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Palestinian activists have launched a social media campaign in protest of Hamas’s rule of the Gaza Strip, holding the terrorist group responsible for poverty, unemployment and harsh economic and humanitarian conditions.
‘They Kidnapped Gaza’ launched on Thursday on Twitter, with a three-hour live discussion. The campaign was organised by five Gazans who left the Palestinian territory after joining the ‘We Want to Live’ protests which were violently suppressed by Hamas in March 2019.
During the live discussion several activists spoke, including Amer Balosha who said “Hamas has billions of dollars in investments in many countries, while people [in Gaza] starve to death and migrate in search of work”. Another activist, Mahmoud Nashwan, asked listeners to “imagine your one-month-old son dies because of the cold… because there is no electricity, no money, no wages and no home”.
Gaza’s economy has been badly hit by the pandemic and last year’s 11-day conflict with Israel; there is a severe lack of water, poor sewage treatment and long daily power cuts. Some 67% of the youth workforce are unemployed. Hamas supporters accused the Palestinian Authority of financial and administrative corruption, collaboration with Israel and imposing financial and economic sanctions.
Anti-Hamas activists rejected the attempt to shift the blame onto Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This is portrayed in a tweet by Hosam Elmadhon, “Who said that the [Israeli] occupation is the reason for the situation in Gaza? Does the occupation impose taxes? Is the occupation collecting $30 million in taxes on [cigarettes and tobacco] every month? Is the occupation responsible for the [emigration] of 60,000 young people?”
“Hamas has billions of dollars in investments in many countries, while people [in Gaza] starve to death and migrate in search of work,” said Balosha.
In another post, Elmadhon wrote, “A question for the leadership of Gaza, which trades in our siege and suffering: How did the siege that made me poor make you wealthy? How did the siege that forced many young people to emigrate give you [foreign] citizenship and enable you to live in mansions and hotels? How did the siege that starved our children allow your children to live in prosperity?”
Such protests are rare and it is unusual to hear Gazans voice complaints due to the fear of punishment from Hamas. In 2019, hundreds of Gazans demonstrated against Hamas over the high rices of food and lack of jobs. Video footage was shared online depicting Hamas security services hitting protestors and shooting live ammunition into the air.
