Hamas murdered a Fatah sheikh in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Media Watch reported. According to the report, this is not the only human rights abuse being committed against the Gazan people.
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report published by Palestinian Media Watch, “Last week, Hamas demonstrated its continued control by murdering a powerful rival Palestinian leader. The mukhtar (clan head) of the Abu Samra family, Ahmad Abu Samra, a Fatah sheikh from Deir al-Balah, was gunned down by Hamas terrorists. The murder followed a deadly cycle of violence: Hamas first shot Abdulrahman Sha’aban Abu Samra as he stood in line for flour, in violation of a Hamas dictate. In retaliation, the Abu Samra clan killed a Hamas member. Hamas then responded by assassinating the clan’s leader.”
Hamas even gloated about the murder: “Fatah sheikh Ahmad Abu Samra met his end today, praise be to Allah, five months after his vile crime of murdering the Martyr, [Hamas] police officer Ibrahim Shaldan, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. May the rest of the spies meet the same fate soon.”
According to Palestinian Media Watch, “By proudly claiming responsibility and promising more executions, Hamas made clear that anyone in Gaza who dares to oppose its authority will be eliminated. This is more than clan warfare. It is the systematic suppression of all clans that won’t submit to Hamas’ dictates.”
This is not the first time that Hamas has committed grave human rights abuses against the Gazan people. Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate Chairman Nasser Abu Bakr stated: “In this entire war, there are indeed attacks against journalists. We are monitoring and recording daily attacks by the Hamas Movement, and the ‘Arrow Battalion’ or something. It is a known group that belongs to Hamas that attacks journalists, arrests journalists in hospitals, in institutions. I don’t want to specify details. Out of our concern for the Palestinian national situation, we don’t talk much about it.”
According to Palestinian Media Watch, “Hamas murders, arrests, and attacks at will, confirming that it will not give up power unless Israel defeats it militarily. World leaders have naively and irresponsibly called for ending the war without Hamas’ defeat. On August 8, the foreign ministers of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom called for a “political resolution” that would leave Hamas undefeated in Gaza, yet somehow exclude Hamas from governance: “A political resolution based on a negotiated two-state solution requires the total demilitarization of Hamas and its complete exclusion from any form of governance in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian Authority must have a central role.””
Palestinian Media Watch concluded: “Yet, the PA knows that Hamas remains far more popular than Fatah and thus the PA leadership is constantly reminding its people that it will include Hamas in a future government. The Western leaders who push for ending the war immediately are not only naïve but also serve as Hamas’ shield. Hamas will continue to refuse to release hostages and give up its arms even facing Israel’s impending military campaign to destroy it. The international pressure gives Hamas hope that Israel will be forced to surrender.”
“The assassination of Abu Samra, along with the daily attacks and arrests of journalists, reconfirms the stark reality,” Palestinian Media Watch stressed. “Hamas will continue to rule until Israel conquers its final power base in Gaza City. International calls to halt the war empower Hamas to continue to fight. Only when Hamas sees that the Western world stands behind an Israeli invasion of Gaza City will Hamas even consider ending the war and releasing the hostages on Israel’s and the Western world’s terms.”
Photo from Palestinian Media Watch: https://palwatch.org/page/41475
