Look, I’m going to suggest sidestepping the fact that an article about what Gazaans want cites IDF spokespeople and “Reports from Palestinian media” without actually citing any and ask a question I don’t see enough.
What instructive lessons does the article provide? What should we do based on this?
If we assume the article is 100% true, we should be demanding a ceasefire and the establishment of a peace process. If this article is true, then the IDF campaign is a horrific humanitarian disaster that is punishing Gazaans and establishing a condition in which Hamas’ power is unshakable within Gaza. There’s no room for a political challenger, and there’s no safe space to criticize Hamas. There’s no possibility of revolution or political protest, because everyone is starving and there is no social or communication infrastructure.
I’m now going to address the elephant in the room: the article is useless as a piece of journalism, because it consists of an unreliable media outlet relying entirely on unreliable sources. I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it has no credibility or facts. From what I’ve read, Hamas was highly unpopular before the war, but has become far more popular as they’ve established themselves as the only group willing and able to challenge what looks to Palestinians like Netanyahu’s attempt at genocide. You can read about this in the AP, which is an actual news source citing an actual poll:
But guess what? If Gazaans want to overthrow Hamas, we need a ceasefire. If the war has made Hamas more popular, then we need a ceasefire.
The war is a disaster. It is a failure in every measure except the intended ones: it’s an exercise in vengence, an attempt for the humiliated generals to massage their bruised egos, and an ongoing attempt by Netanyahu to keep his only remaining supporters – Jewish supremacists – happy while he tries to stay out of jail.
In every other measure – rescuing hostages, securing Israeli safety, defeating Hamas – this is an unmitigated disaster that we need to stop.
But Shikaki cautions that higher support for Hamas should not be over-stated, at least not yet. As more Palestinians come to terms with the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, so attitudes could change — though that is unlikely to be the case so long as Gaza remains under massive attack.
Important again is how many people have watched videos from October 7 and the differences between the territories. In Gaza, 25% of those asked said they had viewed such videos; and 16% of all respondents told researchers Hamas had committed war crimes. In the West Bank, the corresponding numbers were just 7% and 1%.
Gaza is moving out of denial more quickly than the West Bank, Shikaki says, and that means a reckoning for Hamas. Already, only 38% of Gazans want to see the militant group return to governance after the war.
This, hamas is actually a peaceful organization that actually listens to people’s demand and abides by democratic and progressive principles, unlike israeli genocidal apartheid nazi neo-fascist conservative totalitarian anti-lgbt islamist regime who was pretending to be progressive at first, so yes we should make a cease fire right now and trust hamas so that we can retrieve the captured soldiers (or hostages if you are a nazi) and give them what they want and stop the cycle from repeating
i am so glad that there is still some nuance left on this website.
Look, I’m going to suggest sidestepping the fact that an article about what Gazaans want cites IDF spokespeople and “Reports from Palestinian media” without actually citing any and ask a question I don’t see enough.
What instructive lessons does the article provide? What should we do based on this?
If we assume the article is 100% true, we should be demanding a ceasefire and the establishment of a peace process. If this article is true, then the IDF campaign is a horrific humanitarian disaster that is punishing Gazaans and establishing a condition in which Hamas’ power is unshakable within Gaza. There’s no room for a political challenger, and there’s no safe space to criticize Hamas. There’s no possibility of revolution or political protest, because everyone is starving and there is no social or communication infrastructure.
I’m now going to address the elephant in the room: the article is useless as a piece of journalism, because it consists of an unreliable media outlet relying entirely on unreliable sources. I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it has no credibility or facts. From what I’ve read, Hamas was highly unpopular before the war, but has become far more popular as they’ve established themselves as the only group willing and able to challenge what looks to Palestinians like Netanyahu’s attempt at genocide. You can read about this in the AP, which is an actual news source citing an actual poll:
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514
But guess what? If Gazaans want to overthrow Hamas, we need a ceasefire. If the war has made Hamas more popular, then we need a ceasefire.
The war is a disaster. It is a failure in every measure except the intended ones: it’s an exercise in vengence, an attempt for the humiliated generals to massage their bruised egos, and an ongoing attempt by Netanyahu to keep his only remaining supporters – Jewish supremacists – happy while he tries to stay out of jail.
In every other measure – rescuing hostages, securing Israeli safety, defeating Hamas – this is an unmitigated disaster that we need to stop.
Similar reporting, but I think discussed an important caveat to the polling:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/21/middleeast/palestinians-back-hamas-survey-intl-cmd/index.html
This, hamas is actually a peaceful organization that actually listens to people’s demand and abides by democratic and progressive principles, unlike israeli genocidal apartheid nazi neo-fascist conservative totalitarian anti-lgbt islamist regime who was pretending to be progressive at first, so yes we should make a cease fire right now and trust hamas so that we can retrieve the captured soldiers (or hostages if you are a nazi) and give them what they want and stop the cycle from repeating
i am so glad that there is still some nuance left on this website.