Gazan Voices Silenced by Betrayal Accusations Amidst War
A group of Gazan journalists, academics, and opinion leaders argue that internal Palestinian political choices and coercive mechanisms, including accusations of "betrayal," have facilitated Israel's actions in Gaza. While acknowledging Israel's primary responsibility for the conflict, these individuals, many now living outside Gaza, point to a "manufactured silencing" within the Strip. They contend that Hamas's governance and external media narratives have created a society exhausted and muted, lacking flexible leadership or free voices.
These critics highlight how external media, often funded by Arab governments, present an idealized version of Gaza, detached from the harsh reality. This "colonial populism," as one writer terms it, objectifies Gazans, turning them into a stage for ideological fantasies. Hamas is described as a rigid, populist movement that led Gazans into an unwinnable war, forcing them into a binary of "hero or corpse." The role of Hamas leaders living abroad, who profit from "resistance" donations, is also questioned, with a call for solidarity to not become external guardianship.
Academics like Aziz Al-Masri and political commentator Heba Hussein explain how Arab world commentators have polarized the narrative, either mythologizing Gazans as "superheroes" to mask Hamas's failures or demonizing them to justify normalization with Israel. This leaves Gazans as mere "cheap material for propaganda," with their blood used for geopolitical aims. Hussein notes that Gazans are expected to be "crying witnesses" to their tragedy but are forbidden from analyzing its roots or holding decision-makers accountable.
Karim Abu Al-Rous, a political scientist living in Belgium, asserts that the silencing is well-funded, with 90% of influential Palestinian media financed by regional powers, particularly Qatar. He describes these outlets as a "capitalist enterprise" lacking transparency and professional ethics, using strict filters to promote agendas and suppress independent criticism. Akram Attallah, a political writer, adds that the Arab public viewed the Gaza war as a "symbolic and ideological battle" to regain historical honor, indifferent to the human cost, with pro-Hamas satellite channels engaging in "propaganda warfare" rather than journalism.
Shay Kamal, another Gazan writer, details how accusations of betrayal have historically been used by Hamas to control the population, suppressing protests against economic hardship with accusations of foreign agendas. During the current war, these accusations have morphed into phrases like "now is not the time for criticism." Attallah points out the hypocrisy of Hamas and its media, which previously labeled independent thinkers warning of catastrophic consequences as "traitors," only to later negotiate the very concessions they proposed. Critics question why these concessions weren't made earlier, potentially saving thousands of lives.
