Hamas crackdown: stand of rights group

Palestinian protesters climb the border fence with Israel during protests east of Gaza City [File: Mahmud Hams/AFP]

Several human rights organisations and political factions denounced attacks on protesters allegedly conducted by Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip.

The protestors demonstrated for several days against the increasing cost of living and tax hikes.

The new movement was launched about a month ago, with the slogan “we want to live”, by a group of media activists not affiliated to political parties.

The first protest, which took place on Thursday, was repressed by dozens of Hamassecurity forces, who dispersed protesters by beating them and firing in the air. Videos of the crackdown were widely circulated on social media.

Hamas security forces also broke into citizens’ homes and carried out arrest campaigns throughout the strip in Gaza City and Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, Deir al-Balah in the middle district, and Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.

Protesters said they were attacked with batons by Hamas forces while protesting against the dire living conditions in Gaza Strip. Israa Buhaisi, a journalist with Al-Alam news channel, told Al Jazeera her father and brother were beaten up by Hamas security forces, while they were trying to intervene between said forces and a group of protesters getting attacked by them.

“A group of protesters had gathered near the centre of Deir Al-Balah camp, holding posters and chanting slogans – ‘We want to live. We want to work. Our future is lost’,” Buhaisi said.

“This is a popular movement. People took to the street to ask for a solution for their miserable life in Gaza.”

Hamas forces came to the place and asked the activists to vacate the area but the protesters refused to leave, the 34-year-old said.

Supporters of Hamas have claimed that the movement was backed by its rival government based in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority.

Talking to Al Jazeera, a Hamas spokesman denied the existence of a popular independent movement, however, in an official statement, he said that the Hamas security forces had arrested employees previously under the payroll of the West Bank government, who were “blackmailed by the PA to provoke chaos in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the return of their salaries”.

“We emphasise that we support peaceful demonstration, but we will not allow the exploitation of the protests to provoke chaos,” Iyad al-Buzom said.

The security forces arrested a number of protesters and took them to an unknown area, then they raided a number of homes in the refugee camp, mostly belonging to the Buhaisi family. 

“The police started to beat the protesters in the area and clashes erupted between the two sides,” Buhaisi said.

“Vehicles belonging to the security forces arrived at the scene and attacked protesters in the area. My father, who is 60 years old, tried to mediate to stop the assault, but he was also beaten up by the forces and they broke his hand.”

According to Buhaisi, around 70 members of the family are still in the detention of Hamas security forces. They took my dad who is a cancer patient, but they released him the same day,” Buhaisi added.

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