Discussion of the 26 June Gaza protest calling for self-rule

[dairydebris]

This is a thread for us to discuss the planned June 26 protest by Gazan Palestinians- the aim of which is to pressure Hamas to honour the ceasefire agreement and allow Gazans self rule.

Brave people who take part.

Watching and wishing them safety and hoping they can suceed.

I'm aware there are opposing views on the main aim of the protest- and that it is not solely anti Hamas. I hope we can all agree that the people suffering in Gaza deserve better and I hope this can help raise awareness of the awful issues these people daily face.

I thought about posting a thread about this @dairydebris but thought it would get a response like tumbleweed.

From the Times of Israel:

A resident of central Gaza who spoke with The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety said he plans to participate in the Friday protest, which he learned of through social media.

“This is not something new. People protested against Hamas even before October 7,” he said. “But today the situation is different. We are living through war, destruction and displacement. Many people want to go out and say: Enough war. People see how the land [the Gaza Strip] has been destroyed after years of war — there is no life and they want to see change.”

Under a US-brokered 20-point plan to end the war which began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas is to disarm and hand over power to a transitional authority, paving the way for an Israeli military pullback and the rebuilding of the enclave, which suffered extensive destruction during the fighting.

However, those plans have yet to move beyond the initial ceasefire stage due to Hamas’s refusal to give up its weapons and other disagreements over implementation.

Though badly battered, Hamas has maintained enough strength to exercise control over the part of the Strip that the IDF has pulled back from, cementing its hold by executing opponents and others it views as threatening its rule, according to multiple reports.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-strip-stagnates-gazans-plan-first-large-anti-hamas-protest-since-ceasefire/

Earlier this week, organisers appealed to governments, journalists and human rights organisations to monitor events closely, warning that participants had already become targets of intimidation.

“The right to peaceful assembly and political expression is a foundational civil liberty,” they wrote. “The population of Gaza is entitled to exercise this right without fear of violent reprisal.”

The movement accused Hamas of circulating threats through affiliated social media channels before the protests had even begun.

“These statements explicitly identify protesters and journalists as targets, indicating a coordinated effort to suppress dissent prior to its public expression,” it said.

A fatwa has been issued by the Association of Palestinian Scholars, an influential Palestinian group, warning that anyone associated with the protests would be accused of collaboration with Israel, a crime punishable by death under Hamas rule.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/26/anti-hamas-revolution-faces-brutal-crackdown/

I think it demonstrates the rock and the hard place the majority of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza are in and highlights the urgent need for access to international independent media and observers so there can be oversight with what is going on. Society has no doubt completely broken down with no functioning government or services and a strip still under siege. I hope it will put to bed the trope that all Palestinians support Hamas so their slaughter can be justified. I cannot imagine how desperate these people are with no one to turn to they can trust and that can advocate for them.

I agree that Gazan Palestinians are caught between two parties of oppression.
I hope their voices can be heard.

Agree. And also that they are incredibly brave to participate in protests.

I definitely wouldn't if I lived in Gaza as would be terrified of a fatwa against me for "participating with Israel".

They are incredibly brave ❤️

Anti-Hamas ‘revolution’ halted after brutal crackdown

Hamas launched a brutal crackdown to prevent protests calling for an end to the terror group’s rule across the Gaza Strip on Friday.

According to Gaza-born Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian humanitarian activist who lives in exile in the US, the Gaza hospital that became the focus of international condemnation after a deadly explosion early in the war is now being used by Hamas as a centre for interrogating, threatening and detaining opponents.

He claimed friends had been summoned to Al Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, where they were questioned by Hamas security officials about suspected involvement in the demonstrations.

“They were told explicitly by al-Qassam Brigades operatives, Hamas police, and internal security officers that if they post anything supportive of the protests on Facebook or offer any help to protesters, they will be executed under ‘revolutionary conditions’ and treated as collaborators with Israel; no trial, no process, just immediate death,” he wrote on X this week.

He alleged that some were subsequently interrogated, threatened and placed under house arrest inside the hospital itself, “the same hospital that grabbed global headlines early in the war after a faulty Islamic Jihad rocket fell and caused an explosion which killed hundreds of people”.

He said: “That hospital is now a central hub for Hamas’s intelligence, militancy, and internal repression.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/26/anti-hamas-revolution-faces-brutal-crackdown/

Good luck to any Palestinians who oppose Hamas.

That is bravery.

So Hamas did not allow the protest to go ahead (surprise surprise).

There will be little condemnation on this board.

Or outrage at the process for dealing with those who posted anything supportive of the protests on Facebook or offered any help to protesters, "no trial, no process, just immediate death".

There will be little condemnation on this board
What's your rationale for this statement? Are you once again accusing posters of supporting terrorist organisations. Do you genuinely believe that posters don't care if Hamas oppress, terrorise or kill Palestinian civilians? I see little point engaging with anyone that would hold thar pretty offensive view of other posters on these threads. You have had a dig twice at posters on this thread wondering are you posting in good faith at all tbh.

I cannot find any information on the proposed protest outside of the telegraph or times of Israel which appear to be relying on social media sources so very difficult to know what is going on. I once again wish independent media and observers were allowed in and Palestinians had support from a body they could trust rather than been caught between Hamas, armed gangs and the IDF.

This protest was reported on in May last year but I see nothing on BBC about this planned protest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvmmr154v2o

https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/06/26/poor-response-to-call-for-mass-protests-in-gaza-over-living-conditions/

This was all I could find on it @Boolabus . I imagine it being endorsed by Israel was conflicting for Palestinians who have been relentlessly murdered by them the past couple of years

Don't think using their pain at their living conditions (as a result of both and Hamas and Israel) as point scoring is in very good faith.

Agree. Read the telegraph article on it yesterday, but having looked through various news sites today, can’t find any more information on it.

Nobody supports Hamas. When will this simple piece of information get through?

My rationale is previous experience of this board and the threads that don’t involve blaming Israel get far less interest.

Will be pleasantly surprised if this turns out not to be the case and people actually want to discuss what is happening in Gaza with Hamas aggression towards any Palestinian not 100% on board with them.

I note that the Guardian aren’t even covering the story.

So glad I cancelled my subscription to them.

Maybe it was conflicting for Palestinians I don’t know. But the feeling of fear of being executed for protesting was a strong disincentive too, obviously.

We do know that some Palestinians who wanted to protest against Hamas rule were scared off from doing so.

It has echoes of the IRGC murdering their own civilians for protesting against the regime. Much of the mainstream media was slow to report on that too.

Nobody is accusing anyone of supporting Hamas.

Obviously it's a fear of protesting against an armed terrorist group.( And it being supported by the country that shot ten day old breastfeeding baby)

No one is arguing against that.

I think you might be arguing with yourself.

My rationale is previous experience of this board and the threads that don’t involve blaming Israel get far less interest.
Yes so you're not posting in good faith just fodder to have a dig at other posters.

Thanks
So some protests did happen. It does feel incredibly manipulative of desperate people tbh. I find this statement pretty disgusting
The Israeli government had endorsed the protests. On its Arabic account on X, it encouraged people to “revolt against the oppressors”, a reference to Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007.
Definitely a lot of bad faith actors involved in this

Oh, thanks for posting this!
It is only the second time I hear about Gazans protesting against Hamas and demanding peace. Being the first one during one of the "ceasefires". So brave!
This is the way forward, in my opinion. Well done to them and I hope they gather momentum and support. Wishing for a new political party to raise and end the terror. Someone whose aim is to rebuild Gaza for the Gazans, without wars and terror.
I think this is the people the international parties should support.
I hope they succeed in their quest for freedom and peace.

I would love to share your optimism, the road to self determination is very long and they are not even on that road yet.

That stood out to me too @Boolabus . Knowing they would risk death to protest.

(Although Israel also use the "no trial no process" method)

After propping up Hamas while the PA was seen as the worst option they are just manipulating situations to suit the agenda of land expansion. Pretending to care about Palestinians while murdering them.

💯 extremely manipulative

So a foreign nation endorsed a protest in a different nation against the Government of that different nation ?

Is that not like if the UK Government was to endorse/ encourage the people of HK to do a protest in HK against the CCP ?

Edit to add. Then when the protest does not happen the Government of the endorsing nation say, " see how scared the people of that other nation are".