A rare phenomenon can be seen in Gaza nowadays. Young people are taking to Twitter and other social networks to protest against Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the enclave.
Using the hash tag #خطفوا غزة, or "they kidnapped Gaza", locals are saying they are tired of Hamas' rule, which has been in place since 2007.
Another wrote: "The most authoritarian countries that restrict freedom of opinion and expression have not imposed such restrictions as those imposed by those, who #kidnapped_Gaza. If they could restrict minds, they would bind them too".
Rami Aman, a local peace activist who recently escaped the Strip after being tortured by the Islamist group, says he has been monitoring the situation closely and has been in touch with many young people who dared to reject the rule of Hamas.
Until recently, Aman was also one of them. After 2011, with the outbreak of the Arab Spring protests that swapped the Middle East, he was active on social media networks, arranged virtual meetings between Palestinians and Israelis, and
engaged in several protests against Hamas under the banner "We Want to Live".
However, those protests were met with an iron fist from the Islamist group. Scores were beaten and arrested, something that only contributed to the general feeling of fear among the masses and subdued their resistance.
For years, Hamas has managed to maintain that relative quiet. Despite that, Aman says people are now waking up.
In 2021, the
poverty rate in the Gaza Strip saw a dramatic spike, reaching 59 percent, compared to 43 percent five years earlier.
The dire economic situation has prompted a number of social problems, including drug abuse, crime, domestic violence, and divorce. Hamas has traditionally pinned the blame on Israel, its tight blockade of the enclave, and the wars it has been waging.
A senior official of the group argued his movement was doing its best to cope with the pressing issues, but for ordinary Gazans, the deeds of the Hamas government are too little and far from enough.
Now they demand change.Aman says he knows that that change will not come from violent protests like in many countries across the Middle East. The reason for this is the fact that Gazans lack any support.
To see a change, says the activist, Gazans will need to find a political solution but that, in its turn, is hard to reach.
Last year, Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas cancelled legislative and presidential elections, after his Fatah party failed to reach an agreement with Hamas and other factions.
However, Aman says that even if these elections had taken place,
they wouldn't have brought about the much needed change.