In a rare event in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, hundreds of Gazan citizens marched in the northern town of Beit Lahiya carrying white flags, calling to end the Hamas rule, and even calling to hand over the Israeli hostages.
The protests took place in front of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. One protester who filmed the events questioned where Qatari Al Jazeera and its Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif are, implicitly referring to the channel’s no criticism of Hamas policy.
people are demanding the press to cover these events!” he said. “People are demanding freedom, they’re demanding a halt to the hostilities against Gaza, they’re demanding peace and an end to this war.” One of them said, “The press entered the hospital so as to not document this event.”
Slogans shouted in the protest included “Out out out! Hamas out!” and “Where is the press?” and “We want to live!” Signs held by protesters included slogans such as “We refuse to be the ones who die” and “Stop the war.”
Another video showed hundreds of marchers walking in the streets of Beit Lahiya, with the cameraman saying: “Large crowds are protesting now against the rule of Hamas. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The people here are calling to free the prisoners so we can remain alive,” possibly referring to the remaining Israeli hostages.
I hope Israel listens to them and return to ceasefire but they wont. “But did they condemn Hamas?” Yes these bare starved homeless civilians did already but the IOF wont stop killing because Israel never want to give Palestianians their human rights and lands. Israel wants to continue being the colonizing genocidal aparthied it is.
These poor Gazans upmost demand is to be another West Bank for Israel to occuoy, ethnic cleanse, and expand its settlements in. The West Bank did not take hostages and no there is no Hamas in charge. Yet they are getting killed and their lands stolen and treated like 3rd-class citizens in aparthied Israel everyday.
There certainly are Israelis who want to listen. But unfortunately Netanyahu does not.
There certainly are Israelis who want to listen.
They are, however, a very small minority. Most Israelis don’t want peace with Palestinians at all.
Do you have data that backs that up? Because I think most Israelis do want peace, if that means they no longer get attacked.
Look up “Tel Aviv University peace index”. It’s a survey done every three months by Tel Aviv University measuring attitudes in Israel towards peace, and since October 7th they’ve had questions about the war. Prepare to lose some faith in humanity, however.
No surprises there. It mostly shows that Israelis do not trust the Palestinian Authority, and who can blame them?
There’s a lot of bad blood between them, but that does not mean they do not ultimately want a peaceful solution.
Did you click on the press release link? The findings PDF has more surveys with more details. For example, you’ll find that (pages 3-5) only 19% of Israeli Jewish respondents support a two-state solution, while only 7% support a one-state solution. Meanwhile 37% support “Annexation of the occupied territories and the creation of one state under Israeli rule with limited rights for Palestinians” and 25% support continuing the status quo. These are four separate questions, in case you’re wondering why these don’t add up to a hundred. For more despair juice, 47.4% of Jewish respondents support the creation of settlements in Gaza after the war. That’s a majority if you don’t count the 12.6% I don’t know responses (page 7). I could go on. See what I mean? It’s a full 11 pages of questions asking “do you want peace” and Israeli Jews answering “no”. I don’t think it’s possible to read this and still think Israel will ever choose peace willingly.
Now compare the numbers for Palestinians with surveys from PCPSR or similar.
I have never understood why people are so unequivocal and quick to take sides in this conflict. Either people insist on “No criticism of Hamas” or “No criticism of Israel”. It has always seemed clear to me that both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are victims of their and each other’s respective warmongering hardline governments. It is possible for both sides to be completely in the wrong, and arguing about which is “more wrong” and trying to tally up historical injustices to debate who has the biggest total is fruitless and counterproductive. Until both sides are willing to admit they’ve been wrong and done wrong to each other and accept that very justified criticism, the violence is never going to end. Criticism of both sides is not only deserved it is necessary and probably the only answer. Both sides need to be forced to take responsibility for what they’ve each done wrong instead of justifying and defending it and acting like they’re completely innocent before this is ever going to have a chance at resolution.
The only conclusion I can draw is that some people REALLY don’t want it to ever have a peaceful resolution, and I think that’s probably closest to the actual truth of the situation. Really sickening and sad, for everyone victimized by this conflict. And I’m not even going to start getting into all the various foreign governments “supporting” both these sides. These are the ones who don’t want it to ever have a peaceful resolution, I suspect.
I am hoping that maybe these protests are at least a sign that Gazans are willing to start vocally criticizing Hamas’ role in perpetuating this violence. Now for us to be getting somewhere we’d need to start to see the same from the Israeli people too. But I’m not holding my breath. These protest efforts may be too little too late. Israel is clearly the better equipped and supported regime here; globally we seem to be returning to the horrible principle of “might makes right”. As we know history is written by the victor, and genocide is an unfortunately practical and well-tested way of silencing your critics.
What is even your point?
Genocide is bad. Resistance against genocide is good. That’s it.
Why would you want Palestinians to get quietly exterminated? Why do you think Hamas even exists in the first case?
Keep on whitewashing crimes against humanity and demonizing the international right of self determination. History will not forget your kind.
History will not forget your kind.
Ya. . . About that. . .
Your point… ?
