Hamas claims protest rallies are being misrepresented as criticizing Hamas’s de facto regime
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told the Qatari channel Al-Araby,
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“demonstrations are expected from people facing extermination, against war and destruction”
Despite multiple media reports, images and videos from protests as well as media interviews with Gazans to the contrary, Naim claimed the rallies are being misrepresented as criticizing Hamas’s de facto regime
Naim said,
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“People are calling to stop the aggression but the enemy and other parties with political agendas are diverting the spontaneous protests to serve the occupation’s agenda and trying to portray it as if the demonstrators are against the resistance”
— a reference to Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza
Naim added, without specifying which actors he was referring to,
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“Those who are trying to portray the protests as demonstrations against Hamas are the same people who have been doing this for years from Arab and European cities to serve (foreign) interests”
Naim further claimed that the authoritarian Islamist group allows residents to show dissent,
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“We understand well that our people are politically diverse and we protect both opinions and opposing views”
“No one has the right to forbid anyone from expressing their opinion But the people took to the streets, calling to stop the war and end the aggression”
