Introduction
Recently, the
Gaza-based Palestinian Tamarrud movement has been waging a campaign on
social networks to bring down the Hamas government in Gaza. The movement's
activity is mainly in Gaza, but it also has members in the West bank and
among the Palestinian diaspora. The spokesmen of the 90,000-strong movement
say that it is apolitical and that its members do not belong to any
Palestinian faction. However, several characteristics of the movement
clearly show a connection to Fatah – including the involvement of Fatah
members in its activity; its setting of its official founding date and the
date its activity begins as November 11, 2013, which is the ninth
anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death; and the similarity of its messages to
those of Fatah.
Hamas is aware of
the impact that protest movements in Arab countries have had on the
Palestinian public's state of mind, and the risks that they pose for its
regime. It therefore deals harshly with any protest initiative against it –
including Tamarrud activists, whom it
persecutes, arrests, and threatens.
In advance of
November 11, Tamarrud has made it clear that if the Hamas government will
not announce that it is willing to hold elections, the movement will take
to the streets, to protest and even to launch civil unrest. It also denied
reports that it had no intention of carrying out these steps because of
fears that Hamas would "massacre" its activists.
It appears that
Hamas, which is determined to retain its rule and is rejecting the demand
for elections, will prevent Tamarrud activists from conducting protest
activity, for fear of a reprise of the events of Fatah Day in Gaza in
January 1, 2013. At that time, Hamas, which had allowed Fatah activists to
mark the day of their organization's founding, was taken by surprise when
these events turned into a huge show of strength against it.
Unlike the Egyptian
Tamarrud movement, which won the support of the military there for the
ouster of president Muhammad Mursi, the Palestinian Tamarrud has no
military backing. Therefore, its activists' chances of actually bringing
down the Hamas regime are not very good.
The Palestinian Tamarrud
movement's emblem (source: Facebook.com/tamradgaza)
What Is The
Palestinian Tamarrud Movement?
The movement's full
name is Harakat Tamarrud 'Ala Al-Zulm Fi Ghazza ("The Movement For
Rebellion Against the Injustice in Gaza,") and its activists started
the campaign to bring down Hamas in Gaza on July 1, 2013, the day after the
June 30, 2013 Tamarrud protests in Egypt (though, as mentioned, the
campaign's official launching date is November 11, 2013). It has about
90,000 supporters, and activists in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Tamarrud's general
supervisor is 'Abd Al-Rahman Abu Jami', and its spokesman is Iyad Abu Rok;
some of its leaders live abroad. The movement has made public the names of
some of its coordinators inside and outside the Palestinian Authority (PA),
among them Fatah members such as Ihsan Al-Jamal, who coordinates Tamarrud
operations in Syria and Lebanon. The names of its Gaza coordinators are
kept secret so that they are not persecuted.
The movement's
spokesmen, headed by Iyad Abu Rok, are careful to portray the movement as
apolitical. According to Abu Rok, Tamarrud is not associated with any
Palestinian political element, but is a purely independent youth movement;
some of its activity is conducted in secret in an organized manner, and it
also maintains contact with the Palestinian diaspora. He also said that the
movement "is not considering taking up arms."
Tamarrud's Motives For Anti-Hamas Protest
Tamarrud's
accusations against Hamas, which were the backdrop for its founding and
form the basis of its demands, are similar to the accusations found on
Fatah websites and in PA dailies. The movement says that it aims to "expose
the actions of Hamas and of [Hamas prime minister in Gaza] Isma'il Haniya's
government against the Palestinians, such as arbitrary arrests, murder, and
preventing [Gaza] residents from exercising freedom of expression."
The movement also accuses Hamas of providing poor public services, as
manifested primarily in extended power outages, and of responsibility for
various ills in the Gaza Strip: the increase in drug use and addiction,
restrictions on journalists, a Hamas monopoly on jobs and appointments to
public posts, expropriation of residents' property, taxes on all aspects of
Gaza life to fatten the Hamas government's coffers, Hamas' rejection of any
initiative for reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas's reneging on its promise
to hold elections, creation of a schism in society, and marginalization of
Gaza citizens. Iyad Abu Rok said that Tamarrud was born as a consequence of
"the injustice and tyranny in the Gaza Strip; the suffering of the
Palestinian youth, which has fallen victim to Hamas' policy of political
ignorance; unemployment; and [the dissemination of] stimulants [i.e.
drugs]." He added: "Tamarrud is an independent youth movement
that defends the oppressed in the Gaza Strip."
A writer calling
himself Kanar Filastin stated on a website close to Fatah: "Gaza
residents increasingly doubt whether Hamas is truly a jihad movement that
aims to liberate Palestine, or whether it is the military wing of the
Muslim Brotherhood [MB] that clearly aims to support the MB's political
plan, which is backed by the Zionist-American administration... The
Zionists are not assassinating Hamas leaders, and in return [the Hamas
leaders] are securing the [Gaza-]Israel border and are getting a Hamas-MB
emirate in Gaza and parts of the Sinai near the [Israel-]Gaza border."
He added that Hamas is working "to suppress anyone in Gaza who
attempts to take to the streets and express his opinion freely and
clearly." Kanar Filastin also claimed that Hamas is not carrying out
its obligation to provide security and services to the Gaza residents, and
that it is ignoring "the youth, who, with their pure blood, lit the
candle of liberty and honor, justice, and equality, to declare the birth of
the new Palestine – free of injustice, discrimination, and cronyism."
Tamarrud's Goal: To Topple The Hamas Regime And Hold Elections
The Tamarrud
movement, which is inspired by the eponymous Egyptian movement, aims to
bring down the Hamas regime and to set the stage for elections for the PA
Legislative Council and PA presidency. According to spokesman Iyad Abu Rok,
"on November 11 we will launch civil actions and a popular rebellion
to topple the regime of the Hamas movement."
The members of the
Palestinian Tamarrud set November 11, 2013, the ninth anniversary of the
death of Yasser Arafat, as the movement's founding day. Tamarrud operations
coordinator Hind Al-Arabi, who is based in Egypt, stressed that November 11
is only the date when its activity will officially begin, and that the
activity planned for that day will be followed by sit-down strikes in
public squares in Gaza. She added that the activity would also involve
residents of the West Bank as well as Palestinian diplomatic
representations worldwide. According to her, it will not be easy to topple
Hamas, and it will not happen quickly; the movement's role is to call for
the establishment of an interim government until elections can be held.
The movement's
activity currently focuses on symbolic measures such as blowing horns,
releasing balloons, waving flags, spraying graffiti on walls and fences,
and distributing forms for members of the public to sign up for
participation in its campaign.
Abu Rok also
stressed that the movement would remain nonviolent, "so as not to give
Hamas any pretext to claim that we are sowing chaos, [and to make it clear
that] we are demanding rights nonviolently. Everyone in the world is
entitled to express his opinion."
As part of their
fight for freedom of expression, Tamarrud representatives paid a solidarity
visit to employees of the Ma'an news agency in Gaza, whose offices were
shut down by Hamas, and gave out stickers saying "No to silencing, no
to closing media organizations."
Earlier this month,
Abu Rok denied rumors that Tamarrud had cancelled its plans for November 11
marches, for fear of bloodshed. He stressed that the protest would take
place as planned, and accused Hamas of "releasing false information
and rumors in order to undermine Tamarrud and the Palestinian public, and
to prevent public protests."
At the same time,
Tamarrud activist Ahmad Hamamra issued a communique that included an offer
"to suspend the protest if Hamas signs a document by the evening of
November 8 that will include an agreement to hold free and fair general
presidential and Legislative Council elections." Under this offer, the
elections would have to take place within three months, with no option for
postponement, and they would be under international, Islamic, and Arab
oversight. In addition, Hamas would be required to facilitate the operation
of the Gaza election committee.
Tamarrud: We Have Ties To Political Elements – But We Act
Independently
The movement's
adoption of the same name as the Egyptian protest movement, and its setting
of the anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death as its official founding date
and the date of the beginning of its activity, lend it a definite political
tinge. However, despite this, its activists routinely stress its
independence.
Regarding the
movement's ties with the PA and Fatah, Abu Rok said: "We do not belong
to any faction or organization, but many in Fatah support us and perhaps
even participate in our activities. Fatah is the largest organization in
Palestine. We cannot distance ourselves from its members or from those of
any other faction, or marginalize them... [But] the PA has no role [in Tamarrud]...
Its officials support
us as individuals, not as part of their roles in the PA."
He explained that
Tamarrud is in contact with all the human rights organizations, in order to
expose what is going on in Gaza to the world and to condemn Hamas activity.
It coordinates with the Palestinian diaspora in Arab countries and in
Europe in order to join efforts to create an opposition to the Hamas regime
and to demand that Hamas leaders be brought to justice in an international
court.
On the movement's
relationship with the Egyptian Tamarrud, Iyad Abu Rok said: "There is
solidarity with Tamarrud in Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia, [but] there is no
coordination with them and they do not intervene in our internal affairs;
all coordination [between us] is via the media." He added that the
connections with the Egyptian sister movement were aimed at
"familiarization with and learning lessons from the experience of
Tamarrud in Egypt in toppling the MB regime."
Hamas Attempts To
Intimidate, Terrorize Tamarrud
Hamas is well aware
that it is sitting on a powder keg in Gaza because of public disappointment
in its government. For that reason, it is taking the Tamarrud movement
seriously and has stressed repeatedly that it will not allow its protests
to take place. Indeed, the Hamas apparatuses have been arresting Tamarrud
members, monitoring their online and social media activity, and warning
that anyone participating in the movement activities can expect to be
killed. Some
Hamas officials have engaged in psychological warfare, including
downplaying Tamarrud's importance and urging rebellion against Israel
instead of against Hamas.
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