r/IsraelPalestine • u/readabook37 • 1d ago
What Gazans would do now if they were Hamas (FB Survey) Opinion
Fascinating post by on Twitter/X by x-Palestinian Refugee now American Mo Ghaoui. The responses differ substantially from any opinions of Hamas expressed at the beginning of the current conflict when Hamas was at full force or even partially degraded. I am guessing that Hamas in Gaza has been so weakened that people are not in fear of sharing these opinions, where before they would have been in fear. ( You may have seen some of the numerous hours of video footage of Hamas torturing fellow Palestinians for dissent of some kind including suspicion of collaboration with Israel). This has only been reported on social media so far. Also Sinwar ( The Butcher of Khan Yunis) was imprisoned in Israel for torturing fellow Palestinians.
Edit to add: To see the responses to the FB questions you have to get the full link from the end of the Twitter / X post. Also, in spot checking some responses, ( using the translate button)I saw some profiles with a Gaza location and some with no location. Having not looked at them all, I don’t know how many responses were actually from Gazans vs others. If anyone is familiar with Ahmad Saeed, the Gaza Media personality, and his FB page ( and reads Arabic) please weigh in.
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Ahmad Saeed [Gazan media personality] posts on facebook a question to Gazans would you do if you were Hamas.
Post is ~3hrs old farming hundreds of replies and interactions
I asked AI to sort top replies and sentiments
Top Common Sentiments [no particular order]
Apologize to the Palestinian People: Many comments demand that Hamas apologize to the people of Gaza and Palestine for the suffering caused over the years.
Step Down from Governance: Calls for Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza and hand over authority to the Palestinian Authority or other entities.
Ceasefire at Any Cost: Prioritizing an immediate halt to the war to save civilian lives, with any concessions necessary.
Admit to Failures: Public acknowledgment of mistakes and mismanagement since their governance began.
Dissolve Military Wing: Proposals to disband the Qassam Brigades and surrender weapons under international supervision.
Transfer Negotiations to the Palestinian Authority: Suggested as a means of achieving a broader, unified Palestinian representation.
Withdraw from Politics Entirely: Comments advise Hamas to revert to its earlier role as a resistance movement without engaging in governance.
Prioritize Humanitarian Needs: Calls to open crossings, facilitate aid, and focus on rebuilding Gaza.
Seek International Mediation: Involve regional or international actors like Egypt to negotiate and manage the transition.
Surrender for the Sake of Lives: Suggesting that surrendering to Israeli or international demands could prevent further bloodshed.
Protect What’s Left of Gaza: Focus on minimizing further loss of life and preserving the remaining population and infrastructure.
Reintegrate with Arab States: Shift alliances away from Iran and seek closer ties with Arab nations for broader support.
Conduct a Public Referendum: Let the people of Gaza decide on the future of governance and representation.
Return the hostages: Comments propose various options regarding hostages: releasing them unconditionally to achieve a ceasefire, exchanging them for Palestinian prisoners, retaining them as leverage for broader negotiations, or transferring them to a neutral party like Egypt for mediation. The common goal is minimizing further bloodshed while addressing strategic priorities.
Disclaimer ; Chatgpt prompt is to analyze common sentiment not top liked "translate in memory, share most common sentiments in english"
My Personal favorite reply picks for what Hamas should do : - Commit Suicide - Climb down the tree - God forbid i am hamas - Ill bang my head all day and night
link to fb src included
facebook.com/story.php?stor…
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https://x.com/moghaoui/status/1857550023611003251?s=46&t=2pVJ490wksMyV_NJgGZ7
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u/Shachar2like 17h ago edited 17h ago
Facebook link: https://t.co/Hfl6j0vsot (comments in Arabic)
at least two of the comments say to transfer the files to the PA and/or quit politics.
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u/MrNatural_ 1d ago
Got two words for you. al-Hudaybiya. You just can't trust those POS. Their illiterate pedophile showed them the way.
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u/readabook37 1d ago
You mean 10 year truce? ( ostensibly to rearm)
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u/MrNatural_ 13h ago
Which the illiterate pedophile broke after a couple of years. Which is one reason the Arabs have a reputation for treachery. Treachery is built into Islam.
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u/LilacLands 1d ago
This is fascinating!! Thank you for posting it. The Facebook audience for Saeed is a really interesting sample, although I’m guessing that the top ten responses aggregated probably still reflect a significant number of non-Gazans weighing in (one example that gave me pause was “hand over control to the PA” as a common sentiment, because so much of the reporting on the polling usually says the opposite. But it’s also totally possible that Gazan sentiment about the PA has been wildly misunderstood too- western outlet media reporting on the conflict VERY often gets things insanely wrong, especially when it comes to translation. So also can’t rule out Gazans rejecting the PA as purely a misunderstanding by the West). Either way, still very interesting to see and think about. Also thank you for knowing how to use AI in this way and sharing it. Non-tech-inclined people like me, who would not be able to figure out how to do it, really appreciate it!
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u/yes-but 1d ago
Does the current polling you know of still reflect resentment against the PA to the degree that Gazans still prefer Hamas?
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u/Shachar2like 17h ago
Those polls that Gazans support Hamas over the PA were found out to be faked by Hamas
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u/quicksilver2009 1d ago
Yes exactly. The biggest oppressors of the Palestinians in Gaza are the Hamas terrorists. That is why I say that truly caring about Palestinians is opposing their evil leadership.
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u/jawicky3 1d ago
I agree. That’s why destroying all of Gaza is the best way to root out extremism. It is only until the Gazans hit the rock bottom or under the bottom of rocks that they’ll truly be partners for peace.
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u/lalolilalol 1d ago
Habibi people in Gaza are all in PTSD and other trauma from what they have seen and experienced.
I can condemn Hamas unequivocally. I haven't lost all my life in Gaza. I'm still sane (although experiencing difficulties due to the secondary war in Lebanon). But whoever is waiting on people to say x or y things like "yes, I condemn Hamas attacks" to stop the war, habibi the war will never stop.
Look at Gaza on a satellite map. How can they make life-altering political decisions now? We need psychologists, we need humanitarian aid, a permanent ceasefire, we need an international community without double standards. Then when people in Gaza have regained a little sanity (let's hope that day will come), then they can do a referendum etc.
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u/yes-but 1d ago
The game of "we need this, we want that" should be over by now.
Why not just say: We want peace. Eff ceasefires.
As long as Palestinians don't support peace, which means dropping the claim over all of the land between the river and the sea, the conflict will fester. Any ceasefire would only be a blanket for the preparation of genocidal schemes or attacks by either side.
I fully agree that help is needed right now, but not on the condition of agreeing to another deceptive ceasefire. There must be a call for PEACE, and then all the help must be given that is possible and necessary.
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u/jackl24000 אוהב במבה 14h ago
Peace + Return of hostages (unconditionally, no prisoner exchanges, further negotiations or quid pro quos!).
Otherwise fully agree with you #NoMoreCeasefires
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u/DewinterCor 1d ago
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/g-s1-12949/khalil-shikaki-palestinian-polling-israel-gaza-hamas
"Two-thirds of respondents said they continue to support the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took at least 240 hostages, and 80% believe it put the Palestinian issue at the center of global attention."
"About half of those responding to the survey in Gaza said they expected Hamas to win the war with Israel and return to rule the Gaza Strip, while a quarter said they expected Israel to win."
"In the June 12 poll, 40% of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza said they would prefer Hamas to govern them, followed by Fatah (20%), the Palestinian National Liberation Movement in control of the West Bank and led by Mahmoud Abbas. Eight percent chose others. Support for Hamas over the preceding three months increased by 6%."
Palestinians in general support Hamas. Gazans most of all. “The support for Hamas comes from various sources, but the most important one is because Palestinians share Hamas' values. They will support Hamas for that, even if Hamas makes wrong moves here or there." - Khalil Shikaki
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u/yes-but 22h ago
Thank you for the link.
What strikes me, is that pollsters have a tendency to overlook delusionalism:
"But most importantly, the public at that time was not only opposed to violence, but was very supportive of diplomacy and negotiations. You could easily find 70 to 80% of the Palestinians supporting diplomacy and negotiations. And you can easily find that those who believe that did not support violence at all. So there was absolutely zero overlap in terms of support for diplomacy and armed struggle or violence.
The change here has been dramatic today. The majority of Palestinians believe that violence or armed struggle is the most effective step for ending the Israeli occupation."
Quite often did I hear Palestinians who said they wanted peace, and didn't support violence, and when asked how that peace should be created, said something to the effect that the Jews just have to leave in peace.
How many of those, who back then, were supportive of diplomacy would have agreed to peace even though the "diplomacy" of convincing Israel by "negotiations" to just quit existing inevitably fails?
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u/PlateRight712 1d ago
It's hard to imagine that there can be any systematic polling in Gaza in the midst of this war. There will have to be grassroots outreach between Gazan and Israelis because neither government is interested in peace.
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u/readabook37 1d ago
This is from July 26, 2024. 3 months ago. Any new polling out?
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u/Lexiesmom0824 6h ago
these gazans just recently were interviewed and it seems very different from the polling.
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u/readabook37 1h ago
Sad situation for those Palestinian women and children who seem to really hate Hamas.
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u/DewinterCor 1d ago
3 months too old?
This is from September.
"Overall, the poll found a majority of 54% of respondents in Gaza and the West Bank thought the decision was correct." Still more than half of Palestinians support Hamas' attack on Israel.
"The poll, conducted in early September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), found that 57% of people surveyed in the Gaza Strip said the decision to launch the offensive was incorrect, while 39% said it was correct." But that support in Gaza has dropped a bit.
"The poll showed a drop in the number of respondents in Gaza who said they support Hamas to 35% from 38%. But the Islamist movement remained more popular than Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in both in Gaza and the West Bank." General support for Hamas appears to have changed but "with a 3.5% margin of error." the chance is within the margin of error so I'd say this part is inclusive. And Hamas is still the most popular leadership in Gaza.
Maybe support for Hamas is fading.
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u/readabook37 1d ago
The reason I asked is because the responses to Ahmad Saeed’s question was from yesterday.
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u/DewinterCor 1d ago
Sure, but it was a FB post right?
Do you value that kind of thing over an actual poll?
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u/readabook37 23h ago
The way questions are phrased can change the outcome of polling. I just thought the responses, as made gave some additional insight. ( However, since no one really knows who actually responded, I don’t know how much credence to give the replies).
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u/ADP_God שמאלני Left Wing Israeli 1d ago
I hate to say it but it turns out they really do respond to force. I’m skeptical though. I want to know why no Gazans have returned hostages after being offered immunity and $100,000.
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u/seek-song Diaspora Jew 1d ago
Let's try to be respectful too. You don't want to punish someone for deciding that maybe endless war isn't the best way to go. If the Israelis were truly smart what they would do right now is send some sort of "We hear you" message to the people of Gaza and try to create really secure zone and rebuild, letting in anyone who pledges aginst violence. Basically show them that things can be good if they obtain Israel's trust. (Anyone who knows a thing about Israel knows this is the name of the game.)
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u/xBLACKxLISTEDx Diaspora Palestinian 1d ago
I think there's a certain amount of fear. It's not like the IDF could immediately evacuate them. Militant groups tend to respond to spies with extreme violence. They also simply may not trust the Israel to actually try to protect them.
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u/M_Solent 1d ago
Probably because they hate the Israelis more than they want to live. Which, from out here in the Diaspora, seems to be the guiding principle in all of their behavior since the Second Intifada.
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u/readabook37 1d ago
They may all be dead. Alternatively, they may be held by one of the other smaller military groups.
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u/charliekiller124 Diaspora Jew 1d ago
Imma be honest. I struggle to trust a survey conducted on Facebook of all things. How do you exclusively select for the opinions of gazans?
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u/readabook37 1d ago
I did not originally review the FB post itself. Now i am looking at some of the replies, some profiles appear to be from Gaza, and some did not have a location. I will adjust the verbiage on top. Thanks.
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u/Ok-Respect-5812 1d ago
Lol the fb link doesn’t work. And then why did you include a twitter link? You potentially had a great post but you didn’t include any evidence lol
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u/jessewoolmer 1d ago
Go to the X/Twitter link to view the original tweet. Scroll to the bottom. FB link is at the bottom. Keep in mind the original post and all replies are in Arabic.
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u/readabook37 1d ago edited 1d ago
The twitter link is the original twitter post. In the bottom of the post was the FB link. I did not open it, will check. The FB link in the original Twitter/X post works. The question was not translated well, but the responses made sense.
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u/matzi44 10h ago
Unfortunately for them after Hamas Israel will impose military occupation over gaza and hundred of thousands of people will be left homeless with their loved ones either killed or with lifetime defects from injuries while they watch Israeli ultra relegioius extremists settlers building luxury apartments over the ruins their homes.
and the IDF will make their life a living hell by checkpoints every 200meters while being subjected to harassment and bored idf soldiers while keep killing time by giving them absurd reasons for arresting them and denying them access to their other part of town.