Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
"Hamas' rule is over. The organization has destroyed us. We are against the regime of oppression and at this rate, in two to three years, everyone here will be dead. For us, it’s better if Sudanese control us," declared Hisham al-Barawi, the head of one of the largest clans in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, in a video that went viral on Palestinian social networks this week.
He later gave an interview in which he expressed Gaza residents' demands more clearly: "We demand Hamas release all hostages and in exchange, Israel will release our prisoners. We’re not against Hamas, they’re part of us but we can’t live under their rule and we must raise white flags."
Protests against Hamas in Gaza have been unprecedented since October 7, with hundreds to thousands of people openly chanting strong slogans against the terror organization, such as "Go away, Hamas!" or "Shia, Shia," an insult comparing them to apostasy.
The protests took place all over the Gaza Strip for three days last week, but since last Friday no demonstration has been reported.
S., a senior Fatah official from the Strip, says, "Many Gazans, out of despair, have broken the fear barrier, expressing disgust at the endless nightmare."
Prof. Mahaymarr Abu-Saada, a political science researcher who relocated to Egypt, adds in a conversation: "Hamas must understand this is not just another 'We want to live' protest like those in the past, which didn’t really threaten them. If they don't listen to the people, internal Palestinian clashes in Gaza will develop soon."
However, it is still too early to write off Hamas or declare the beginning of a "Gazan Spring." While the protests reflect the ongoing suffering of Gaza’s residents, they have not yet evolved into a direct confrontation with Hamas, with which much of the public still identifies.
At this stage, the protests appear to be a spontaneous outburst that has not yet gained critical mass, lacking leadership, an organizational framework or a clear agenda. The organization is closely monitoring the developments and will not hesitate to crush the protests with blood if it perceives them as an existential threat as it began doing recently.
And indeed, Hamas executed on Saturday several Palestinians who took part in the protests but were accused of collaborating with Israel. The message was clear: Hamas will not allow further demonstrations and will not hesitate to kill its own people in order to maintain its stability.
In Israel, there is satisfaction with what is unfolding in Gaza, with many viewing it as a sign of success for current policy. In a statement sent to Gaza’s public, Defense Minister Israel Katz included a clear endorsement: "They are demanding the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages. This is the only way to end the war."
Hamas, on its part, launched a campaign claiming that the protests are being driven by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, implying that anyone participating is aiding the enemy. So far, there are no signs of Hamas softening its stance on the war or hostage negotiations, with the terror group sticking to its usual message: releases only in exchange for discussions on a ceasefire and withdrawal from the Strip.
The current wave of protest is fading away and Hamas demonstrated its dominance and strength. However, the potential for a broad popular explosion still exists in Gaza, and is very likely to erupt again in the future.
The publications and quick denials
The Arab world is closely following developments in Gaza but is also concerned about another move advanced by Israel’s defense minister this week: the approval of the "Voluntary Exit Authority," which aims to implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of emptying Gaza and turning it into a "Riviera."
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The project is accompanied by attempts to create an optimistic atmosphere, as reflected in unbalanced reports about "the first large group of Gazans leaving for abroad" (in reality, 70 people with foreign citizenship left for medical treatment in Italy and Romania), or "a sharp rise in the number of people leaving the Strip" (in fact, 200 per week, from a population of about two million).
The establishment of the authority further exacerbates the damage Israel has incurred over the past two months of enthusiasm for Trump’s plan. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry – which has consistently stated that there will be no normalization without a discussion on the Palestinian issue – stressed this week: "We strongly condemn the Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement about the establishment of the exit authority." Egypt, Jordan and Qatar followed Riyadh with similar statements.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to publish reports, often resembling trivia quizzes, about countries or semi-countries allegedly agreeing to accept Gazans. The common thread in all these reports is that shortly after they are published, they are vigorously denied. This was the case with Albania, whose prime minister, Edi Rama, claimed in January that the reports were fake news and similarly with Sudan, Indonesia and Egypt, which was recently reported to have agreed to temporarily accept half a million Gazans.
"Cairo firmly rejects any attempt to displace Gazans, viewing it as a threat to its national security. Egypt will not accept Gazans in exchange for economic aid and our foreign policy is not based on barter," said a statement from the Egyptian Information Ministry this week.
The height of absurdity came with reports regarding entities like Somaliland and Puntland, regions that broke away from Somalia in the 1990s. "The focus of Israel and the U.S. on Somaliland has deep strategic logic," explains Egyptian researcher Dr. Ra'ib Serjali.
"It’s a backward area but of geostrategic importance, located near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and controlling the movement to the Suez Canal. A promise of recognition and aid could be used as bait to implement Trump’s plan in this area."
Somali researcher Dr. Ali Kalani argues: "It’s a fantasy that shows a complete lack of understanding of Somalis, who strongly oppose the idea."
Fantasies over reality
The satisfaction in Israel is so great that no one has noticed that even the architects of the plan are starting to lose interest. Just two weeks ago, Trump declared that he had no intention of expelling Palestinians from Gaza and his envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, said last week in a podcast that stirred attention, that Washington is interested in Gaza's reconstruction but he did not mention any population evacuation.
The gap between Israel and the world regarding Trump’s plan once again highlights – as it has many times since October 7 – that fantasies, yearnings and worldviews dominate our discourse and become stronger than pragmatic plans.
This was evident with the idea of creating a clan-based regime in Gaza instead of Hamas, with hopes that Egypt or the Emirates would rule Gaza and do the dirty work for us. Clinging to dreams wastes time and resources, causes damage and diverts attention from core issues, particularly the hostages.
In the meantime, Israelis must question the true goal of the current campaign in Gaza, something the political and security leaderships have avoided explaining to the public. In this context, there’s suspicion that the actual goal is the full conquest of the Strip, which would mean giving up on the hostages, as the chances of freeing them during an all-out war against Hamas are close to zero.
This also opens the door to a dramatic strategic shift, given the heavy and long-lasting security, economic, social and diplomatic price that will be required for the conquest of Gaza and indefinite stay in the area.
It’s a task that will likely need to be carried out in the long term, but it’s doubtful whether the leadership that created the October 7 debacle and lacks domestic legitimacy is the one that should or could lead such a historic move.
- Dr. Michael Milshtein is the head of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.