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.
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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http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7512.htm