Background: Hamas rule in Gaza in 2010 Hamas were democratically elected by Gaza’s Palestinians to the Palestinian Assembly in Gaza, in January 2006. But their conduct since then has been anything but democratic. Hamas ousted their Palestinian opponents Fatah in an extremely violent coup in June 2007, killing over 140 opponents (see Beyond Images Briefing 198 – the Hamas takeover of Gaza: Quickly Forgotten Facts). And they sustain their power in Gaza today through brazen disregard for the human rights of the Palestinian people. This Briefing provides a snapshot of recent human rights violations by Hamas in Gaza.
On 1 June 2010 Hamas security forces raided the offices of several Palestinian non-governmental organisations in Gaza, confiscating documents and equipment. They informed staff that the Hamas government was closing them down “indefinitely”. Among the Palestinian NGOs raided by Hamas were:
The UN’s Special Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Robert Serry, said: “This targeting of NGOs, including UN partner organisations, is unacceptable, violating accepted norms of a free society, and harming the Palestinian people. …. The Hamas authorities must cease such repressive steps….” Source: report by Arab affairs journalist Khaled Abu Toameh in the Jerusalem Post, 4 June 2010
The Economist newspaper reported as follows on 29 May 2010: 'Last week, a band of 30 Palestinian men, masked and armed, assaulted a UN summer school for Palestinian children which was running on a Gaza beach. Hamas's security forces, which supposedly safeguard security on the beach, let the gang pass through to carry out their attack on the camp'. According to the Economist, Hamas has been “turning Gaza into something close to a one-party state” since 2006. And it sees UN agencies and childrens’ summer schools run by the UN as a threat to their control of the children of Gaza, and ability to indoctrinate them. Source: The Economist, 29 May 2010
On the weekend of 15-16 May 2010, Hamas destroyed the homes of many Palestinian residents in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Hamas officials claimed that the homes were built illegally. One of the homeless Gaza Palestinians, a 54 year old woman, said: "Hamas promised reform and change - instead they have destroyed our homes. We have nowhere else to go. .. I found my mattress, and that's where I will be sitting....." According to the same report, a 56 year old Palestinian neighbour described being beaten by Hamas policewomen wearing veils, and how she, her husband, and two children fled their home. Palestinian residents of Rafah said between 30 and 40 houses were demolished. Hamas did not allow reporters into the area until the demolitions were over. Source: Ynet News, 21 May 2010
The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is a well-established American newspaper which is frequently highly critical of Israel. Here are extracts from a new CSM report (with bold by us), written the day before the latest flotilla of boats from the Free Gaza campaign were due to arrive: "Every time aid comes in from abroad", says Gaza-based political analyst Talal Okal, "it goes through Hamas, everybody knows that..... They want to show that they dominate everything, and that everything in Gaza passed under their eyes. So, if these boats arrive, Hamas will receive aid and distribute it how they want, to their supporters and according to their policies". The CSM report continues: "Palestinians living in Gaza say Hamas has sought to bring more and more under its control in Gaza in recent months, raiding the offices of human rights organisations and embarking on an extremely unpopular taxation campaign as it grapples with serious cash shortages. Source: Christian Science Monitor news report, 30 May 2010
On Tuesday 6 April 2010, leading international NGO Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) released its 2009 Human Rights Report. The report condemned Hamas for sentencing 16 Palestinians to death in 2009, and eight people in 2010. HRW said that the death sentence was “inherently cruel” and that the verdicts handed down by Hamas military courts in Gaza “violate fair trial standards”. “We are dealing here with convictions in trials that don’t come close to meeting fair trial standards” said Joe Stork, the Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch. Source: Jerusalem Post report by Khaled Abu Toameh, 7 April 2010 The HRW condemnation follows its April 2009 report documenting a pattern since December 2008 of “arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, maiming by shooting, and extrajudicial executions by alleged members of Hamas security forces” (a direct quote from Human Rights Watch press release, 20 April 2009). That HRW finding was based on interviews with witnesses and victims in Gaza, and case reports by Palestinian human rights groups. Related Beyond Images resources: Briefing 233, 2 February 2009 – ‘Gaza Palestinian victims of Hamas human rights violations and war crimes’ |
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