Hamas Islamists: Same as the old boss, but meaner

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, only this time, he uses religion as an excuse for his tyranny:

Order also means torture, even if this isn’t exactly something Abu Ras is willing to admit. Palestinians who have fled to the West Bank report being nailed to the wall, confined in coffins or subjected to mock executions by Hamas. “We will take the best aspects of the Iranian and the Saudi Arabian system,” says Abu Ras, stressing that women, of course, can continue to attend the university, go to the market and drive. “We aren’t the Taliban, after all,” he says.

The Islamists’ influence is becoming more and more visible. Most men now wear full beards and many women are fully veiled. New minarets are being built throughout Gaza, alcohol is no longer available, and Hamas has restricted mixed dancing at weddings and extended religious study in schools. There have been arson attacks against Christian organizations and Internet cafés, and a few months ago radical Islamists even launched a grenade in front of the Hotel Deira, because it had been said that a waiter there had served whisky in espresso cups.

And the corruption is getting worse.

Although people are venturing out into the streets again at night, because there is a police officer at every corner, says Zaeem, this is about the extent of Hamas’s achievements. “Hamas is in power, but it still thinks like an opposition party,” he says. It ignores the garbage piling up in the streets, does nothing about repairing traffic lights, roads and water pipes and pays no attention to the children begging at intersections.

Hamas has even reneged on its most important promise: to fight corruption. “You can buy your way out of prison, and it’s even cheaper than under Fatah,” says a man who prefers to remain anonymous. A traffic policeman recently asked the man for a “donation to buy breakfast.” But the corruption is emanating from the top rather than the bottom of Gaza’s power structure.

Gaza’s de facto leader Ismail Haniya, has gained 28 kilos (62 lbs) and set up his office in the former government guesthouse — with an ocean view, of course.

There is also more evidence that there is no such thing as a Palestinian “security” force:

Ayman joined the Al-Aksa Brigades as a fighter six years ago, later becoming of member of Fatah’s presidential guard. He defected to Hamas after the coup. Today he is a police officer by day and a member of the Qassam Brigades at night. He doesn’t even have to change clothes from one job to the next. It’s the same uniform for both.

The same people who pretend to keep the peace are the ones firing the rockets. This is what the anti-Israel forces, and the media, have ignored for, well, decades. And the cease-fire? What cease-fire?

Before the ceasefire, he transported rockets to the northern Gaza Strip and fired them from there. But now there is a ceasefire, and yet he still isn’t any less busy. “On the contrary,” he says, “we are training for the next major attack.” This means spying on Israeli positions and depositing explosives near the border.

The only good news in all of this is that Hamas is still training to fight the last war. Israel has trained to fight the next one, and the armed forces have learned their lessons from the battle in Lebanon. Volunteers for the tank forces have doubled, and the Armor Corps is ready now for the inevitable battle that will come. As soon as Hamas feels strong enough, the rockets will return. They’re already starting up again. But read the article in full. It goes into great detail about the smuggling tunnels, and how they help Hamas—and how Egypt’s turning a blind eye to them damages Israel.