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Life under Hamas Is Unbearable; Please, Remove Hamas from Power
(Newsweek) Bassem Eid - Hamas, with its iron-fisted rule in Gaza, has once again revealed its true colors, not as a liberator of my people, but as a kleptocratic tyrant. With hospitals running dangerously low on fuel, Hamas has hoarded over 200,000 gallons of fuel for its own militant apparatus, siphoning the lifeblood of innocent Palestinian civilians to fuel its hate-filled agenda against Israel. Hamas' actions directly contribute to the suffering of the very people they vow to protect. They reveal a moral bankruptcy that holds the lives of Gaza's Palestinians as ransom. Hamas' unyielding grip on power remains the principal obstacle to relief and peace. And here's more truth: It is Hamas that is holding its own people hostage as human shields. Hamas put up roadblocks to prevent Gazans from moving away from the area that Israel had called on them to evacuate. Hamas' callous nature toward its people's rights includes storing weapons and other targets of military value next to schools, hospitals, and mosques. In the West Bank where I live, senior Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders praised the Hamas carnage of Oct. 7 as a "dream come true," a "miraculous victory" and a "source of great joy." Any legislator right now calling for a ceasefire is misguided. Leaving Hamas in power after the horrific human rights violations they have committed is unimaginable. Life under Hamas is unbearable, much like under the similar regimes of the Taliban and ISIS; many Gazans are tortured and killed for deviating from the approved lifestyle. Let us not forget why my brothers and sisters in Gaza are in this situation in the first place. If Hamas had never violated Israel's borders and butchered 1,400 Israelis, torturing and raping the massacred, there would be no fuel crisis in Gaza today. Please, remove Hamas from power and defeat these wicked terrorists who hold us captive. The writer is a Palestinian peace advocate, political analyst and human rights pioneer.