What began as a set of small, organic anti-Hamas and anti-war demonstrations in Gaza’s northern town of Beit Lahia earlier this week has quickly erupted into a widespread and decentralized protest movement against Hamas and its continued rule over the 2 million Palestinians in the battered strip.
These protests, unprecedented in the 18 years in which Hamas has controlled the strip, confirm what I and numerous other Palestinians have said for a long time: The majority of Palestinians in Gaza loathe the terror group, and want to see an end to its dictatorial rule over the strip. Unfortunately, and for the longest time, it has been both easy and fashionable to dehumanize the people of Gaza and paint them all as supporters of Hamas and endorsers of its Jihadi “resistance agenda.”
The truth is: Gaza under Hamas is neither free nor democratic, and people have no real opportunity to express their views openly. That they are choosing to do so now, during a war that has unleashed one of the most destructive chapters in Palestinian history, amid harsh threats by Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups against anyone who participates in the protests, is a marvel.
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But in order for this to work, the supposed “pro-Palestine movement,” which includes a whole host of academics, human rights NGOs, protesters, journalists and social media influencers, must speak up in support of the brave people in Gaza taking to the streets to make their voices heard. Too many have so far been suspiciously silent; some have even dared to suggest that the protests are an Israeli manipulation campaign to defeat their beloved “resistors.” This is unacceptable. Supporting Palestinian people means supporting them as they make autonomous decisions about the kind of future they want — one that very obviously does not include Hamas.
On the pro-Israel side, some extremists have also questioned the legitimacy of these protests, suggesting they have been staged by Hamas. To them, the timing is suspicious, as is the fact that Hamas has yet to actively, violently suppress the demonstrations. These voices will never accept that the Palestinians are nuanced people who possess divergent and diverse points of view that don’t entail perpetual war in jihad — yes, even if those people have reasonable grievances with Israeli policies and actions.
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