Gazans voice some criticism of Hamas

AP reports:

“We do not want to be bombarded every two or three years. We want to lead a good life: Sleep well, drink well and eat well,” says Beit Lahiya resident Ziad Rizk, a 37-year-old father of two, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He stares at the damaged apartment building where he lived. His sofa and a blue baby carriage were perched precariously on a tilting concrete slab that was his floor.

It is impossible to say how widespread such discontent is among Gaza’s 1.8 million residents. Under Hamas rule, it’s rare and dangerous to share even as much as a hint of criticism of the government with outsiders.

Still, the men’s boldness in voicing their opinions could be a telling sign that some Gazans see Hamas as weakened.

Significantly, a Hamas rally last week attracted 2,000-3,000 people, a low number compared to its routinely massive rallies, particularly considering it was held at a time when the group is at war with Israel.

The men who spoke with the AP were all friends and neighbors who live in the Abraj al-Nada, or Al-Nada Towers, a collection of apartment buildings that was hit hard by Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling on July 17 in the northern Gaza district of Beit Lahiya.

Even as they shared their views with the AP, they hedged their opinions. They never, for example, expressed a desire to see Hamas removed from power or abandon armed struggle against Israel. They have no love for Israel, though older members of the community fondly remembered the days when they commuted to Israel for day jobs that put food on the table.

“I respect the resistance. The fighters may be spending the night out there in open space facing the enemy while I have the comfort and satisfaction of being with my family,” said Loay Kafarnah, a taxi driver who lost his apartment in the shelling.

“But we also want to live. How can we have a war every two or three years? Is that a life?” he said, sitting on rickety plastic garden chairs with a group of close friends and neighbors.

Visible not far away were green fields and trees across the border in Israel. An Israeli train sped by.

“Look at what they have,” the 27-year-old Kafarnah said. “Why can’t we live like that too?”

His friend, a school teacher who also lost his home, delivered a more pointed criticism of Hamas.

“We have put up with a great deal. They take us to war, fire rockets on Israel from outside our homes and invite destruction to our homes. Fine, but now what?” said the green-eyed teacher in his late 20s, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation.

“Does anyone in the government know what happened to us? Shouldn’t they come offer us help? Or a few comforting words?”

Rizk said he had hoped government officials would be there to take details from residents to offer assistance or future compensation. “But I have been wasting my time,” he said.

Ramadan Naufal said his family has moved from the house of one relative to another since the strikes on his home.

“They are fed up with us and I know it,” said the portly 46-year-old. So he buys groceries every day for his hosts “to cushion our intrusion.”

“This war was something else. No rock, tree or man has been spared,” he said, then adding the refrain said by many: “How can we cope with a war every couple of years?”