Hamas violently suppresses Gaza economic protests

Gaza’s rulers, who back Israeli border protests, accused of using force against dissent

Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem
Thu 21 Mar 2019 10.44 GMT

Hamas appears to have forcibly suppressed a rare uptick of public dissent in Gaza, beating and arresting scores of people over the past week who were demonstrating against price rises and dire living conditions across the strip.

A group of activists and civil society figures calling itself “We want to live” had planned for a general strike on Thursday. But following riot police attacks since last week, it was not clear if the strike would go ahead.

Hamas rules Gaza, a 140 sq mile territory, while Israel controls the strip’s air, sea and most of its borders. Israel’s military occupies the West Bank, with small enclaves run under the limited autonomy of the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas, which has backed a year-long protest movement along the frontier with Israel, has not shown similar approval for internal criticism.

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