Anti-Hamas chants heard at rare protest in Gaza

Hamas dissent is unusual in Gaza and therefore notable

The protests in Gaza are potentially significant, but too complicated to be portrayed as being simply anti-Hamas demonstrations.

Whilst some of the protestors have been seen openly calling for Hamas to go, others are calling for an end to the killing of women and children by Israel, and some are angry at inflated food prices because of the ongoing humanitarian blockade. It is a mixed picture.

Although they remain small, and only in a handful of districts for now, any dissent against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2006, is unusual and therefore notable.

It suits Israel to claim this is a sign that military pressure against Hamas is working, and to a limited extent that might have some merit, but Hamas’s rivals, Fatah, also have reason to exaggerate anti-Hamas feeling amongst Palestinians.

Further complicating things, many Palestinians have historically opposed Hamas as a governing body, but at the same time supported them as a resistance to Israeli occupation.

There are some external indicators that suggest ongoing moves to replace Hamas in Gaza – an Israeli red line if the war is to end.

There have been reports, as yet unconfirmed, that Jordan and other Arab countries have been examining plans to relocate up to three thousand Hamas leaders and fighters, although there is no suggestion where they would go.

The White House, and Israel, have criticised a joint Arab plan for the future of Gaza because it doesn’t include any suggestion to replace Hamas, so there is an incentive for that to be addressed if the plan is to be adopted.

If the protests grow and spread, then there is a dangerous risk of intra-Palestinian violence in Gaza, and I would expect a number of players – Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Arab governments – to seize the energy of opposition as they pursue their own competing agendas for the future of Gaza.