It's been 15 years since Hamas, an Islamic group, took control of the Gaza Strip, ousting Fatah officials in a violent and bloody coup.
Recalling those days in June 2007, Mohammed Zakareia, a construction worker now in his forties, says he was excited about the events that he regarded as a new dawn for the coastal enclave.
Zakareia's excitement was not only dictated by ideology. The expulsion of Fatah has stirred a feeling that justice had prevailed, especially because after the death of the faction's leader Yasser Arafat in 2004, the movement had become corrupt. Its cooperation with Israel has grown tighter and the general public felt that it was a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
The rule of Hamas, believed Zakareia, was destined to uproot that corruption and install a new system. "During the first days of Hamas' rule, I was extremely happy. I thought they would liberate the area. They would let people live freely. They would improve our economy."
The reality, however, was remote from the truth. Starting in 2007,
Hamas boosted the Islamisation and radicalisation process in Gaza. They stipulated a certain dress code in schools and on the streets. They put gender separation in place. The media and the education system were encouraged to spread Islamic values. Strict Sharia law was put in place. Punishments were harsh and unforgiving.
On the economic front, Hamas has also failed to address the burning issues facing Palestinian society.
Unemployment continued to grow, reaching 47 percent earlier this year. Poverty continued to spread, with a vast majority of the population living in dire conditions.
Those conditions have only deteriorated over the years. Part of the reason was Israel's ongoing siege of Gaza. Another factor was the Jewish state's military campaigns that have destroyed the enclave's infrastructure and left thousands of people homeless and in need of constant assistance.
Zakareia is far from being alone in his criticism of Hamas.
If elections were held today, and the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas would not run for office, Ismail Haniyeh, the Islamic group's chief would only get 20 percent of all votes.
Other leaders of the organisation, including the ruler of Gaza Yahya Sinwar and the former head of the politburo Khaled Mishal would only receive 3 percent. The vast majority, some 37 percent of all ballots, would go to Marwan Barghouti, an independent candidate currently serving life sentence in an Israeli jail.