The silent anger of Gazans towards Hamas
Last summer in Gaza was an unforgettable one. After 17 years under Hamas control, and 17 years of Israel blockading the Strip, the mood was slightly upbeat. Thanks to Qatar’s financial support and Israel loosening its permit system for Gazans to work in Israel, the economy was improving gradually. My friends and family were out almost every night, at weddings, restaurants, concerts and family picnics on the Mediterranean.
The silent majority – the many Palestinians in Gaza who support neither Hamas nor its rival Fatah, and who gritted their teeth through the blockade – felt a sense of hope that had long been missing. In years past, many in Gaza felt that Hamas only helped its own, an observation rarely made in public. Historically, the group has not taken criticism well. But last summer, the economy was improving for everyone, and the silent majority could see a life under its rule.
Now, with much of Gaza in ruins, last summer feels like a distant memory. Those who were warming up to Hamas are turning against them due to Israel’s nearly six-month-long war. They have lost their homes and their loved ones, and they are living a life of constant terror and dehumanisation.
Yet just as Gazans are becoming loudly critical of Hamas, the group appears to be gaining momentum like never before among Palestinians in the West Bank and those in exile – that is, those who never lived under its rule. After years of defanging Hamas’s political opponents, Israel is ramping up Gaza’s destruction and acting with unprecedented aggression in the West Bank. So long as it continues, it won’t matter that Hamas is losing its foothold in Gaza: for the rest of Palestine, Israel’s actions are only bringing the group even more popularity.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2024/04/03/palestine-hamas-gaza-fatah-israel-west-bank/
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