Anti-Hamas Protestations by Palestinian Gazans?

"[Many in Gaza remain feeling] abandoned [by Fatah after its disengagement in 2007 from Gaza when Fatah was defeated in bloody conflict with Hamas]."

"Fatah is the party of retirees [who have no interest in the massive youth unemployment in Gaza]."

"Masked militants [regularly loot trucks with humanitarian supplies leaving many Gaza civilians at the breaking point]."

"My message [to the international community] is to exert pressure on the government of Israel to set up Hamas-free zones in Gaza". 

Anonymous Palestinian with the "We Want to Live" Gaza protests

Photo: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

 

Polls published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research following the Hamas massacre in southern Israel of over a thousand Israeli children, women and men, many of whom were raped and tortured, their homes incinerated with entire families within, and hundreds of Israeli civilians captured and paraded in Gaza to loud acclaim by ordinary Palestinians, showed an enormous population percentage both in the Strip and the West Bank in support of the Hamas terrorist group, and their Medieval-era tactics in violation of humanity.

Now, eight months following the atrocities in Israel and the Israel Defense Forces incursion into the Gaza Strip with the intention of completely destroying Hamas, its operatives, commanders and their tunnel systems along with their massive weaponry depots, the very same polling firm conducted another poll; this time support for Hamas appears to have diminished, from the previous 80% support to a significantly lesser 40%, explicable given the number of deaths of Palestinians as collateral damage in a conflict deliberately provoked by Hamas.

But the 'struggle through armed conflict', still has a substantial majority of Palestinians at 54% in full support of the methodology of Hamas in its attacks against Israel and Jews. Although a reduction of support is evident there too, possibly a reflection of Palestinian recognition of the less than noble actions of Hamas against Palestinians themselves; from continuing to launch rockets against Israel from within vulnerable civilian areas crowded with internal refugees, including from designated 'safe zones', to the spectacle of Hamas operatives openly hijacking aid transports for their own use.

So when a Palestinian in Gaza contacts someone in the news media in the West to stealthily report a significant drop in support for Hamas and its Gaza operations, explaining why and how, that those sentiments can be viewed with skepticism is understandable. Someone who claims that legacy media in the West reporting that Hamas has lost none of its popularity from among the civilian population in the Palestinian Territories, despite the conflict it has brought on their heads, has got it all wrong and the reverse is true -- requires deep second thought.

In reality, transmits the individual, speaking in Arabic with translation supplied by the Center for Peace Communications based in New York, a mere five percent of Palestinians in Gaza remain supportive of Gaza-governing Hamas. Foreign media, he charges, perpetuate incorrect information respecting Hamas support among Gazans. In particular Qatari state broadcaster Al Jazeera, cited as the source of such misinformation, inviting the Western media to pick it up from, as it were, 'the horse's mouth'.

Doha, he claims, plays a "cancerous role", giving legitimacy to Hamas and through this process, prolonging Gazan suffering. Pointing out that the 2019 "We Want to Live" protests, led by Gaza's youth was neglected by international media. The Hamas response to the movement led to "torture and degrading treatment, including severe beating, breaking limbs, stripping clothing, and waterboarding", according to the U.S. State Department.

Above all, emphasized the young Gazan, who conveyed this information, it is the youth of Gaza increasingly becoming discouraged and distanced from both Hamas and Fatah of the Palestinian Authority. Four in ten Palestinians under age 25 are unemployed, there are no jobs available. Israel, he contends, could establish a "Hamas-free" enclave in Gaza where local community leaders would govern. Needless to say, Israel would have to be constantly on the alert that another Hamas might arise, bringing with it all the pain and heartache of the Hamas Israel is currently in the process of extinguishing.

Yet, claims this Gazan, a critical mass of Palestinians in Gaza is prepared to defend an Israel-backed safe zone from Hamas  terrorists. Israel trusted at one time, under then-President Ariel Sharon, that Palestinians would commit themselves to their aspirations to achieve statehood by focusing on building state infrastructure to benefit themselves and propel them into a secure future. Instead, when Israel vacated Gaza, in moved a supreme Islamist group dedicated to the extermination of Israel and the death of Zionism, integral to Jewish life everywhere....

Displaced Palestinians gather in a damaged building used as a temporary shelter in al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 12, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)