What the Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza Actually Mean - by
Khalil Shikaki
▻https://time.com/7273410/what-anti-hamas-protests-gaza-mean
For all of this, any denial of the genuine nature of the grievances of the demonstrators, and most importantly their belief that if Hamas leaves the governance scene, the war might stop and life might improve, is misplaced and reflects serious miscalculation. But the belief that such demonstrations pose a threat to continued Hamas control over the Gaza Strip is also misplaced and reflects an erroneous reading of reality. Our surveys clearly show that the overwhelming majority of Gazans blame Israel and the U.S. for their suffering; only one in five puts the blame on Hamas. Focus groups and in-depth interviews I have supervised clearly reveal that despite the tremendous criticism of Hamas, Gazans are fully aware that even if that group leaves the governance scene immediately, there is no viable alternative that can enforce some level of order, manage the critically needed civil defense units and health sector, ensure a relatively secure environment for humanitarian service delivery, allow markets to operate, and prevent the eruption of tremendous chaos and open anarchy and violence.
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Despite prior use of violence by Hamas to crack down on demonstrations, the Hamas authorities in Gaza, so far, have not used similar violence to crack down on the current demonstrations. This might be explained in part by the limited nature of participation in these demonstrations and the lack of receptivity by the residents to the calls for planned demonstrations. Hamas’ willingness to trust Gazans is supported by our findings: despite the tremendous pain and suffering during the war, Gazans’ basic values regarding their religious and national identity and their attachment to their land have not diminished at all. Plus, their willingness to make huge personal sacrifices remains astonishingly very high.
