‘Disturbing pattern of intimidation’: Amnesty International pans Hamas crackdown on protesters in Gaza

Amnesty International issues a scathing condemnation of Hamas amid the terror group’s crackdown on protesters demonstrating against its rule in the Gaza Strip.

The rights group says that over the past two months, it interviewed 12 people — 10 men and two women — who organized or took part in protests against Hamas and were interrogated, threatened, or beaten by the terror group’s security forces as a result.

The interviews revealed a “disturbing pattern of threats, intimidation and harassment, including interrogations and beatings by Hamas-run security forces against individuals exercising their right to peaceful protest” even amid Israel’s ongoing war, Amnesty says.

One of the protesters, a resident of northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia who lost multiple family members in an Israeli strike, tells Amnesty that after he took part in a protest in April, he was dragged to a makeshift detention center and beaten by armed men in civilian clothes.

“They accused me of being a traitor — a collaborator with the Mossad,” he tells Amnesty. “I told them we took to the streets because we wanted to live, we wanted to eat and drink.”

He says he was released after nearly four hours of detention and interrogation, and was warned not to attend any further protests.

In total, seven of the 12 protesters interviewed say that they were accused by Hamas of being “traitors” and of working with Israel.

In another instance, a protester from Beit Lahia says he was summoned to an interrogation but refused to show up, until Hamas forces came to his home and “beat me with sticks, and punched my face.”

He says a Hamas member later threatened to shoot him in the foot if he attended another protest.

“The authorities in Gaza must allow peaceful protesters, dissidents, and journalists to exercise their rights without intimidation, harassment, or violence. Interrogation of protesters must cease immediately, and those responsible for violence or threats should be held accountable,” says Erika Guevara-Rosas, a senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International.

“The authorities in Gaza must respect the rights of the people in Gaza and protect them, at a time when their survival is at stake.”