On Thursday, for the third day in a row, reports emerged from Gaza of ongoing protests in the northern part of the Strip, particularly in Jabaliya and Beit Lahia. Demonstrators shouted, “Hamas, get out. Out, out, out.”
In Jabaliya, protesters called out the names of senior Hamas officials, chanting, “Shame, shame, the cause of the destruction,” and “The earth is shaking.”
A resident of northern Gaza told reporters on camera: “In Gaza, we want an end to Hamas because they are not the resistance. We are the resistance. It’s our family members who have been killed. They’re sitting abroad while our children are dying.”
Protesters in Jabaliya carried signs that read: “We won’t be pawns,” “We want to live,” and “Hamas out.” Children shouted, “Hamas is a terrorist organization,” and one sign took aim at a senior Hamas official abroad: “Osama Hamdan, you sold out your people. Go to hell, you collaborator.”
The protests began on Tuesday, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the downfall of Hamas rule. However, demonstrators have not directly addressed the issue of Israeli hostages or called for their release.
(An Arab opinion poll conducted late last year showed that close to two-thirds of Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria prefer that Hamas should be part of, or even lead, a Palestinian governing body that would control the Strip after the war.)
Alongside the protests in northern Gaza, a statement was released on Wednesday night, attributed to clans and tribes in the southern Gaza Strip.
It read: “We, families and tribes from southern Gaza, call on families to send a message to their sons working with Hamas or participating in the repression of civilians to cease these actions that harm our people and exploit young people for causes that do not serve the national interest. We will not remain silent about attacks on innocent civilians.”
The statement follows videos circulating online showing Hamas terrorists abusing civilians or extorting protection money in the Khan Yunis area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the emerging protest movement in the Gaza Strip was proof that Jerusalem’s approach to the Palestinian terrorist organization was working.
“In recent days, we have seen something we have never seen before—public protests against Hamas rule in Gaza,” the premier said during a 40-signature debate in the Knesset, which the opposition can call once a month and which he is obliged to attend. “This shows that our policy is working.”
On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians staged protests in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the war with the Jewish state and calling for Hamas terrorists to relinquish their control of the coastal enclave.
The rallies, among the most significant against Hamas since the conflict began, reportedly included chants such as “Hamas out,” and protesters carried banners reading “Stop the war” and “We want to live in peace.”
This is an edited version of an article originally published by Israel Hayom.