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Source: https://www.ft.com/content/5f1d603a-397f-11e8-8b98-2f31af407cc8
Hamas Steers Gaza Protests Away from Gandhi-Style Vision
(Financial Times-UK) Mehul Srivastava - When Gaza journalist Ahmad Abu Artema penned a Facebook post wondering "what would happen if 200,000 peaceful protesters broke through" the border with Israel, he envisaged a Gandhi-style, non-violent demonstration that would include football matches, weddings and music. The protests, however, quickly slipped out of their hands, and into the grasp of the most powerful force in Gaza - Hamas. For Hamas, the march presented an opportunity. "Suddenly, they can shift the blame for the suffering of the people of Gaza back to the Israelis," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of politics at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. "They are the number one winners of this march." Mr. Artema has found himself sidelined, fretting that the actions of the Palestinians violated his basic principles - stay away from the border fence, do not provoke the Israelis and remain non-violent.