Beit Lahiya, Northern Gaza – For the third consecutive day, Hassan Saad, 38, and hundreds of others went down to the streets of Beit Lahiya, asking for the end of their suffering and a stop of the war against Gaza.
Saad is one of the protest coordinators, working with 14 others who, according to him, gathered spontaneously to organize the demonstrations.
The main trigger, said Saad, was a discussion on Facebook after new Israeli expulsion orders were issued last Monday.
“The nightmare of the trip once again was the main reason that pushed us to do something to demand the end of the war against Gaza,” Saad told Al Jazeera by phone from Beit Lahiya on Thursday.
“The idea of going down the streets to demonstrate, holding signs as an immediate end to war, was born.”
Saad was forced to flee Beit Lahiya two months after the War of Israel against Gaza. On January 27, when hundreds of thousands of displaced residents were authorized to return north of Gaza, he returned to the rubble of his house.
To return to the bomb attacks and the expulsion notices of the Israeli army was more than the members of the Facebook group could not bear, added Saad.
He attributes the answer to the feeling of abandonment felt by the Palestinians, because the world, in his words, has made them face the displacement, famine, murder, bombing and arrests alone.
On Tuesday, videos began to appear on the social networks of hundreds of people in Gaza, in particular in Beit Lahiya, singing against war and calling for Hamas to resign.
“ We raise our children, only to lose them ”
Hamas’ request to abandon power was not an official objective, said Saad, rather, the appeal spontaneously came from the demonstrators.
“It is difficult to control the opinions of people during manifestations, especially when they are exhausted and deeply frustrated,” added Saad.
“The requests of the people come from an unbearable reality … If the end of the war requires that Hamas retire, then too bad.”
However, added Saad, he rejects any political exploitation of the demonstrations to attack Hamas and the Palestinian resistance.
“Whether we agree or do not agree with Hamas, they are finally part of our people … They are not from another planet,” he added.
Commenting on the demonstrations, the member of the Hamas political bureau, Basem Naim, said on Facebook: “Everyone has the right to scream with pain and raise their voice against the aggression against our people and the betrayal of our nation.
“Whether our people have come down to the streets or not, we are part of them and they are part of us,” he said, denouncing any exploitation of the situation, “whether it is a questionable political agendas or to divert responsibility for the criminal aggressor, the occupation and their army.”
While the images of the demonstrations of Beit Lahiya circulated, the commentators inside and outside Gaza offered different interpretations.
Some see them as a natural expression of majority demands – the end of the War of Israel’s extermination against Gaza.
Others focused on the call so that Hamas renounces the control of the band and allowed a restructuring to facilitate the end of the war.
Mutant Al -Hayek, spokesperson for Gaza for the Fatah – the Hamas political rival which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) – wrote on Facebook, urging Hamas to “take into account the voice of the people” and withdraw, allowing the AP and the organization of Palestinian Liberation to assume responsibility.
On the Israeli side, the Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee expressed his support for demonstrations, supervising them as anti-hamas.
In Gaza, these variable dials have sowed confusion as to the motivations of the demonstrations, but the organizers – and al -Barawi – insist that the basic demand puts an end to war.
Hisham al-Barawi, 52, participating in the demonstration, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that, contrary to the statements of the media, they were not “led” in the streets by external forces.
“We are here to say:” Enough oppression and death “. Every two years, we go through wars.
“We build our houses, only to be bombed in seconds. We are exhausted … We are only human! ” Cried al-Barawi.
“Hamas … we don’t hate them. But I call them to resign. Their 18 years of rule have been filled with wars and climbing. We want to live in peace. “
‘We just want to live’
Marching near Al-Barawi was Mahmoud Jihad al-Haj Ahmed, 34, doctor at Kamal Adwan hospital.
“Our protests are independent. We want war to stop. We refuse that our lives were playing further,” he said.
“We need humanitarian aid. We need borders to open. We need a worthy life. “
Al-Haj Ahmed said that Israel killing his parents and sister, but he did not have time to cry while his work in the hospital consumed him until the day when the Israeli army forced everyone inside.
“We have so many children and young people who are amputees … So many injured who need to travel for treatment, but they are prevented from leaving,” he said.
“It’s disastrous.”
Regarding Hamas calls to give up power, Al-Haj Ahmed said that if Hamas would resign people’s suffering, he would support this without hesitation.
“This requires prioritizing the greatest public interest. Suffering is unbearable,” he said.
“I believe that the solution is a completely independent local administration without political affiliations to govern Gaza and get us out of this crisis.
“I urge our brothers in Hamas to give others a chance to govern Gaza. The next management does not have to be against Hamas, we have many competent national personalities who can manage the band. ”
Saed Falafel, 60, also protested, demanding the end of the War of Israel.
“We want to live. This is our main request,” said Saed.
“If you walk in the Gaza markets, you will not find a single tomato or egg. We die of hunger and to be killed in all possible ways. In less than a week, we will be in the imprint of a major famine.
“We have no interest in being the enemies of anyone. We are civilians who just want to live in peace and have a life worth living. We want a solution to this disaster.
“Anyone in the world with an ounce of humanity and compassion would feel our pain. Act now to help us.
“We are human beings.”
