Criticism of Hamas

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See also: Hamas war crimes and Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip

Aside from its use of political violence in pursuit of its goals, the Palestinian political and military organization Hamas has been widely criticised for a variety of reasons, including its alleged use of hate speech by its representatives, alleged use of human shields and child combatants as part of its military operations, alleged restriction of political freedoms within the Gaza Strip, and alleged human rights abuses.

Hate speech

See also: Racism in the Palestinian territories

The ideology of Hamas has a strong anti-Jewish stance, manifesting in the use of tropes from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the use of derogatory descriptions of Jews and equating Israel to Nazi Germany.[1]

According to academic Esther Webman, antisemitism is not the main tenet of Hamas ideology, although antisemitic rhetoric is frequent and intense in Hamas leaflets. The leaflets generally do not differentiate between Jews and Zionists. In other Hamas publications and interviews with its leaders, attempts at this differentiation have been made.[2] In 2009 representatives of the small anti-Zionist Jewish group Neturei Karta met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, who stated that he held nothing against Jews but only against the State of Israel.[3]

Hamas has made conflicting statements about its readiness to recognize Israel. In 2006 a spokesman signaled readiness to recognize Israel within the 1967 borders. Speaking of requests for Hamas to recognize agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, senior Hamas member Khaled Suleiman said that "these agreements are a reality which we view as such, and therefore I see no problem."[4] Also in 2006, a Hamas official ruled out recognition of Israel with reference to West and East Germany, which never recognized each other.[5][6]

The 2017 Hamas charter adopted more moderate tones: it stated that there was a nationalist conflict "with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion" and described the two-state solution, i.e. the creation of an independent Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, as a "formula of national consensus", though without giving up the claim to the whole of Palestine, "from the river to the sea", and without compromising Hamas' rejection of the "Zionist entity."[7][8] Hamas said any change in its position on these matters would require a legitimate future referendum involving all Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem as well as those living in the Diaspora.[9]

Statements by Hamas members and clerics

Statements to an Arab audience

In 2008, Hamas imam Yousif al-Zahar said in his sermon at the Katib Wilayat mosque in Gaza that "Jews are a people who cannot be trusted. They have been traitors to all agreements. Go back to history. Their fate is their vanishing."[10][11]

Another Hamas legislator and imam, Sheik Yunus al-Astal, discussed a Quranic verse suggesting that "suffering by fire is the Jews' destiny in this world and the next." He concluded "Therefore we are sure that the Holocaust is still to come upon the Jews."[10][11]

Following the rededication of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem in March 2010, senior Hamas figure al-Zahar called on Palestinians everywhere to observe five minutes of silence "for Israel's disappearance and to identify with Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque". He further stated that "Wherever you have been you've been sent to your destruction. You've killed and murdered your prophets and you have always dealt in loan-sharking and destruction. You've made a deal with the devil and with destruction itself—just like your synagogue."[12][13]

On August 10, 2012, Ahmad Bahr, Deputy Speaker of the Hamas Parliament, stated in a sermon that aired on Al-Aqsa TV:

If the enemy sets foot on a single square inch of Islamic land, Jihad becomes an individual duty, incumbent on every Muslim, male or female. A woman may set out [on Jihad] without her husband's permission, and a servant without his master's permission. Why? In order to annihilate those Jews. ... O Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. O Allah, destroy the Americans and their supporters. O Allah, count them one by one, and kill them all, without leaving a single one.[14][15][16][17]

In an interview with Al-Aqsa TV on September 12, 2012, Marwan Abu Ras, a Hamas MP, who is also a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, stated (as translated by MEMRI):

The Jews are behind each and every catastrophe on the face of the Earth. This is not open to debate. This is not a temporal thing, but goes back to days of yore. They concocted so many conspiracies and betrayed rulers and nations so many times that the people harbor hatred towards them. ... Throughout history—from Nebuchadnezzar until modern times. ... They slayed the prophets, and so on. ... Any catastrophe on the face of this Earth—the Jews must be behind it.[18]

On December 26, 2012, Senior Hamas official and Jerusalem bureau chief Ahmed Abu Haliba, called on "all Palestinian factions to resume suicide attacks ... deep inside the Zionist enemy" and said that "we must renew the resistance to occupation in any possible way, above all through armed resistance." Abu Haliba suggested the use of suicide bombings as a response to Israel's plans to build housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.[19]

In 2014 Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan defended a video of his repeating the blood libel myth in an interview.[20]

Statements to an international audience

Longtime leader, Khaled Meshaal

In an interview with CBS This Morning on July 27, 2014, then Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal stated:

We are not fanatics. We are not fundamentalists. We are not actually fighting the Jews because they are Jews per se. We do not fight any other races. We fight the occupiers.[21]

On January 8, 2012, during a visit to Tunis, Gazan Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh told the Associated Press that he disagrees with the anti-Semitic slogans. "We are not against the Jews because they are Jews. Our problem is with those occupying the land of Palestine," he said. "There are Jews all over the world, but Hamas does not target them."[22] In response to a statement by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas preferred non-violent means and had agreed to adopt "peaceful resistance," Hamas contradicted Abbas. According to Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri, "We had agreed to give popular resistance precedence in the West Bank, but this does not come at the expense of armed resistance."[23]

In May 2009, senior Hamas MP Sayed Abu Musameh said, "in our culture, we respect every foreigner, especially Jews and Christians, but we are against Zionists, not as nationalists but as fascists and racists."[24] In the same interview, he also said, "I hate all kinds of weapons. I dream of seeing every weapon from the atomic bomb to small guns banned everywhere." In January 2009, Gazan Hamas Health Minister Basim Naim published a letter in The Guardian, stating that Hamas has no quarrel with Jewish people, only with the actions of Israel.[25] In October 1994, in a response to Israel's crackdown on Hamas militants following a suicide bombing on a Tel Aviv bus, Hamas promised retaliation: "Rabin must know that Hamas loves death more than Rabin and his soldiers love life."[26]

In an interview on Lebanese television on July 28, 2014, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan repeated the blood libel myth:

We all remember how the Jews used to slaughter Christians, in order to mix their blood in their holy matzos... It happened everywhere.[27]

Statements on the Holocaust

Hamas has been explicit in its Holocaust denial. In reaction to the Stockholm conference on the Jewish Holocaust, held in late January 2000, Hamas issued a press release that it published on its official website, containing the following statements from a senior leader:

This conference bears a clear Zionist goal, aimed at forging history by hiding the truth about the so-called Holocaust, which is an alleged and invented story with no basis. (...) The invention of these grand illusions of an alleged crime that never occurred, ignoring the millions of dead European victims of Nazism during the war, clearly reveals the racist Zionist face, which believes in the superiority of the Jewish race over the rest of the nations. (...) By these methods, the Jews in the world flout scientific methods of research whenever that research contradicts their racist interests.[28]

In August 2003, senior Hamas official Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi wrote in the Hamas newspaper Al-Risala that the Zionists encouraged murder of Jews by the Nazis with the aim of forcing them to immigrate to Palestine.[29]

In 2005, Khaled Mashal called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's December 14, 2005, statements on the Holocaust that Europeans had "created a myth in the name of Holocaust"[30]) as "courageous".[31] Later in 2008, Basim Naim, the minister of health in the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government in Gaza countered holocaust denial, and said "it should be made clear that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian government in Gaza denies the Nazi Holocaust. The Holocaust was not only a crime against humanity but one of the most abhorrent crimes in modern history. We condemn it as we condemn every abuse of humanity and all forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, gender or nationality."[32]

In an open letter to Gaza Strip UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) chief John Ging published August 20, 2009, the movement's Popular Committees for Refugees called the Holocaust "a lie invented by the Zionists," adding that the group refused to let Gazan children study it.[33] Hamas leader Yunis al-Astal continued by saying that having the Holocaust included in the UNRWA curriculum for Gaza students amounted to "marketing a lie and spreading it". Al-Astal continued "I do not exaggerate when I say this issue is a war crime, because of how it serves the Zionist colonizers and deals with their hypocrisy and lies."[34][35]

In February 2011, Hamas voiced opposition to UNRWA's teaching of the Holocaust in Gaza. According to Hamas, "Holocaust studies in refugee camps is a contemptible plot and serves the Zionist entity with a goal of creating a reality and telling stories in order to justify acts of slaughter against the Palestinian people."[36][37] In July 2012, Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, denounced a visit by Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to the Auschwitz death camp, saying it was "unjustified" and "unhelpful" and only served the "Zionist occupation" while coming "at the expense of a real Palestinian tragedy". He also called the Holocaust an "alleged tragedy" and "exaggerated".[38][39][40][41] In October 2012, Hamas said that they were opposed to teaching about the Holocaust in Gaza Strip schools run by UNRWA. The Refugee Affairs Department of Hamas said that teaching the Holocaust was a "crime against the issue of the refugees that is aimed at canceling their right of return".[42]

Genocide Accusation

Main article: Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel
See also: Sexual and gender-based violence in the 7 October attack on Israel

Experts in international law and genocide studies have leveled the accusation of Hamas committing genocide against Israelis.[43][44][45] Hamas, is alleged to have carried out genocide during its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The assault involved Hamas militants raiding communities in southern Israel, resulting in the killing, torturing, and mutilation of men, women, and children.[46][47] The death toll, predominantly civilians, reached 1,200, while 240 individuals of various ages were reportedly kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. Legal and genocide experts condemned the attack as a severe violation of international law, asserting that Hamas executed these acts with the intent to destroy the Israeli national group.[45][44][48][43] Some commentators draw attention to Hamas' founding charter, which advocates for the destruction of Israel, contains anti-Semitic language, and, according to some researchers, implies a call for the genocide of Jews. This has led to suggestions that the attacks on October 7 were an endeavor to fulfill this agenda.[49][50][51][52]

US criticism

The FBI and United States Department of Justice in 2004 stated that Hamas threatened the United States through covert cells on US soil.[53][54]

Researcher Steven Emerson in 2006 alleged that the group had "an extensive infrastructure in the US mostly revolving around the activities of fundraising, recruiting and training members, directing operations against Israel, organizing political support and operating through human-rights front groups". Emerson added that while the group had never acted outside of Israel or the Palestinian Territories, it does have the capacity to carry out attacks in the US "if it decided to enlarge the scope of its operations".[55]

FBI director Robert Mueller in 2005 testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that, the FBI's assessment at that time was that there was "a limited threat of a coordinated terrorist attack in the US from Palestinian terrorist organizations" such as Hamas. He added that Hamas had "maintained a longstanding policy of focusing their attacks on Israeli targets in Israel and the Palestinian territories", and that the FBI believed that the main interest of Hamas in the US remained "the raising of funds to support their regional goals", and that:

"of all the Palestinian groups, Hamas has the largest presence in the US, with a robust infrastructure, primarily focused on fundraising, propaganda for the Palestinian cause, and proselytizing."

Although it would be a major strategic shift for Hamas, its United States network is theoretically capable of facilitating acts of terrorism in the US.[56]

In May 2011, Hamas leader and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh condemned the US killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.[57] Haniyeh praised Bin Laden, the founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda, as a "martyr" and an "Arab holy warrior".[58][59] The US government condemned his remarks as "outrageous".[60]

In 2018, Ambassador Nikki Haley of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations stated that: "The people who have suffered by far the most because of Hamas are the Palestinian people."[61]

Following its actions in 2023, Hamas has been compared to ISIS due to its brutal methods and goals.[62][63][64] US military analyst Andrew Exum has denounced such depictions as "misguided".[65]

Human shields

A Hamas rocket launch site and its civilian surroundings.
See also: Usage of human shields by Hamas

Human shields are non-combatants who either volunteer or are forced to shield a military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it.

After the 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch stated that Palestinian groups had endangered civilians by "repeatedly fired rockets from densely populated areas, near homes, businesses, and a hotel" and noted that under international law, parties to a conflict may not place military targets in or near densely populated areas. One rocket was launched close to the Shawa and Housari Building, where various Palestinian and international media have offices; another was fired from the yard of a house near the Deira Hotel.[66][67] The New York Times journalist Steven Erlanger reported that "Hamas rocket and weapons caches, including rocket launchers, have been discovered in and under mosques, schools and civilian homes."[68] Another report published by Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center revealed that Hamas used close to 100 mosques to store weapons and as launch-pads to shoot rockets. The report contains testimony from variety Palestinian sources, including a Hamas militant Sabhi Majad Atar, who said he was taught how to shoot rockets from inside a mosque.[69]

Hamas has also been criticized by Israeli officials for blending into or hiding among the Palestinian civilian population during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.[70] The Israeli government published what it said was video evidence of human shield tactics by Hamas.[71] Israel said that Hamas frequently used mosques and school yards[72] as hideouts and places to store weapons,[73] and that Hamas militants stored weapons in their homes, making it difficult to ensure that civilians close to legitimate military targets are not hurt during Israeli military operations.[74] Israeli officials also accused the Hamas leadership of hiding under Shifa Hospital during the conflict, using the patients inside to deter an Israeli attack.[68][75]

In 2009, the Israeli government filed a report to the United Nations accusing Hamas of exploiting its rules of engagement by shooting rockets and launching attacks within protected civilian areas. Israel says 12,000 rockets and mortars were fired at it between 2000 and 2008—nearly 3,000 in 2008 alone.[76]

In one case, an errant Israeli mortar strike killed dozens of people near a UN school. Hamas said that the mortar killed 42 people and left dozens wounded. Israel said that Hamas militants had launched a rocket from a yard adjacent to the school and one mortar of three rounds hit the school, due to a GPS error. According to the Israeli military probe, the remaining two rounds hit the yard used to launch rockets into Israel, killing two members of Hamas's military wing who fired the rockets.[77]

Human Rights Watch called Hamas to "publicly renounce" the rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and hold those responsible to account. Human Rights Watch program director Iain Levine said the attacks by Hamas were "unlawful and unjustifiable, and amount to war crimes", and accused Hamas of putting Palestinians at risk by launching attacks from built-up areas.[76] A Hamas spokesman replied that the report was "biased" and denied that Hamas uses human shields.[76]

Rockets hidden under a girl's bed in Gaza[78]

On 13 October 2023, Hamas told Gaza residents not to respond to Israel’s evacuation order. The spokesperson of Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, urged Palestinians not to evacuate despite Israel warning of a potential ground invasion in response to Hamas’ terror attacks that killed more than 1,300 people.[79]

Human Rights Watch investigated 19 incidents involving 53 civilian deaths in Gaza that Israel said were the result of Hamas fighting in densely populated areas and did not find evidence for existence of Palestinian fighters in the areas at the time of the Israeli attack. In other cases where no civilians had died, the report concluded that Hamas may have deliberately fired rockets from areas close to civilians.[80] HRW also investigated 11 deaths that Israel said were civilians being used as human shields by Hamas. HRW found no evidence that the civilians were used as human shields, nor had they been shot in crossfire.[81] The Israeli 'human shields' charge against Hamas was called "full of holes" by The National (UAE), which stated that only Israel accused Hamas of using human shields during the conflict, though Hamas "may be guilty" of "locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas" and for "deliberately firing indiscriminate weapons into civilian populated areas".[82]

Israel has accused Hamas of using children as human shields. The Israeli government released video footage in which it claims two militants are shown grabbing a young boy's arm from behind holding him to walk in front of them toward a group of people waiting near a wall. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) argues the militants were placing the boy between themselves and an Israeli sniper. The second scene shows an individual, described as a terrorist, grabbing a school boy off of a floor, where he is hiding behind a column from IDF fire, and using him as a human shield to walk to a different location.[83] After 15 alleged militants sought refuge in a mosque from Israeli forces, the BBC reported that Hamas radio instructed local women to go the mosque to protect the militants. Israeli forces later opened fire and killed two women.[84]

In November 2006, the Israeli Air Force warned Muhammad Weil Baroud, commander of the Popular Resistance Committees who are accused of launching rockets into Israeli territory, to evacuate his home in a Jabalia refugee camp apartment block in advance of a planned Israeli air strike. Baroud responded by calling for volunteers to protect the apartment block and nearby buildings and, according to The Jerusalem Post, hundreds of local residents, mostly women and children, responded. Israel suspended the air strike. Israel termed the action an example of Hamas using human shields.[85] In response to the incident, Hamas proclaimed: "We won. From now on we will form human chains around every house threatened with demolition."[86] In a November 22 press release, Human Rights Watch condemned Hamas, stating: "There is no excuse for calling civilians to the scene of a planned attack. Whether or not the home is a legitimate military target, knowingly asking civilians to stand in harm's way is unlawful."[87] Following criticism, Human rights Watch issued a statement saying that their initial assessment of the situation was in error. They stated that, on the basis of available evidence, the home demolition was in fact an administrative act, viewed in the context of Israel's longstanding policy of punitive home demolitions, not a military act and thus would not fall within the purview of the law regulating hostilities during armed conflict, which had been the basis for their initial criticism of Hamas.[84]

When the UN-sponsored Goldstone Commission Report on the Gaza War was commissioned in 2009, it stated that it "found no evidence that Palestinian combatants mingled with the civilian population with the intention of shielding themselves from attack" though they deemed credible reports that Palestinian militants were "not always dressed in a way that distinguished them from civilians".[88] Hamas MP Fathi Hamed stated that "For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel...the elderly excel at this...and so do the children. This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children."[89] Following the release of the Goldstone Report, the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp was invited to testify at the UN Human Rights Council 12th Special Session that during Operation Cast Lead, Israel encountered an "enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population".[90]

Children as combatants

See also: Children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Child supporter of Hamas in December 2012

In the early intifada period, children in Gaza and the West Bank were instilled by Hamas with Islamic and military values. Evidence from 2001 shows that kindergarten children attended ceremonies where they wore emblematic uniforms and bore mock rifles. Some were dressed up as suicide bombers, whose readiness to die for the cause was held up as a model to be imitated. The preschoolers would swear an oath 'to pursue jihad, resistance and intifada.' At summer camps, alongside Quranic studies and familiarization with computers, courses were given that included military training.[91]

Although Hamas admits to sponsoring summer schools to train teenagers in handling weapons they condemn attacks by children. Following the deaths of three teenagers during a 2002 attack on Netzarim in central Gaza, Hamas banned attacks by children and "called on the teachers and religious leaders to spread the message of restraint among young boys".[92][93]

Hamas's use of child labor to build tunnels with which to attack Israel has also been criticized, with at least 160 children killed in the tunnels as of 2012.[94]

Misuse of humanitarian aid

In 2023, concerns over Hamas redirected aid for military activities were expressed after a 2021 Hamas propaganda video showed Hamas members digging up and dismantling pipelines to produce rockets such as the Qassam rocket which is commonly assembled from industrial piping. As of 2021, the European Union (EU) provided €9 million for the purchase of bulk pipes in Gaza City and Jabalia. In 2023, £26 million has been spent by the EU for expanding pipelines networks in Palestine. The United Kingdom, which had provided significant aid for building pipelines in Palestine, has denied that its funds could be abused by Hamas.[95]

According to USAID precautions are being taken to avoid aid being diverted by Hamas despite the "high-risk for potential diversion and misuse.".[96]

UNRWA claimed on X on 16 October 2023 accusing Hamas militants of stealing food and medical equipment from its premises in Gaza City but quickly deleted the post and refuted their previous claim.[97]

On 7 December, Gazans interviewed by Al-Jazeera claimed Hamas was confiscating aid and takes them underground and to houses of Hamas members.[98][99][100]

Ismail Haniyeh, one of Hamas's leaders, leads a lavish lifestyle in Qatar,[101] and his wealth is estimated at 2.5-4 billion USD.[102] During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the IDF recovered receipts for purchases of jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars by one of his sons.[102]

On 10 December the IDF released aerial footage of what it claims to be Hamas members assaulting civilians before confiscating aid in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood. The video showed men assaulting civilians, unloading aid from vehicles before loading them to their own vehicles and moving them to an alleged Hamas base.[103]

On 17 December footage circulated showing armed men in masks having seized supply trucks carrying aid to Gaza. Israeli media reported them to be Hamas members.[104]

Political freedoms

Hamas mural in the West Bank

Postponement of elections

Main article: Governance of the Gaza Strip

Gaza's last presidential election was the 2005 Palestinian presidential election, which Fatah won. And the last legislative election was the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, which Hamas won with 44.45% of the vote and 74 of the 132 seats, while the previous ruling Fatah received only 41.43% of the vote and only 45 seats.[105] But since the June 2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, de facto governance of the Gaza Strip has been controlled by Hamas without any free elections. Gaza Strip's electoral process has thus received Freedom House's worst score.[106]

Press restrictions

Human rights groups and Gazans have accused the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip of restricting freedom of the press and forcefully suppressing dissent. Both foreign and Palestinian journalists report harassment and other measures taken against them.[107][108] In September 2007, the Gaza Interior Ministry disbanded the Gaza Strip branch of the pro-Fatah Union of Palestinian Journalists, a move criticized by Reporters Without Borders.[109] In November 2007, the Hamas government arrested a British journalist and for a time canceled all press cards in Gaza.[110][111] On February 8, 2008, Hamas banned distribution of the pro-Fatah Al-Ayyam newspaper, and closed its offices in the Gaza Strip because it ran a caricature that mocked legislators loyal to Hamas.[112][113] The Gaza Strip Interior Ministry later issued an arrest warrant for the editor.[114]

In late August 2007 Hamas was accused in The Telegraph, a conservative British newspaper, of torturing, detaining, and firing on unarmed protesters who had objected to policies of the Hamas government.[115] Palestinian health officials also reported that the Hamas government had been shutting down Gaza clinics in retaliation for doctor strikes. The Hamas government confirmed the "punitive measure against doctors" because, in its view, they had incited other doctors to suspend services and go out on strike.[116] In September 2007 the Hamas government banned public prayers after Fatah supporters began holding worship sessions that quickly escalated into raucous protests against Hamas rule. Government security forces beat several gathering supporters and journalists.[117] In October 2008, the Hamas government announced it would release all political prisoners in custody in Gaza. Several hours after the announcement, 17 Fatah members were released.[118]

On August 2, 2012, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) accused Hamas of harassing elected officials belonging to the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (PJS) in Gaza. The IFJ said that journalists' leaders in Gaza have faced a campaign of intimidation, as well as threats designed to force them to stop their union work. Some of these journalists are now facing charges of illegal activities and a travel ban, due to their refusal "to give in to pressure". The IFJ said that these accusations are "malicious" and "should be dropped immediately". The IFJ explained that the campaign against PJS members began in March 2012, after their election, and included a raid organized by Hamas supporters who took over the PJS offices in Gaza with the help of the security forces, and subsequently evicted the staff and elected officials. Other harassment includes the targeting of individuals who were bullied into stopping union work. The IFJ backed the PJS and called on Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to intervene to stop "his officials' unwarranted interference in journalists' affairs".[119] In November 2012, two Gazan journalists were prevented from leaving Gaza by Hamas. There were scheduled to participate in a conference in Cairo, Egypt. After being questioned by security forces, their passports were confiscated.[120]

In 2016 Reporters Without Borders condemned Hamas for censorship and torturing journalists. Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said "As living conditions in the Gaza Strip are disastrous, Hamas wants to silence critics and does not hesitate to torture a journalist in order to control media coverage in its territory."[121]

Reporting on the dangers faced by Gazan journalists in 2023-2044, Haaretz reporter Sheren Falah Saab writes that if they dare to criticize Hamas or write what is happening in the Hamas government, they will pay with their lives.[122]

Human rights abuses

In June 2011, the Independent Commission for Human Rights based in Ramallah published a report whose findings included that the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were subjected in 2010 to an "almost systematic campaign" of human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas, as well as by Israeli authorities, with the security forces belonging to the PA and Hamas being responsible for torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions.[123]

In 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) presented a 43-page long list of human rights violations committed by Hamas. Among actions attributed to Hamas, the HRW report mentions beatings with metal clubs and rubber hoses, hanging of alleged collaborationists with Israel, and torture of 102 individuals. According to the report, Hamas also tortured civil society activists and peaceful protesters. Reflecting on the captivity of Gilad Shalit, the HRW report described it as "cruel and inhuman". The report also slams Hamas for harassment of people based on so-called morality offenses and for media censorship.[124][125] In a public statement Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director of HRW claimed, "after five years of Hamas rule in Gaza, its criminal justice system reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainees' rights and grants impunity to abusive security services." Hamas responded by denying charges and describing them as "politically motivated".[126]

On May 26, 2015, Amnesty International released a report saying that Hamas carried out extrajudicial killings, abductions and arrests of Palestinians and used the Al-Shifa Hospital to detain, interrogate and torture suspects during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. It details the executions of at least 23 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel and torture of dozens of others, many victims of torture were members of rival Palestinian movement Fatah.[127][128]

In 2019, Osama Qawassmeh, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, accused Hamas of "kidnapping and brutally torturing Fatah members in a way that no Palestinian can imagine." Qawassmeh accused Hamas of kidnapping and torturing 100 Fatah members in Gaza. The torture allegedly included the practice called "shabah"—the painful binding of the hands and feet to a chair. Also in 2019, Fatah activist from Gaza Raed Abu al-Hassin was beaten and had his two legs broken by Hamas security officers. Al-Hassin was taken into custody by Hamas after he participated in a pro-Abbas demonstration in the Gaza Strip.[129]

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