Over the past two weeks, a campaign calling for protests against Hamas last Friday was circulated on social media, especially platforms affiliated with the rival Fatah faction.
The protests were supposed to focus on the harsh living conditions in the Gaza Strip and delays in advancing the second phase of the US-brokered Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, according to the posts, which blamed the Hamas leadership.
Hamas monitored the campaign and was prepared for the protests. In particular, it ramped up its deterrence efforts, such as publicizing the executions of people suspected of collaborating with Israel.
The terrorist organization also launched a counter-campaign, calling for protests against Israel and former UN Middle East peace envoy Nikolay Mladenov over the failure of the talks he mediated with Israel.
Hamas pushed for the population to hold demonstrations near the Yellow Line, according to the IDF.
This came after Walla reported the IDF controls about 70% of the Gaza Strip, following engineering operations intended to locate terrorist infrastructure above and below ground, as well as threats farther away from the Yellow Line.
Ultimately, the Gazans did not take to the streets or demonstrate. Hamas’s threats, including the deployment of security forces throughout the streets and at intersections, had deterred many people from protesting, according to the IDF.
No party threatens Hamas rule in Gaza Strip
The chain of events again revealed the painful and bleak reality in Gaza. After nearly three years of intense fighting, Hamas has reestablished its rule, continues to intimidate the public, and demonstrates that no other faction threatens its command of the situation.
This is despite attempts by armed Bedouin militias to challenge it through targeted attacks and IDF operations from the ground and air.
There can be no doubt that the two million Gazans on the other side of the border fence do not oppose Hamas’s terrorist rule, the same organization and leadership that brought devastation and destruction upon them.
Gaza reconstruction would help Hamas
The technocratic government and the US, which seek to create a new reality in Gaza by building areas free of terrorism and Hamas activity, have therefore received a decisive answer: They can place all their plans in a drawer, because as long as Hamas remains in power, there is no prospect of change.
The technocrats and the Americans also may have come to understand that any reconstruction in the Gaza Strip will help Hamas further consolidate and deepen its rule.
They may even have realized that the next stage of rebuilding infrastructure and buildings will also strengthen Hamas’s so-called military wing and security forces, which maintain control by spreading fear, terrorizing, and eliminating anyone who attempts to challenge them.