Protests, revolution in Strip cannot succeed while Hamas remains in control, Gazans tell 'Post'
“No one can imagine the level of fear and intimidation Hamas has instilled in people’s hearts since its foundation in 1987,” said one Palestinian from Gaza City.
“People are simply too afraid to protest, even now after all what they’ve been through,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “This is because Hamas is still here, controlling people’s lives, and nobody can say a word,” he said.
There was widespread anticipation about whether the demonstrations, set for 4 p.m., would attract local residents, but it soon became clear that the June 26 protest failed, as almost no one showed up.
“It ended in failure because there was a lot of pressure on people to keep silent,” said the Gaza resident, speaking anonymously, out of fear of reprisal. “Anyone who even considered joining the rallies refrained from doing so, as participants were labeled traitors and agents of anarchy.”
“It’s very hard to explain the scale of the security, political and social control that Hamas asserts,” he noted. “For example, social and trade associations, such as the chamber of commerce and the industry unions, are in one way or another operating under Hamas’s oversight and are subject to its authority. That means they cannot say or do what they want,” he charged.
The protest movement, described as the "June 26 revolution," was organized mainly by social and political activists, social media influencers, and some Palestinian journalists living abroad, most of them based in Egypt. It was launched primarily through social media platforms, with frequent announcements, posts, and videos criticizing Hamas’s rule and urging Gazans to go out and voice opposition to the grave humanitarian conditions and continued Hamas control.
The anti-Hamas campaign leaders encouraged Gazans in the Strip to demand their rights, insisting that “change will come from the people themselves.” A prominent figure pushing the protest, Abed al-Hamid Abed al-Ati, told the Post in an interview prior to June 26 that “the aim was to give hope to Gazans and show them a path to dignity and normal life, as no one else is stepping in.”
Hamas closely monitored the activists’ plans and, from the outset, sought to suppress the movement. Some protest organizers received messages from Hamas conveyed through their family members in the Strip, demanding that they withdraw from the campaign. Other relatives were threatened with death, Palestinian sources said.
Hamas also made extensive efforts to curb the "June 26 campaign" through public denunciations and shaming of the movement and its supporters. The terror group accused protest leaders and activists of being backed by Israel, a claim they denied, and worked to discredit them in the media.
Another factor that some Palestinians argue contributed to the protest’s failure was the reaction to the campaign in Israel ahead of Friday’s events. One Palestinian figure involved in organizing the protest explained to the Post that when Israeli media outlets and public figures began to circulate the campaign messages and endorse the idea promoted by it, with some even encouraging Gazans to rise up against Hamas, it did more harm than good.
He said that it helped Hamas embolden its narrative that “the protest is pushed by the Zionist enemy that wants to destroy Gaza and the Palestinian people.”
Another Palestinian resident mentioned the video posted by the Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a day before the planned demonstration, noting, “He (the minister) believes his words were against Hamas, but unfortunately, his message served Hamas.”
Dichter, who formerly served as head of the Shin Bet, addressed the people in Gaza in Arabic, encouraging them to protest Hamas’s regime. “You are in the worst situation ever. How much longer will this gang of thugs from Hamas control you?” Dichter said in the video. “The fear of them has paralyzed you, even from thinking. Wake up- take responsibility for your life and your children’s future.”
The Palestinian resident argued that this gave Hamas a pretext to further delegitimize the protest movement by portraying it as an Israeli-backed effort to undermine the Palestinian cause. “Anyone who responds to a call coming from the Israeli side is seen as committing treason, even if the action serves our own interests. That’s the way of thinking,” he explained.
In addition, a legal Islamic ruling, amounting to a fatwa, was issued as a means of intimidation to prevent the rallies. An organization calling itself "Palestine Scholars Authority," based in Turkey, released an announcement, stating “it is forbidden for believers to call for or participate in it.” The ruling described the protest as “a criminal act of betrayal of Allah and an assistance to the occupation and its goals.”
www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-900920