Criticism of Hamas

Critical cartoon about Hamas human shields depicting weapons being stored in civilian areas

Hamas started in the 1980s as the product of Palestinian youth efforts but in 2014 participation of youths between 18 and 35 in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and abroad had declined to 0% in senior positions, 7% in lower leading committees and 4% in Hamas’ elected committees. They have been criticized for being highly preoccupied with political interests and social influence. Many youths in the party are now concerned about unpaid public servants’ salaries.[1] The Hamas administration in Gaza has also been criticized for its poor record on women's rights and human rights in the Gaza Strip.[2]

Israel has on numerous occasions condemned Hamas' use of human shields during its Operation Cast Lead offensive in the Gaza Strip[3] Some organizations, including Human Rights Watch have said that Hamas has violated international laws against placing military targets in or near densely populated areas.[4] Hillary Clinton has said that "Hamas embed rockets, command and control facilities and tunnels in civilian areas."[5]

Proximity to civilians during warfare

After Operation Pillar of Defense, Human Rights Watch stated that Palestinian groups had endangered civilians by "repeatedly fired rockets from densely populated areas, near homes, businesses, and a hotel" and noted that under international law, parties to a conflict may not to place military targets in or near densely populated areas.[4] One rocket was launched close to the Shawa and Housari Building, where various Palestinian and international media have offices; another was fired from the yard of a house near the Deira Hotel.[6][7] New York Times journalist Steven Erlanger reported that "Hamas rocket and weapons caches, including rocket launchers, have been discovered in and under mosques, schools and civilian homes."[8] Another report published by Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center revealed that Hamas used close to 100 mosques to store weapons and as launch-pads to shoot rockets. The report contains testimony from variety Palestinian sources, including a Hamas militant Sabhi Majad Atar, who said he was taught how to shoot rockets from inside a mosque.[9] Hamas has also been criticized by Israeli officials for blending into or hiding among the Palestinian civilian population During the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.[10] The Israeli government published what it said was video evidence of human shield tactics by Hamas.[11] Israel said that Hamas frequently used mosques and school yards[12] as hideouts and places to store weapons,[13][14] and that Hamas militants stored weapons in their homes, making it difficult to ensure that civilians close to legitimate military targets are not hurt during Israeli military operations.[15] Israeli officials also accused the Hamas leadership of hiding under Shifa Hospital during the conflict, using the patients inside to deter an Israeli attack.[8][16]

The Israeli government filed a report entitled "Gaza Operations Investigation: Second Update" to the United Nations accusing Hamas of exploiting its rules of engagement by shooting rockets and launching attacks within protected civilian areas.[17][18][19] Israel says 12,000 rockets and mortars were fired at it between 2000 and 2008—nearly 3,000 in 2008 alone.[20] In one case, an errant Israeli mortar strike killed dozens of people near a UN school. Hamas said that the mortar killed 42 people and left dozens wounded. Israel said that Hamas militants had launched a rocket from a yard adjacent to the school and one mortar of three rounds hit the school, due to a GPS error. According to the Israeli military probe, the remaining two rounds hit the yard used to launch rockets into Israel, killing two members of Hamas's military wing who fired the rockets.[21] Human Right Watch called Hamas to "publicly renounce" the rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and hold those responsible to account. Human Right Watch program director Iain Levine said the attacks by Hamas were "unlawful and unjustifiable, and amount to war crimes", and accused Hamas of putting Palestinians at risk by launching attacks from built-up areas.[20] Hamas spokesman relied that the report was "biased" and he denied that Hamas uses human shields.[20]

Human Rights Watch investigated 19 incidents involving 53 civilian deaths in Gaza that Israel said were the result of Hamas fighting in densely populated areas and did not find evidence for existence of Palestinian fighters in the areas at the time of the Israeli attack. In other cases where no civilians had died, the report concluded that Hamas may have deliberately fired rockets from areas close to civilians.[22] HRW also investigated 11 deaths that Israel said were civilians being used as human shields by Hamas. HRW found no evidence that the civilians were used as human shields, nor had they been shot in crossfire.[23] The Israeli 'human shields' charge against Hamas was called "full of holes" by The National (UAE), which stated that only Israel accused Hamas of using human shields during the conflict, though Hamas "may be guilty" of "locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas" and for "deliberately firing indiscriminate weapons into civilian populated areas".[24]

On July 8, 2014, Hamas's spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri encouraged the "policy of people confronting the Israeli warplanes with their bare chests", saying it has proven itself.[25] One survey of Gazan residents addressed the subject of human shields during the 2014 war, with respondents issuing statements such as "People received warnings from the Israelis and tried to evacuate...Hamas shot some of those people...the rest were forced to return to their homes and get bombed"; "Hamas imposed a curfew: anyone walking out in the street was shot without being asked any questions. That way Hamas made sure people had to stay in their homes even if they were about to get bombed"; and "My father received a text-message from the Israeli army warning him that our area was going to be bombed, and Hamas prevented us from leaving."[26] Israeli soldiers recounted "Suddenly, a small boy appeared, and the terrorist grabbed him and escaped with him";[27] "I saw with my own eyes someone using another person, a woman, as a shield...And I can see very clearly that the woman doesn't want to be there and he's pulling her with him";[28] and "We even found explosives in nurseries. The whole neighborhood was practically a terrorist base."[29]

Rocket and mortar attacks

Hamas missile attack on Sderot

Rocket attacks by Hamas have been condemned by Human rights organizations as war crimes, both because they usually take aim at civilians and because the weapons' inaccuracy would disproportionately endanger civilians even if military targets were chosen. After Operation Pillar of Defense, Human Rights Watch stated that armed Palestinian groups fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities, violating international humanitarian law, and that statements by Palestinian groups that they deliberately targeted Israeli civilians demonstrated an "intent to commit war crimes". HRW's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said that Palestinian groups made clear that "harming civilians was their aim" and said that launching rockets at populated areas had no legal justification. International humanitarian law prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians and intentional violations can be war crimes.[4]

In July 2008 Barack Obama, then the Democratic presidential candidate, said: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."[30] On December 28, 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement: "the United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel."[31] On March 2, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the attacks.[32]

Children

Children and women as human shields

Israel has accused Hamas of using children as human shields. The Israeli government released video footage in which it claims two militants are shown grabbing a young boy's arm from behind holding him to walk in front of them toward a group of people waiting near a wall. The IDF argues the militants were placing the boy between themselves and an Israeli sniper. The second scene shows an individual, described as a terrorist, grabbing a school boy off of a floor, where he is hiding behind a column from IDF fire, and using him as a human shield to walk to a different location.[33][34] After 15 alleged militants sought refuge in a mosque from Israeli forces, the BBC reported that Hamas radio instructed local women to go the mosque to protect the militants. Israeli forces later opened fire and killed two women.[35]

In November 2006, the Israeli Air Force warned Muhammad Weil Baroud, commander of the Popular Resistance Committees who are accused of launching rockets into Israeli territory, to evacuate his home in a Jabalya refugee camp apartment block in advance of a planned Israeli air strike. Baroud responded by calling for volunteers to protect the apartment block and nearby buildings and, according to The Jerusalem Post, hundreds of local residents, mostly women and children, responded. Israel suspended the air strike. Israel termed the action an example of Hamas using human shields.[36] In response to the incident, Hamas proclaimed: 'We won. From now on we will form human chains around every house threatened with demolition.'"[37] In a November 22 press release, Human Rights Watch condemned Hamas, stating: "There is no excuse for calling civilians to the scene of a planned attack. Whether or not the home is a legitimate military target, knowingly asking civilians to stand in harm's way is unlawful."[38] Following criticism, Human rights Watch issued a statement saying that their initial assessment of the situation was in error. They stated that, on the basis of available evidence, the home demolition was in fact an administrative act, viewed in the context of Israel's longstanding policy of punitive home demolitions, not a military act and thus would not fall within the purview of the law regulating hostilities during armed conflict, which had been the basis for their initial criticism of Hamas.[35]

When the UN-sponsored Goldstone Commission Report on the Gaza War was commissioned in 2009, it stated that it "found no evidence that Palestinian combatants mingled with the civilian population with the intention of shielding themselves from attack" though they deemed credible reports that Palestinian militants were "not always dressed in a way that distinguished them from civilians".[39] Hamas MP Fathi Hamed stated that "For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel ... the elderly excel at this ... and so do the children. This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children."[40] Following the release of the Goldstone Report, the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan Col. Richard Kemp was invited to testify at the UN Human Rights Council 12th Special Session that during Operation Cast Lead Israel encountered an "enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population".[41][42][43]

Children as combatants

The Israeli government released a video compiled mostly from Arab news sources showing Palestinian children under the age of 15 going through military training and carrying and firing arms. The video's narration explains that Hamas indoctrinates these child combatants and that Hamas operators send the children "on missions from which they would not risk their own lives". According to the Israeli government, the children are used as spotters, to transport explosives and weapons, sent to play in areas to deter Israeli attacks and are sent unknowingly with explosive devices in their schoolbags to be blown up in the vicinity of Israelis.[44] The United Nations defines the use of children for military purposes as a war crime and a form of slavery. See Military use of children.

Although Hamas admits to sponsoring summer schools to train teenagers in handling weapons they condemn attacks by children. Following the deaths of three teenagers during a 2002 attack on Netzarim in central Gaza, Hamas banned attacks by children and "called on the teachers and religious leaders to spread the message of restraint among young boys".[45][46] Hamas's use of child labor to build tunnels with which to attack Israel has also been criticized, with at least 160 children killed in the tunnels as of 2012.[47]

Children's magazine

Al-Fateh ("the conqueror") is the Hamas children's magazine, published biweekly in London, and also posted in an online website. It began publication in September 2002, and its 108th issue was released in mid-September 2007. The magazine features stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles, and states it is for "the young builders of the future".[48]

According to MEMRI (three of whose seven founding staff had formerly served in the IDF), the magazine includes incitement to jihad and martyrdom and glorification of terrorist operations and of their planners and perpetrators. as well as characterizations of Jews as "murderers of the prophets" and laudatory descriptions of parents who encourage their sons to kill Jews. In each issue, a regular feature titled "The Story of a Martyr" presents the "heroic deeds" of a mujahid from one of the organizations who died in a suicide operation, including operations against civilians, or who was killed by the IDF. MEMRI also noted that the magazine includes illustrations of figures, including child warriors, who embody the ethos of jihad and martyrdom, presenting them as role models. These include the magazine's titular character, Al-Fateh ("The Conqueror")—a small boy on a horse brandishing a drawn scimitar—as well as children carrying guns, and photos of Hamas fighters launching Qassam rockets.[49][50]

Al-Aqsa TV

Al-Aqsa TV is a television channel founded by Hamas.[51] The station began broadcasting in the Gaza Strip on January 9, 2006.[52][53] Its programming includes ideologically tinged children's shows, news talk, and religiously inspired entertainment.[54] According to the Anti-Defamation League, the station promotes terrorist activity and incites hatred of Jews and Israelis.[53] Hamas has stated that the television station is "an independent media institution that often does not express the views of the Palestinian government headed by Ismail Haniyeh or of the Hamas movement," and that Hamas does not hold anti-semitic views.[55] Al-Aqsa TV is headed by Fathi Ahmad Hammad, chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions—a Hamas-run company that also produces Hamas's radio station, Voice of al-Aqsa, and its biweekly newspaper, The Message.[56]

Dissent and the media

Hamas mural in the West Bank

Human rights groups and Gazans have accused the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip of restricting freedom of the press and forcefully suppressing dissent. Both foreign and Palestinian journalists report harassment and other measures taken against them.[57][58] In September 2007 the Gaza Interior Ministry disbanded the Gaza Strip branch of the pro-Fatah Union of Palestinian Journalists, a move criticized by Reporters without borders.[59] In November of that year the Hamas government arrested a British journalist and for a time canceled all press cards in Gaza.[60][61] On February 8, 2008, Hamas banned distribution of the pro-Fatah Al-Ayyam newspaper, and closed its offices in the Gaza Strip because it ran a caricature that mocked legislators loyal to Hamas,.[62][63] The Gaza Strip Interior Ministry later issued an arrest warrant for the editor.[64]

More widely, in late August 2007 the group was accused in The Telegraph, a conservative British newspaper, of torturing, detaining, and firing on unarmed protesters who had objected to policies of the Hamas government.[65] Also in late August, Palestinian health officials reported that the Hamas government had been shutting down Gaza clinics in retaliation for doctor strikes – The Hamas government confirmed the "punitive measure against doctors" because, in its view, they had incited other doctors to suspend services and go out on strike.[66] In September 2007 the Hamas government banned public prayers, after Fatah supporters began holding worship sessions that quickly escalated into raucous protests against Hamas rule. Government security forces beat several gathering supporters and journalists.[67] In October 2008, the Hamas government announced it would release all political prisoners in custody in Gaza. Several hours after the announcement, 17 Fatah members were released.[68]

On August 2, 2012, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) accused Hamas of harassing elected officials belong to the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (PJS) in Gaza. The IFJ said that journalists' leaders in Gaza have faced a campaign of intimidation, as well as threats designed to force them to stop their union work. Some of these journalists are now facing charges of illegal activities and a travel ban, due to their refusal "to give in to pressure". The IFJ said that these accusations are "malicious" and "should be dropped immediately". The IFJ explained that the campaign against PJS members began in March 2012, after their election, and included a raid organized by Hamas supporters who took over the PJS offices in Gaza with the help of the security forces, and subsequently evicted the staff and elected officials. Other harassment includes the targeting of individuals who were bullied into stopping union work. The IFJ backed the PJS and called on Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to intervene to stop "his officials' unwarranted interference in journalists' affairs".[69] In November 2012, two Gazan journalists were prevented from leaving Gaza by Hamas. There were scheduled to participate in a conference in Cairo, Egypt. After being questioned by security forces, their passports were confiscated.[70] In 2016 Reporters Without Borders condemned Hamas for censorship and for torturing journalists. Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said "As living conditions in the Gaza Strip are disastrous, Hamas wants to silence critics and does not hesitate to torture a journalist in order to control media coverage in its territory." [71]

Human rights abuses

In June 2011, the Independent Commission for Human Rights based in Ramallah published a report whose findings included that the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were subjected in 2010 to an "almost systematic campaign" of human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, as well as by Israeli authorities, with the security forces belonging to the PA and Hamas being responsible for torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions.[72]

In 2012, the Human Rights Watch presented a 43 page long list of human rights violation committed by Hamas. Among actions attributed to Hamas the HRW report mentions beatings with metal clubs and rubber hoses, hanging of alleged collaborationists with Israel, and torture of 102 individuals. According to the report, Hamas also tortured civil society activists and peaceful protesters. Reflecting on the captivity of Gilad Shalit, the HRW report described it as "cruel and inhuman". The report also slams Hamas for harassment of people based on so called morality offenses and for media censorship.[73][74] In a public statement Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director of HRW claimed, "after five years of Hamas rule in Gaza, its criminal justice system reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainees' rights and grants impunity to abusive security services." Hamas responded by denying charges and describing them as "politically motivated"[75]

On May 26, 2015 Amnesty International released a report saying that Hamas carried out extrajudicial killings, abductions and arrests of Palestinians and used the Al-Shifa Hospital to detain, interrogate and torture suspects during the Israel–Gaza conflict in 2014. It details the executions of at least 23 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel and torture of dozens of others, many victims of torture were members of the rival Palestinian movement, Fatah.[76][77]

References

  1. ↑ "Young members increasingly critical of Hamas". al-Monitor. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Islamization in Gaza Erodes Women's Rights". al-Monitor. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Hamas Used Kids as Human Shields". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "HRW: Hamas rockets from Gaza violated laws of war". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, says Hillary Clinton". Ynet. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ "HRW: Hamas rockets from Gaza violated laws of war". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Gaza: Palestinian Rockets Unlawfully Targeted Israeli Civilians". HRW. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Steven Erlanger (January 10, 2009). "A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery". The New York Times. Israel;Gaza Strip. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ Hamas used almost 100 mosques for military purposes. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved on August 21, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Ground war in Gaza drives up civilian casualties". MLive. Associated Press. January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Video: Hamas uses civilians as a means to achieving military goals". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. January 11, 2009. January 13, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Video: Hamas uses civilians as a means to achieving military goals". 2009. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. See 4:00 in the video.
  13. ↑ "Hamas's human shields". The Jerusalem Post. March 4, 2008. January 13, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Weapons Hidden in Mosque Neutralized by Israel Air Force December 31, 2008". on YouTube December 31, 2008. January 13, 2009.
  15. ↑ Barzak, Ibrahim and Matti Friedman. "Israel Destroys Hamas Homes, Gaza Mosque". Time. January 2, 2009. January 13, 2009.
  16. ↑ Mizroch, Amir. "Dichter: Hamas salaries paid at Shifa Hospital". The Jerusalem Post. January 12, 2009. January 13, 2009.
  17. ↑ IDF morality exemplified at mosque. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved on August 21, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Gaza Operation Investigations: Second Update". Mfa.gov.il. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Gaza Operations Investigations: Second Update July 2010" (PDF). Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  20. 1 2 3 "Hamas rocket attacks 'war crimes'". BBC News. August 6, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  21. ↑ Amos Harel (January 12, 2009). "IDF investigation shows errant mortar hit UN building in Gaza". Haaretz. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  22. ↑ Turning a Blind Eye Human Rights Watch April 11, 2010
  23. ↑ Israel: Investigate 'White Flag' Shootings of Gaza Civilians Human Rights Watch August 13, 2009
  24. ↑ "Israeli 'human shield' claim is full of holes" The National (UAE) January 13, 2009.
  25. ↑ "Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri: Human-Shield Policy Is Effecive". YouTube.com. July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  26. ↑ Zahran, Mudar (September 19, 2014). "Gazans Speak Out: Hamas War Crimes". Gatestone Institute. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  27. ↑ "A Soldier's Account from Gaza: How Hamas Used Human Shields". IDF Blog. August 25, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  28. ↑ "An IDF Soldier's Experiences in Gaza". IDF Blog. September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  29. ↑ "First Hand Account of Gaza Operation by Wounded IDF Soldier". IDF Blog. August 5, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  30. ↑ Steven Lee Myers and Helene Cooper, Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis, New York Times December 28, 2009
  31. ↑ U.S. Condemns Hamas in Midst of Israeli Strikes, Fox News December 28, 2008
  32. ↑ Clinton calls for 'durable' Gaza truce, condemns rockets, AFP March 2, 2009
  33. ↑ "IDF Video: Hamas uses civilians as a means to achieving military goals". 2009. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. See 4:25–4:29 in the video.
  34. ↑ http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/g_report_e1.pdf Hamas and the Terrorist Threat from the Gaza Strip The Main Findings of the Goldstone ReportVersus the Factual Findings, Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
  35. 1 2 "Human Rights Watch Statement on our November 22 Press Release". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  36. ↑ Human shield deters Israel strike BBC News November 19, 2006
  37. ↑ "Hamas's human shields". The Jerusalem Post. March 4, 2008. November 15, 2009.
  38. ↑ OPT: Civilians Must Not Be Used to Shield Homes Against Military Attacks Human Rights Watch November 22, 2006
  39. ↑ Human Rights Council (September 15, 2009). "Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict" (PDF). unrol.org. United Nations. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Dealing with Hamas's human shield tactics". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  41. ↑ Goodenough, Patrick. (October 16, 2009) Israelis Took Unprecedented Steps to Safeguard Civilians, Says British Officer Archived 2010-07-29 at the Wayback Machine.. CNSnews.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  42. ↑ U.K. Commander Challenges Goldstone Report. Archived October 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. UN Watch. Retrieved on June 18, 2011.
  43. ↑ Professor David W Lovell; Professor Igor Primoratz (April 28, 2013). Protecting Civilians During Violent Conflict: Theoretical and Practical Issues for the 21st Century. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4094-7685-6.
  44. ↑ "Video: Hamas uses civilians as a means to achieving military goals". 2009. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. See 06:46 through 08:00 in the video.
  45. ↑ Youths' Suicide Mission Stuns Palestinians ABC April 25, 2002
  46. ↑ Teenage Suicide Bombers Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. MEF 2002
  47. ↑ Freimann, Myer (July 25, 2014). "Hamas Killed 160 Palestinian Children to Build Tunnels". Tablet. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Online Terrorists Prey on the Vulnerable". Globalpolitician.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  49. ↑ "Hamas Children's Magazine Al-Fateh Encourages Terrorism, Glorifies Martyrdom". Memri.org. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  50. ↑ "Hamas Magazine for Kids Promotes Martyrdom and Hatred". Adl.org. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  51. ↑ "Hamas leader killed in air strike". London: BBC. January 1, 2009.
  52. ↑ "Hamas TV station shut down". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2007. , news24.com, January 22, 2006
  53. 1 2 "Terrorism: Al Aqsa TV". ADL. Retrieved 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  54. ↑ "Hamas Launches Television Network". NPR. Retrieved February 3, 2006.
  55. ↑ Hamas Condemns the Holocaust The Guardian May 12, 2008
  56. ↑ Johnson, Alan (May 15, 2008). "Hamas and antisemitism". London: The Guardian.
  57. ↑ "Hamas forces try to arrest prominent Gaza journalist –". International Herald Tribune. March 29, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  58. ↑ Spokesperson of Presidency Condemns Hamas Militias New Crimes against Citizens in Gaza Strip, WAFA, August 31, 2007.
  59. ↑ Hamas disbands journalists union amid continuing incidents, Reporters without borders, September 6, 2007
  60. ↑ "Hamas widens crackdown on journalists in Gaza". B92. November 15, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2008. Gaza's Interior Ministry announced that journalists who do not hold official Hamas-issued press cards would not be allowed to work in Gaza.
  61. ↑ Martin, Paul (November 13, 2007). "On-the-spot: 'I was arrested by Hamas' – Times Online". London: Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  62. ↑ Hamas de facto government bans distribution of Al-Ayyam newspaper in the Gaza Strip Ma'an News Agency, February 10, 2008
  63. ↑ "Hamas orders closure of newspaper over caricature –". International Herald Tribune. March 29, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  64. ↑ "Maan News Agency". Maannews.net. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  65. ↑ Levinson, Charles (August 26, 2007). "Hamas honeymoon ends with torture". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  66. ↑ al-Mughrabi, Nidal. "Gaza clinics closed, retaliation for doctor strikes". Reuters. August 28, 2007. November 14, 2009.
  67. ↑ Hamas blocks Fatah protests in Gaza, Ynetnews, September 7, 2007
  68. ↑ Hamas frees Fatah prisoners, Al-Jazeera, October 30, 2008.
  69. ↑ "IFJ Condemns Hamas Meddling in Gaza Journalists' Affairs". International Federation of Journalists. August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  70. ↑ "PCHR slams Hamas for preventing journalists from traveling". Maannews.net. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  71. ↑ "Reporters Without Borders condemns Hamas for". Maan News Agency. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  72. ↑ Liel, Alon. "'PA bans journalists from reporting human rights abuses'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  73. ↑ "Rights group: Hamas abusing Palestinians in Gaza". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  74. ↑ "World Report 2012: Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories". Human Rights Watch. January 22, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  75. ↑ Nidal al-Mughrabi. "Hamas disputes HRW's charges of torture, detentions in Gaza | Reuters". Reuters. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  76. ↑ "Palestine (State of): 'Strangling Necks' Abductions, torture and summary killings of Palestinians by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict" (pdf). amnesty.org. United Kingdom: Amnesty International. May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  77. ↑ "Gaza Palestinians tortured, summarily killed by Hamas forces during 2014 conflict". Amnesty International. May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
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