A man in the foreground chants: “Enough, enough with Hamas.” Behind him there is a refrain: “Enough, enough with Hamas.” A veiled woman with a blurred face publicly asks: “Where is the justice? Where is the leadership of Sinwar and Haniyeh?”, the leaders of Hamas in Gaza and abroad. A spokesman for the faction, Yiad al-Bazam, is filmed as he prepares to read a text at a press conference at Shifa Hospital when a man suddenly appears behind him and shouts: “May God protect us from Hamas.” Al-Bazam lowers his gaze without turning around and without commenting. These are film clips shown to the press by the Israeli military spokesman, which he said reflect the anger of Gazans at those who started the conflict with Israel on October 7 and at everything that followed. There have been protests against Hamas in recent years, particularly for economic reasons. In 2019, the “Bidna n-aish bil karama” (We want to live with dignity) movement organized mass demonstrations and was repressed by the regime’s security apparatus.
Last July, new demonstrations against Hamas broke out in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, and spread to other locations. Thousands of people took to the streets to denounce tax increases, electricity shortages (worse in hot days), unemployment and the corruption of the Hamas government. The regime responded by imposing a press blackout, suppressing protests and accusing Fatah of stoking tensions. Even in the last few days, expressions of dissenting opinions from Hamas have repeatedly been found on the Internet.
An elderly woman with her face uncovered speaks her excommunication on a street in Gaza: “We tried to escape,” she says, “but they (Hamas, editor’s note) forced us to stay. They threatened me: ‘We’ll cut you off.’ Belly. If you run away, we’ll cut your throat.’ We have been prisoners of Hamas for 30 days.” An elderly couple was filmed leaving the Shati refugee camp (where Haniyeh was born) with a few bundles to reach the south of the Gaza Strip. The man shouts: “Tell Abu el-Abed (Haniyeh’s nickname, editor’s note) and Khaled Meshal that they destroyed Gaza.” Haniyeh in particular is in the crosshairs: “Tell me Haniyeh, where are you? Where are your children? Why didn’t they take paragliders to attack Israel? Ah, are you at the hotel? On a white bed? “Have you had a massage?” You must be tired. ..”. This video, posted online by a Palestinian living abroad, has been viewed over 100,000 times. Others online remembered today’s anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death, November 11, 2004. “Arafat,” wrote she, “when he fought, he lay under the bombs with the fedayeen, he ate the same bread from them.” In contrast to what Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders are doing today. In the south of the Gaza Strip there are also among the many displaced people The dissatisfaction with Hamas is noticeable, as its institutions are completely missing in emergency situations. While the fighters are housed in underground bunkers and store supplies for months, part of the population on the surface sleeps outside and is constantly looking for food. Quite a few think back to last summer, when crowds crowded into offices to distribute entry visas for Turkey and riots broke out to get the documents that would have allowed them to leave Gaza, far from the Sinwar regime to build a new existence.
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