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Source: https://forward.com/opinion/421788/a-year-after-the-great-march-of-return-what-went-wrong/
The Great March of Return, What Went Wrong?
(Forward) Muhammad Shehada - Gaza's Great Return March was meant to be a six-week protest against everything that made the Strip unlivable. The focus on the Palestinian "right of return" to Israel was the march's greatest weakness from a tactical point of view. It reduced international support for the march, which was easily portrayed as a call for flooding Israel with Palestinians. The marchers were cast as surrendering to despair and pursuing martyrdom, as cannon fodder who were infiltrated, manipulated and ultimately controlled by Hamas. Hamas keeps the protests going, even though they are hollowed out of meaning and people are sick of them. But they continue to benefit Hamas as well, shielding it from facing the Gazan crowds who have become weary of Hamas' indefinite rule.