The world ought to recall the name of Odai Al-Rubai. This 22-year-old Palestinian individual participated in demonstrations in the Gaza Strip recently, aiming to put an end to 18 years of oppressive rule by Hamas.
Protesters were overheard chanting "Get out, Hamas, get out" and "Hamas are terrorists," while holding up signs stating "Hamas Does Not Represent Us." The Al-Rubai family claims that as an act of reprisal, he was abducted, brutally treated, and killed by individuals affiliated with Hamas' Qassam Brigades. Subsequently, his remains were left at their doorstep.
American protesters don’t care
Were the "Free Palestine" demonstrators at Columbia University, UCLA, and various other campuses gathered to observe a moment of silence for Al-Rubai? Additionally, did they also pray for the well-being of Hussam al-Majdalawi, another activist who allegedly faced abduction by Hamas, had his legs injured from gunshots, and was abandoned in a public space as a warning to others with differing opinions?
The demonstrations last week aren’t the first instance where Palestinians in Gaza attempted to revolt against Hamas. In 2019, significant protests took place but were brutally quashed and received minimal coverage by Western media outlets. For years, many of us have documented the hardships faced by Palestinians at the hands of their leaders—the challenges encountered by Palestinian journalists striving for freedom of expression and the difficulties experienced by gay Palestinians trying to lead open lives—but our efforts often garnered little attention.
For far too many individuals, even those claiming to support Palestine, the suffering of Palestinians appears to be significant solely when responsibility can be attributed directly to Israel.
What sets things apart currently is that Hamas might no longer have access to its complete system of control, particularly as they find themselves largely confined underground, evading Israeli assaults for significant portions of time. These military actions serve not only as a catalyst but also as an instrument through which individuals in Gaza are asserting their desire for liberty.
The driving force behind this movement is that an increasing number of Palestinians in the area realize there can be no resolution to the conflicts with Israel as long as Hamas persists in involving them in these battles. The method being used stems from the fact that due to Israeli assaults against Hamas, demonstrators believe they have a real opportunity to topple that oppressive government.
Hamas’s tyrannical rule
What an oppressive regime this has been. Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the atrocities on October 7th and led Hamas in Gaza until his death last year, climbed the hierarchy by eliminating fellow Palestinians whom he believed were disloyal. Upon assuming control, he established a system reminiscent of the East German Stasi, complete with extensive internal monitoring and facilities for interrogation and abuse.
Sinwar likewise characterized the thousands of civilians in Gaza who were killed during the conflict as "unavoidable sacrifices" for his cause. Pictures showing burly Hamas fighters participating in hostage hand-over events provide additional proof that the organization's leadership redirects food assistance to their own benefit rather than distributing it to starving Palestinians.
Regardless of what this approach may represent, it does not pave the way for a liberated Gaza, let alone a free Palestine. This notion of freedom could instead be compared to Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, another violent extremist group from the developing world that claimed to fight for liberty but was responsible for mass killings. Similarly, it found support among certain intellectuals at U.S. universities.
To truly liberate Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, we first need to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities. At present, this task falls primarily upon Israel due to their capability and determination. Additionally, maintaining Israeli oversight over the Philadelphi corridor—which separates Gaza from Egypt—is crucial to prevent Hamas from restocking arms supplies.
In the longer term, a mandate under Arab control for Gaza, including a security force composed of moderate Arab nations, might serve as the optimal approach to stop the revival of Hamas and circumvent the necessity of prolonged Israeli military presence across much of the area.
However, this approach will fail unless a significant portion of Palestinians is ready to free themselves from Hamas’s political and ideological control. This means that simply rebelling against the organization for initiating and prolonging the past 18 months of conflict and suffering—something the demonstrators in Gaza grasp more clearly than many of their misguided supporters overseas—is not sufficient.
What matters even more than overthrowing Hamas is overcoming the mentality of the so-called Resistance on which movements such as Hamas (but not only Hamas) were built. If the core Palestinian demand is not the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but rather of one in place of Israel, then the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is bound to continue.
What both parties need to accomplish
For Palestinians, this would entail not just giving up terrorism or guerilla tactics, but also ceasing efforts aimed at dismantling Israel subtly—like advocating for a "right of return" for the progeny of Palestinian refugees. The primary aim of this demand is to overwhelm Israel numerically, thereby preventing it from sustaining a Jewish demographic majority.
For Israelis, the demonstrations from last week embody both an aspiration and a test. Aspiration: These protests imply that perhaps one day, most Palestinians might refuse to be governed by expansionist autocrats of any kind. Test: Should this occur, it would leave no justifiable grounds for denying Palestine statehood.
The quicker Hamas is overcome, the faster that day may arrive.
Bret Stephens is a columnist for The New York Times, and this piece originally appeared there. appeared His prior article was " The United States is currently a major power, not just a great one. .”