Robbed, Silenced, and Betrayed: Gaza Turns Away From Hamas

[Jilly_in_VA]

It is incredibly difficult for them to say so in public, but many Palestinians in Gaza are furious with Hamas, their de facto rulers who invited a brutal Israeli backlash by launching the Oct. 7 attacks.

The Daily Beast was told to stop reporting and forced to delete videos while working on this story, but we can report that residents of Gaza say they have been robbed, silenced, and betrayed by Hamas.

As lawlessness rises in the smoldering rubble of Gaza, one resident said Hamas operatives stole valuables from her and other women.

A 45-year-old female refugee told The Daily Beast that Hamas agents were instructing women to remove their gold jewelry and cellphones before reaching an Israeli checkpoint on Salah al-Din—the main road through the center of Gaza—warning that these items might be confiscated or cause problems during inspection.

“I don’t know if it was naive of us, but we complied and handed over our mobiles. I even removed my ring, like other women with their jewelry,” she said. “We easily passed through the checkpoint and continued walking north. Despite feeling exhausted, we realized we had been deceived into surrendering our belongings.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/robbed-silenced-and-betrayed-why-gazans-turned-away-from-hamas?ref=home

I don't think this is by any means just one group of women...

[Think. Again.]

1. Gazan opposition to hamas is nothing new...

This survey was done just before Oct. 6...

From foreignaffairs.com:

"The argument that the entire population of Gaza can be held responsible for Hamas’s actions is quickly discredited when one looks at the facts. Arab Barometer, a research network where we serve as co-principal investigators, conducted a survey in Gaza and the West Bank days before the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The findings, published here for the first time, reveal that rather than supporting Hamas, the vast majority of Gazans have been frustrated with the armed group’s ineffective governance as they endure extreme economic hardship. Most Gazans do not align themselves with Hamas’s ideology, either. Unlike Hamas, whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of survey respondents favored a two-state solution with an independent Palestine and Israel existing side by side.

(Full article: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-palestinians-really-think-hamas )

[Beastly Boy]

2. The argument that the entire population of Gaza can be held responsible for Hamas's actions

is quickly discredited by the meager numbers of the people making this argument.

The issue is how few Gazans can freely express their opposition to Hamas without fear of reprisals, and how little attention the media plays to the few courageous people who do.

[Think. Again.]

3. Well said...

...it's good to see that people are becoming more concerned for the fate of the innocent, non-hamas, Palestinian civilians of Gaza.

[Beastly Boy]

5. This has always been the case, more so in Israel than the US

It's just that we, as consumers of popular media, rarely hear about this in any sufficiently nuanced detail.

[Think. Again.]

6. to be honest...

...I have read many posts here on DU that seem to treat the lives of Palestinian civilians in Gaza as acceptable casualties.

[Beastly Boy]

7. I may have missed those, but in the context of the war,

I did see people referring to the death of innocent civilians in Gaza as inevitable casualties, citing other wars as precedents.

[Think. Again.]

8. Inevitable is an odd word...

...for preventable deaths.

[Beastly Boy]

9. It comes down to the principle of proportionality.

What price are you willing to pay to prevent deaths in combat?

Since I don't know the circumstances that went into assessing proportionality, I can't bring myself to make a judgement one way or another.

[Think. Again.]

10. um, yea.

[LeftInTX]

11. I hope

I don't see that Israel tried to find allies in Gaza before they invaded. (Maybe they did covertly, but I don't see the evidence)
This should have been a long term strategy before the war.

I agree with Lloyd Austin's assessment. Too many have died, lost homes, been displayed to trust the Israelis. They need to build relationships, but so far I don't see that happening.