What Hamas is really afraid of

[azurnoir]

"I wish these pictures reached leftists abroad," my friend said to herself Tuesday as she watched Hamas police use rifle butts and clubs to beat her friends - activists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Although my friend has never been a fan of the Fatah government in the West Bank, she is outraged by the romanticization of Hamas rule by foreign activists.

Photographs of Tuesday's protest will be hard to come by, as the Hamas police prevented photojournalists from doing their job. At some point, shots were fired into the air to disperse the PFLP protesters in Gaza City, a demonstration Hamas called an illegal gathering. Many protesters were injured and needed medical attention; others were detained for some time.

<snip>

But the shamelessly brutal suppression of the protest shows just how scared the Gaza government is. It has suppressed all activities by Fatah in the Strip, be it public or internal.

Last week, it prevented a protest by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the al-Maghazi refugee camp, also based on the electricity crisis. It even banned a celebration by the Khan Yunis refugee committee for students who passed their matriculation exams.

This is because any activity not controlled by Hamas or protesting the Israeli siege is defined as a threat to the movement's rule. If Hamas felt it still had public support, it wouldn't need to suppress any activity that it didn't initiate or finds unflattering.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/what-hamas-is-really-afraid-of-1.308264

[shira]

1. Well, at least we now know Hass has "friends" in the PFLP.

Explains a lot about her POV.

[aquart]

2. Nonsense. They hate Israel. They are wonderful saints.

Who dares to question their wonderfulness?