Can anti-Hamas Gazans be trusted?

The great skepticism over the anti-Hamas Gaza protests, which began as recently as late March, was expressed by so many, speculating that they had to be staged, because the likelihood of their spontaneous occurrence was almost zero.

In my Jerusalem Post article of March 28th, entitled, “Have Gazans seen the light?” I also explored the possibility of whether this was genuine and if Gazans had finally come to the realization as to who was actually responsible for their utter misery. Calling for the Israeli hostages to be freed, they began to publicly vilify and curse the government leaders whom they put into power –  after naively believing that under their control, they might finally prosper and live their best life.

But, after 17 months, the truth could no longer be denied.  Losing their homes, livelihood, and just about everything else, they were ready to acknowledge the folly of October 7th, which ultimately led them to ruin.

Now, Gaza has been reduced to rubble, thanks to terrorists who firmly embedded themselves in houses, schools, hospitals and places of worship, a deliberate strategy to deter military reprisals for the savage acts which they perpetrated upon the Israeli people. Once the population was warned to evacuate those areas, they were leveled by the IDF, decimating those places from where weapons had been hidden and launched. This is, in large part, what birthed Gaza’s anti-Hamas movement.

Twenty-nine-year-old Moumen Al-Natour, attorney, politician and human rights defender, is now responsible for leading a growing, grass-roots movement with the moniker, “We Want to Live.” Al-Natour has one request, and that is for the American president to speak to the people who have had enough of Hamas and are ready for peace with Israel.  

After all, no one is in a better position than Al-Natour to address their suffering since he, himself has been arrested by Hamas 20 times and imprisoned. In his gargantuan task of trying to change hearts and minds, his message to the international community is that Gazans hate Hamas, equally feeling like hostages by a cruel government which has brought nothing but death and destruction to them. 

But this image clean-up is not so simple, because while there may, indeed, be massive buyer’s remorse and regret for having allowed Hamas to represent them, most of us can still remember Gazans celebrating and dancing in the street on October 7th, believing that victory over Israel was within reach. We also recall the cruel acts of Gazans who, rather than helping escaped hostages return home, they, instead, turned them in, sealing their fate and ensuring their demise.

Equally hard to forget are the Gazan workers, in kibbutz communities. They were the same ones who prepared detailed maps and useful information which aided Hamas terrorists as they went from house to house, choosing their victims based on what was provided to them.

The disgusting desecration of already dead bodies, brought to Gaza, following the massacre is also still seared in our memory. All of these are the depraved acts of people without a conscience and without the least bit of compassion, but whom we are now being told want peace. How can anyone really trust them? And who would want to take the risk of offering them a second chance?

While it might be tempting to take the higher road, in the assumption that they have surely learned their lesson and are worth another chance to prove themselves, try imagining that you, personally were residing at one of those kibbutz communities which was reduced to charred remains. Picture your loved ones, dear friends and those with whom you ate lunch, each day, being burned alive, beheaded, raped and mutilated in front of your eyes. Then ask yourself if you are inclined to go another round with them, in the hope that such evil will never again be committed.

It's so easy for civilized people to try to look past the sins of what appear to be repentant people. In fact, it’s in our nature to forgive and wipe the slate clean when we are convinced that someone truly regrets their transgressions. Civilized society is wired that way. Consequently, it is our fervent desire to facilitate the restoration and redemption of a fellow human who has expressed contrition and deep remorse.

But in such extreme cases, where massacres and butchery are perpetrated upon a people, justice must be meted out, because regret just won’t cut it. A bloodbath took place on October 7, 2023, which cannot be treated as a one-off mistake.  

Twenty years passed, since Hamas took over the leadership of Gaza, and that was enough time for the population to wonder why so many tunnels were being built, why so many weapons were being placed in their homes, why kindergartens and hospitals were being outfitted with rocket launchers and why their children were preparing for battle.

None of this came as a surprise to them. Each one willingly participated in the preparation of the greatest act of evil which had been committed since the Holocaust, and that is on them.  

It’s sad, because Al-Natour has a truly compelling story. Unlike so many of his fellow Gazans, he knew it was to his advantage to leave as soon as possible, and that is why he chose to go live in Egypt in order to obtain a good university education, affording him the prestigious career as a respected attorney. It’s equally regrettable to hear how he suffered at the hands of Hamas, undoubtedly being tortured and abused.

But as impassioned as his plea is, on behalf of the people who have finally awakened, there is still a reckoning that must take place, along with a full accounting for the horrendous part these people played in the worst attack ever committed in the sovereign state of Israel. Anything short of that would be to sweep a massacre under the rug, exonerating those who had to know that murderous acts were about to take place but did nothing to stop them.

Al-Natour claims that “Gazans are often viewed only through the lens of Hamas control, but that now some are risking their lives to demand change.”  (JPost Magazine, May 2, 2025)  

It’s unfortunate that these people are now in a vulnerable position where their lives could be imperiled by their acknowledgement of the truth, but it might be a price they end up paying for having partnered with demons who promised them paradise but, instead, delivered hell!