Over the past two weeks, a campaign calling for protests against Hamas on June 26 was circulated on social media, particularly on pages affiliated with Fatah.
According to the posts, the protests were supposed to focus on the harsh living conditions in the Gaza Strip and delays in advancing the second phase of the agreement, while blaming the terrorist organization’s leadership.
Hamas, which monitored the campaign and prepared for the protests on Friday, stepped up its deterrence efforts in recent days, including by publicizing the executions of people suspected of collaborating with Israel.
The terrorist organization also launched a countercampaign calling for protests against Israel and envoy Nikolay Mladenov over the failure of the talks he mediated with Israel. At least according to IDF assessments, Hamas pushed for the population to hold demonstrations near the Yellow Line.
This came against the backdrop of a report first published by Walla that the IDF controls about 70% of the Gaza Strip following engineering operations intended to locate terrorist infrastructure above and below ground and distance threats from the Yellow Line.
In practice, the Palestinian public did not take to the streets or demonstrate. The IDF believes the deployment of Hamas’s armed security forces throughout the streets and at intersections, while threatening the population, deterred many people from protesting.
No party threatens Hamas rule in Gaza Strip
Once again, the events revealed the painful and bleak reality in the Gaza Strip. After nearly three years of intense fighting between the IDF and the terrorist organization, Hamas has reestablished its rule and continues to intimidate the public, while demonstrating that no party threatens its position or control.
This is despite attempts by armed Bedouin militias to challenge it through targeted attacks, as well as IDF operations from the ground and air.
Today provided conclusive proof that the two million Palestinians 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.
The technocratic government and the Americans seeking to create a new reality in the Gaza Strip 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.
Gaza reconstruction would help Hamas
The technocratic government and the Americans may also have come to understand that any reconstruction in the Gaza Strip would help Hamas further consolidate and deepen its rule. They may even have realized that the next stage would involve rebuilding not only infrastructure and buildings, but also the strength of the movement’s military wing and the other security forces that maintain control by spreading fear and terror, which would literally eliminate anyone who attempts to challenge them.
As noted, this comes against the backdrop of the report that the IDF controls about 70% of the Gaza Strip following engineering operations intended to locate terrorist infrastructure above and below ground and distance threats from the Yellow Line.