The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has for years overseen a secret police force in Gaza that conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians and built files on young people, journalists and those who questioned the government, according to intelligence officials and a trove of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The unit, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported their own neighbors to the police. People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. In some cases, the records suggest that the authorities followed people to determine if they were carrying on romantic relationships outside marriage.
Hamas has long run an oppressive system of governance in Gaza, and many Palestinians there know that security officials watch them closely. But a 62-slide presentation on the activities of the General Security Service, delivered only weeks before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, reveals the degree to which the largely unknown unit penetrated the lives of Palestinians.
. . .
Everyday Gazans were stuck — behind the wall of Israel’s crippling blockade and under the thumb and constant watch of a security force. That dilemma continues today, with the added threat of Israeli ground troops and airstrikes.
So the fact people of Gaza elected Hamas was Israel’s fault. That actually made me realize that the fact Slovaks elected a terrible populist government is actually Austria’s fault. I guess we need to attack them…
Bro 90% (literally) of the Gazan population weren’t even alive during the last election. The didn’t vote for shit most of the population is like 23 or younger and have lived with Hamas bullying and Israeli super extra bullying for literally their entire life. Most haven’t even had a like full feast in their life ever and at the current pace likely won’t ever if they even survive.
That still doesn’t change the fact they elected them. Even 18 years ago electing a terrorist organization was dangerous.
Also, Hamas still has quite high support in Palestine: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/03/22/poll-hamas-remains-popular-among-palestinians/
Nobody is in a warzone asking poll questions don’t be obtuse, Numbers from before Israel started intense genocidal actions are irrelevant dude.
Ed: also your source notes opinions but doesn’t provide their source for the numbers.
Ed fdd’s original mission statement.
Unbiased indeed.
Here is another source then: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514
But of course, when the ideal of palestinian people is refuted, it’s either an irrelevant poll or wrong time of asking…
Notice opinion prominently displayed in that headline?
What opinion are you talking about?
It’s literally an opinion poll and says as much in the text of the link you provided…
Yes, because the narrative is that palestinians elected hamas 18 years ago, it cannot be their fault Hamas has the power.
But even today polls show hamas has a big support basis.
If Austria required Slovak to register the birth of their children with them so they may later be eligible to vote, then you might be right.
There hasn’t been an election in Gaza since 2006 and your purposely-obtuse ass knows it.
If Israel wasn’t committed to upholding an apartheid state, and now genocide, maybe groups like Hamas wouldn’t exist. Which again, is a group that Israel itself propped up and allowed to take power in Gaza.
Gaza hasn’t had an election since 2006 and the average age of a Gaza resident is under 18.
Feel free to work out the math on that. But imagine if George Bush Jr was nominally still president while the US existed under Canadian military occupation for the last 18 years.
We can take a look at an actual poll: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/03/22/poll-hamas-remains-popular-among-palestinians/
Gotta wonder how many of those pollsters got cut down by Israeli sniper fire or obliterated by 2000 ton US-made bombs to go tent-to-tent and secure those those numbers.