Amal, a 26-year-old native of Gaza, whose real name cannot be revealed for security reasons, will never forget that hot summer day in August 2014 when 45 bullets cut through the air, penetrating the body of her 40-year-old brother, executed by Hamas in Gaza for alleged collaboration with Israel.
His body - together with the bodies of other suspected collaborators - was dumped in a public place, near Al Azhar University, for others to see and fear.
Oppressing the Innocent
In 2014 alone, amid Israel's operation Protective Edge that aimed at putting an end to the ongoing barrage of rockets from the enclave at Israel's southern towns, Hamas executed at least 44 people suspected of ties with the Jewish state, the Israel Defence Forces reported.
But Amal says many of those killed were wrongfully accused.
"My brother was innocent. My family repeatedly called on Hamas to provide us with evidence that would prove his guilt but those calls fell on deaf ears", she lamented.
Family's pleas to the Palestinian Authority and international organisations haven't helped either, with Hamas refusing to provide evidence linking Amal's brother to Israel.
Eventually, it was the group's refusal that drew Amal and her family to the conclusion that the reason behind the execution was personal, not political.
"Shortly before his imprisonment, my brother had a public dispute - that resulted in a fight - with one of Hamas' commanders. The militant, who believed he was publicly humiliated, vowed to take revenge", recalls Amal.
And he did. Several weeks after the feud, says Amal, her brother was arrested and thrown into a prison cell for nine months, leaving behind a wife and three kids. "He was a simple and a humble man, who didn't deserve the humiliation, the torture and the pain he went through", she said, adding that his death tore her family apart, creating a chasm between its members, with some, including Amal herself, relocating to Ramallah, unable to carry the heavy load of their loss.
Scrapping Hatred?
With time the family managed to overcome the rift, but the wound hasn't healed. Despite the pain, Amal is working tirelessly to change the Palestinian society. Taking part in several peace-promoting projects, Amal gives lectures, builds bridges between Israelis and the Palestinians, and educates others that hatred is not a solution.
But she hasn't forgotten the damage Hamas caused: "Hamas is an oppressor that doesn't know what justice is. That's why we want them to be removed sooner rather than later", she summed up.
Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip and that's considered terrorist by Israel, seized control of the enclave in 2007 after it ousted its rivals - the officials of Fatah. Since then, dozens of alleged collaborators have been executed, with many others shot in their legs, a signature punishment used by Hamas to deter political opponents.
