ISTANBUL (Aftenposten): Palestinians in Gaza say that they are getting thoroughly tired of their leaders.
Over half of Gaza’s population are children. They suffer from catastrophic humanitarian conditions, according to the UN. Photo: Mohammed Salem, Reuters / NTB
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Published: 24/02/2024 22:46
“Now most have turned against Hamas.”
The message comes in from a family man in his 40s via the messaging service Whatsapp. He is among 1.4 million Palestinians who have sought refuge in the overcrowded Rafah.
There, people fight a daily battle to find food and clean water. The emergency aid does not reach and does not arrive. The fear that Israeli ground forces will soon move into this chaos is increasing day by day.
At the same time, fighting continues between Israeli soldiers and Hamas in several places in the Gaza Strip. While the civilian population is bombed and starved by Israel, the complex network of tunnels that Hamas has built under the Gaza Strip provides effective protection against the attacks of the leadership and the fighters.
Now there are signs that civilians in Gaza are beginning to get thoroughly fed up with the authorities.
Desperate Palestinians try to push their way through the queue at a bakery in Rafah to buy bread. Photo: Fatima Shbair, AP / NTB
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The criticism existed before the war
“There are many reasons for that. The most important is the bad results of the war and the destruction it has caused in Gaza,” writes the father of the family in Rafah.
He believes Hamas has not done enough to prepare people for the war:
“People in Gaza don’t think Hamas cares about them. They feel Hamas abandoned them to be killed, displaced and starved.”
It is impossible at this time to determine how many Palestinians agree with him.
But the dissatisfaction with Hamas is by no means new. It has been bubbling beneath the surface for many years. Last summer several thousand Palestinians took part in demonstrations against power cuts and poor living conditions in the Gaza Strip. It is rarely eaten. Hamas responded by attacking and arresting protesters, it said news agency AP.
Still a marginal phenomenon
The brutal Israeli attacks that began after Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 have led some to intensify criticism.
Historian and author Marte Heian-Engdal nevertheless believes that for the time being this must be treated as a marginal phenomenon.
– The suffering in Gaza is so enormous that it would be strange if a part of the population did not also come to the conclusion that they curse Hamas for everything they have caused, says Heian-Engdal.
She emphasizes that, after all, many people did not vote for Hamas when they last had the opportunity, in 2006.
– At the same time, even if the suffering is indirectly inflicted on them by Hamas, it is Israel that makes independent choices about how they want to go after and punish Hamas. It is these choices that create the greatest suffering, and I think that is the clear opinion of the majority.
Lut bored the leaders
That opinion is confirmed by several of the Palestinians with whom Aftenposten has contact in Gaza. For the sake of their safety, we have chosen to anonymize the sources.
– This is a sensitive topic, says Lama, a young student from the central Gaza Strip.
She explains that she is still glad that Hamas did something. It is Israel’s occupation that is to blame for things becoming the way they are, she maintains.
– At the same time, we have had enough of leaders who hide, she says.
Several of the top commanders in Hamas live safe and often luxurious lives outside the Gaza Strip, in countries such as Turkey and Qatar. It has long been a source of discontent among civilians in Gaza.
Recently, a picture of Abed Haniyeh was spread in Arab social media. He is the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. While the Palestinians in Gaza starve and are bombed by Israel, Abed Haniyeh enjoyed himself at a football match in Qatar.
This creates strong reactions. But few dare to resist:
– People are afraid to organize demonstrations. They fear being punished by the security service of Hamas, explains the father of the family in Rafah.
The Israeli military has shown several tunnels that the ground forces have uncovered underground in the Gaza Strip. Down there, the leaders and fighters of Hamas can hide from the Israeli bombs, while the civilian population has nowhere to flee to. Photo: Dylan Martinez, Reuters / NTB
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Why isn’t Hamas doing more?
Hamas knew full well the response it would provoke when it attacked Israel on October 7. Therefore, people are now asking questions about why Hamas was not better prepared, says a man in his 50s:
– Why don’t they provide more emergency aid? Why haven’t they stored enough food and supplies for civilians to survive the war?
Erik Skare is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo and an expert on several of the militant groups in Gaza. He points out that there are two different wings of Hamas that have military and humanitarian responsibilities, and that there have long been sharp dividing lines between them.
– Very few people in the political leadership, who are responsible for humanitarian affairs, knew about the attack planned by the military wing. The question is to what extent they had the opportunity to prepare for it.
– Why doesn’t Hamas do more to spare the civilian population now, for example by letting Palestinian children hide in the tunnels under Gaza?
– The tunnels like the Qassam BrigadesQassam BrigadesIzz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades are Hamas’s military branch. user, is primarily aimed at the military. They are to protect soldiers and leaders, and they are also used offensively to attack Israeli forces. That civilians are not allowed in there is not so surprising given the function they have. It is a bit like civilians should have been allowed into the Rena camp.
Was it worth it?
Nor does Skare think the dissatisfaction is a new phenomenon. He points out that during the war in 2014 there were also protests because people believed that Hamas did not take civilians into account.
Skare believes that whether the extreme suffering in this war will lead to a larger uprising depends entirely on what the outcome will be.
– Will Hamas have managed to lift the blockade, or to secure a two-state solution? I think that is completely unthinkable. Perhaps they will arrange an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for the remaining hostages. But if that’s all they get for this whole war and its total destruction of the Gaza Strip, then the Palestinians will probably wonder if it was worth it.
2024-02-24 21:46:27
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