The future of Palestinian protests against Hamas
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 through force and repression of any voice opposed to the regime. The Qassam Brigades are the main tool of repression, along with the secret security force Al-Majd. According to Al Arab, ‘Hamas' legitimacy is based on military action, not on the provision of services.’
On 25 March, Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip took to the streets to demonstrate against the armed Islamist movement, chanting slogans such as ‘Go away, Hamas!’ as they marched from the north to the south of the territory.
Since then, citizens of the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza have organised several marches in which, according to Amnesty International, they have called for an end to the genocide, the displacement of people initiated by Israel and the overthrow of the Hamas regime.
Something that caught the attention of researcher Ethan Kaufman is that, according to a report published by the Jamestown Foundation, the dissidents were not specifically seeking an end to the conflict with Israel, but rather rose up in protest against the failure to protect civilians from the consequences of 7 October 2023.
Unlike previous dissident groups, Hamas did not exercise the same repressive force due to the death of thousands of its militants in the war against Israel. As a result, the demonstrations were massive. The strategy chosen by the group to prevent the protests from being truly effective was selective repression.
Assassinations and arrests were carried out, such as that of Uday Rubai, a young activist who was killed and whose body was used as a means of intimidation. Or, for example, there is the case of Abdul Rahman Abu Samra, another young activist who was assassinated and whose family carried out revenge by killing the Hamas policeman responsible.
Although there have been no protests as large as those in March, Al Arab stressed that this is because Hamas' efforts have been focused more on internal repression in order to maintain control throughout the war.
However, with the deterioration of the armed Islamist movement, it is possible that future protests will have better results, or at least be less repressive.
Testimonies from protesters who were assaulted
In May, Amnesty International expressed concern about the repression of Palestinian citizens based on threats, harassment, intimidation and other means by Hamas security forces against dissidents.
In its report, it interviewed several participants and relatives of the protests. ‘They described incidents of protest participants who had been summoned for questioning (...) who had been beaten with sticks, and in some cases threatened with being shot,’ the report explained.
The accounts of those interviewed reflect the severe restrictions on freedom imposed by Hamas since 2007. They are testimonies of threats, violence and accusations of treason against the people for being against their government.
According to one interviewee, the reasons for the demonstrations were to call for an end to the genocide by Israel, a ceasefire and the opening of Gaza. As soon as they began, people also started denouncing Hamas.
All agree that their only prayer is to live in peace in their land. ‘We have the right to live with dignity. We started the marches because we want a solution to our suffering,’ said a resident of Al-Atatra, a town in Beit Lahia.