Why does the media ignore Hamas’ crimes against Palestinians? | Opinion

Since the current war between Israel and Hamas began, Hamas has committed countless atrocities against its own people in Gaza, and this was true even before the war. Yet, despite Hamas kidnapping and routinely terrorizing the Gaza Strip and its entire inhabitants, somehow these crimes go unreported by Arab and Western media, as well as international human rights organizations, all of which tend to portray Hamas as a legitimate resistance group trying to “liberate” the Palestinians.

Hamas’ crimes against Palestinians are not being covered in the media for lack of evidence. Many Gazans have expressed concern about the regime’s atrocities that they have witnessed first-hand. And they have not just witnessed them. Social media platforms are filled with videos in which Gazans criticize Hamas and blame it for the dire situation that exists in Gaza today.

There is no doubt that Israeli airstrikes have killed many civilians, but each time they occur, these incidents make the headlines. Yet, for some reason, Hamas’ crimes against innocent Israelis are not covered. and The media as a whole turns a blind eye to the innocent people of Gaza and tries to present a misleading black and white narrative about this conflict.

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If they are worried about Gaza, why are they all What do you think about the violence that the people of the Gaza Strip face, including Hamas violence?

The sad truth is that if Israelis are not involved, no one is interested in defending the rights of the Palestinians, about whom they claim to care so much.

We, the people of Gaza, have tried many times to remove Hamas from power. In 2019 and 2023, the people of Gaza held peaceful demonstrations against Hamas. For this crime, we suffered brutal attacks from Hamas militants. Hamas imprisoned more than 1,300 protesters at each demonstration.

I was one of them. I was personally imprisoned and tortured twice by Hamas for my participation in protests.

So I know firsthand that when ordinary Gazans like me protested against Hamas, there was absolutely no media attention. No human rights groups called for the release of prisoners who had been held in Hamas prisons for months. No human rights groups called for the release of people who had been tortured and even killed by Hamas, like Issam al-Sarfein, who was tortured and killed in a Hamas prison.

This trend has continued during the current war: Hundreds of Gazans have been killed by failed Hamas rocket attacks since October 7. Hamas has not only seized food, fuel and medicine sent to Gaza, but it has also done more than that.

Thirteen-year-old Ahmad Breka was shot in the head by Hamas while trying to collect humanitarian aid in Rafah, while others were lucky to only be shot in the legs while trying to steal humanitarian aid that Hamas had stolen and stored in their compound.

These inhuman acts and the suffering that the Gazans have been going through since October have prompted many to take part in new demonstrations during the war. They demonstrated in front of Yahya Sinwar’s house in Khan Yunis, while others protested in the north, calling on Hamas to release the prisoners and end the war. They received the same response from Hamas as I did: they were shot at.

And once again, media around the world largely ignored these crimes.

Daring to steal food or protest against Hamas in the middle of a war are not the only ways Hamas persecutes us, the people of Gaza. Even trying to play a role in delivering aid to those in need, or even thinking about playing a role the day after a war, is enough to get you the death sentence from Hamas.

That is exactly what happened a few days ago when the Abu Amro tribal leader and two of his tribesmen were killed by Hamas fighters.

A few months ago, they beheaded the head of a clan in northern Gaza and issued a statement on social media saying, “We killed him and we will do the same to anyone who opposes us and cooperates with Israel.”

Others who openly criticized Hamas during the war are also reported to be missing.

In addition to this, many of Fatah’s members were placed under house arrest by Hamas for “security reasons” and were kidnapped if they left their homes, as was the case with Yousef Shaheen in Gaza, but these crimes were never reported by the international or Arab media.

Al Jazeera, which employs hundreds of journalists and has multiple offices in the Gaza Strip, refuses to report on these killings.

This systematic terror that Hamas is waging against Gaza’s key tribes and opposition factions is intended to undermine their plans for Gaza after the war ends, which will entail empowering civilian society to run Gaza’s civilian affairs in the future. Hamas plans to emulate the Taliban model in Gaza after the war, going underground and fighting from the shadows. They hope that by doing so they will be able to remain in power and continue to terrorize both Israelis and Palestinians.

Where is the anger?

This biased reporting has dire repercussions, and it is why Hamas has been successful in silencing Gaza’s opposition, inciting mobs around the world who have bought into its propaganda and taken to the streets, waving Hamas flags, wearing masks and chanting terrorist slogans, falsely implying that all Gazans are Hamas members who want to continue living under Hamas dictatorship.

This is a horrific act of abandonment of the innocent civilians of Gaza, whose suffering clearly only matters if it can be blamed on the Jews.

Hamza Haudi is a Palestinian from Gaza City. He is an accountant and peace activist.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.