging an endless war on Israel against the wishes of the Gazans themselves.

It’s time to listen to the people of Gaza, not the terrorists who control their lives. The ongoing protests against Hamas by the Gazan people are just the beginning. The people of Gaza are well aware that it’s not only the captive Israelis but the whole Gazan population who are being used as hostages by these thugs. It’s time to listen to the authentic voice of Gaza and set its people free by dismantling Hamas for good.

Bassem Eid is a Palestinian human-rights activist. He lives in the West Bank. © Jewish News Syndicate (JNS.org), reprinted by permission, all rights reserved.