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How Hamas Uses Brutality to Maintain Power

(New York Times) Julian E. Barnes - The bodies of six Israeli hostages recovered last month provided a visceral reminder of Hamas's brutality. Each had been shot in the head. But Hamas also uses violence to maintain its control over Gaza's population. In July, Amin Abed, a Palestinian activist who has spoken out publicly about Hamas, was attacked by Hamas security operatives, who covered his head and dragged him away before repeatedly striking him with hammers and metal bars. In a phone interview from his hospital bed, referring to Hamas, he said, "They almost killed me, those killers and criminals." In September, the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate blasted the "policy of intimidation and threat" facing some journalists in Gaza after a group of gunmen stormed the home of Ehab Fasfous, a reporter and social media activist. Fasfous, a well-known critic of Hamas, has long been targeted by the group's general security service, a secret police force in Gaza that has conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians. On Wednesday, Abed left Gaza, one of dozens of wounded and ill people whom Israel permitted to travel to the UAE for treatment. "I feel safe for the first time in 17 years," he said from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi. "There's no one that wants to kill, arrest or follow me."
2024-09-15 00:00:00
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