Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have expressed criticism
of the Hamas regime, a report said.

The Institute for National Security Studies asserted that Gazans were
becoming increasing critical of Hamas and its alliance with Egypt’s Muslim
Brotherhood.

In a report, the institute cited the social media forums
attended by Gazans, perhaps the only outlet not directly censored by Hamas.

“Surprisingly, new media activists in Gaza are publicly removing their support for Hamas, coming out openly against the Muslim Brotherhood, and giving their full support to the revolutionaries in Egypt,” the report,
titled “The Great Divide: The Political Process and Palestinian Discourse on the Social Networks,” said.

“Gaza residents are even asking Egypt not to impose collective punishment on them and seek to underscore that they are not Egypt’s enemy.”

[On Aug. 13, the Israel Air Force intercepted an unidentified rocket
fired from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Officials said the rocket was destroyed
by Israel’s Iron Dome system, deployed outside the southern port of Eilat.]

Authors Udi Dekel and Orlit Perlov, who monitor the social media in the
Middle East, asserted that many Gazans were identifying with the military
coup of the Brotherhood in Egypt. They said Gazans have blamed Hamas for
the crisis with the new regime in Cairo.

“The Hamas leadership took sides in the domestic political struggle in
Egypt, and Gaza is now paying the price,” the report, dated Aug. 11, said.

The report said the Palestinian social media relayed a sharply different
message than the official radio, television and newspapers in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip. About one-third of Palestinians were deemed active users of
the social networks.

“The Hamas leadership in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West
Bank have lost much legitimacy in the eyes of the Palestinians,” the report
said. “There is almost no discussion on the social media about violent
resistance or calls for terrorist activity against Israel. The young
Palestinian society advocates a social struggle over justice and civil
rights, not necessarily by means of violence.”

  criticize Hamas leaders, Institute for National Security Studies, Muslim Brotherhood, Social media provides forum for Gazans critical of Hamas