Despite the massive waves of arrests carried out by the IDF and security forces against hundreds of senior Hamas figures and operatives in Judea and Samaria since the beginning of the war, expressions of support for the terrorist organization continue to appear in various forms, whether in open marches and rallies in the streets or in expressions of hidden solidarity.
Footage from Hebron: rioters after the explosion at Gaza hospital // Photo: Arab networks
Palestinian residents say they do not recall such public sympathy for Hamas for many years. They also say that acts of settler violence play into the hands of the terrorist organization and help it stir up street unrest.
The campaign of the Al-Aqsa Flood
Last Saturday, Bilal Saleh, a 40-year-old Palestinian, was shot in the chest in clashes with settlers during an olive harvest south of Nablus. Hamas used the incident to claim that Saleh, "the martyr fighter was killed as part of the campaign of the Al-Aqsa Flood," the Palestinian name for the barbaric terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7.
This past week many demonstrations were held in various locations throughout Judea and Samaria, during which Hamas flags were waved and clear and open calls of support for the organization were heard. This morning, school children marched in Nablus, Hebron, and the surrounding villages.
They marched through the streets carrying school bags on their backs, cheering for the terrorist organizations. Yesterday, elementary school girls in Jenin went to a rally with their teachers, shouting "We are the daughters of Mohammed Deif," "The heads of the Zionists must be blown up," they said, and continued to chant slogans praising and encouraging acts of jihad (holy war) against Israel.
Funeral procession in Jenin, this week, photo: AP
In the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, dozens of armed men attended the funeral of a Palestinian killed in clashes with IDF forces during the demolition of the home of one of the murderers of the Di family. Next to the yellow Fatah flags were green Hamas flags. This was accompanied by calls to bomb Israeli cities and slogans of support for Mohammed Deif, the planner and executor of the attack on southern bases and settlements, alongside Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza.
The effort by the Palestinian security forces to prevent the demonstrations was partial. Palestinian sources say that "even if it seems that the scope of the demonstrations has decreased in the past 24 hours due to Israeli activity to arrest Hamas supporters in Judea and Samaria, that does not mean that popular support for the organization does not exist."
"The PA arrested a squad of military operatives in Hebron and it is perceived by the people as part of the oppressive regime led by Mahmoud Abbas," they added. "Some of the demonstrations in support of Hamas came out spontaneously as an expression of solidarity with the movement."
"People know they can't easily go to large demonstrations for fear of being suppressed, but support for the organization is in their heart," a Hebron resident told Israel Hayom.
The Palestinian street is divided into three
"Even if there are no terrorist attacks or military operations that Hamas manages to carry out in Judea and Samaria, this does not indicate that its popularity is declining; on the contrary, we see that popular support for it is great. There are those who don't want the Palestinian Authority at all and despair of it and Fatah, and Hamas manages to convince ordinary people that it is the one who can protect them."
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas,
The demonstrations were cross-groups and were attended by people from all walks of Palestinian society, women and children, and residents who had not previously been from Hamas. The expressions of support began immediately after the attack, and are gaining strength in parallel with the military operation in the Gaza Strip and the images that come out of there.
Adding to the unrest in this regard are the Palestinian Authority's television broadcasts. It extensively covers "the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip due to Israeli aggression." The broadcasts take care to describe "the massacres and ethnic cleansing carried out by the occupation forces in Gaza," and explain how "entire families were wiped out, and buildings were destroyed on children's heads."
Ironically, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is trying to prevent the strengthening of his rivals from Hamas in the West Bank and has even instructed members of the Palestinian leadership not to express support for the organization, but in practice, Palestinian TV, for which he himself is responsible, presents content that actually increases the popularity of Hamas and its other rivals.
In his meeting with Bahrain's foreign minister earlier this week, Mahmoud Abbas again refrained from condemning Hamas, saying that Israel bears responsibility, and called for an international peace conference.
Palestinian demonstrators in Ramallah in solidarity protest after the explosion at a Gaza hospital, photo: AFP.
On social networks, too, there were expressions of daring from young people who expressed willingness to fight and asked to receive weapons. This was the case in Jenin, where a young Palestinian appeared urging people around him to join the fighting against Israel.
"I left the house and told my family I might not come back," he said. "What are you waiting for? We must now go to jihad, anyone who can join must not be afraid. I don't understand why the banks and institutions work, how life goes as usual, everything has to be disrupted."
Alongside this, you can also find other voices. Residents explain that a large part of the Palestinian public dislikes the Fatah and Hamas leaderships, and would like to see a new leadership that takes care of its needs and Palestinian interests, while leading it to a different future.
"The Palestinian street is divided into three," a Ramallah resident told Israel Hayom. "Those who support Fatah, those who support Hamas, and in the middle there is the third big camp of those who dislike the PA and Hamas and politics in general and want a different reality and a different leadership. I'm also part of that group. There haven't been elections here for 17 years and no one asks the residents what they want," he said.
"People need to be shown the way and guided, but what is happening is that there is the corruption of the PA and its inability to be an example and a true leadership for the residents, and on the other hand, Hamas, which not everyone sees as the ultimate solution to the troubles here," another resident explained.
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