{"id":49318,"date":"2024-05-13T09:50:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T09:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/13\/secret-hamas-files-show-how-it-spied-on-everyday-palestinians\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T09:50:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T09:50:12","slug":"secret-hamas-files-show-how-it-spied-on-everyday-palestinians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/13\/secret-hamas-files-show-how-it-spied-on-everyday-palestinians\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied on Everyday Palestinians"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/09\/multimedia\/00hamas-surveillance-01-wvzb\/00hamas-surveillance-01-wvzb-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied on Everyday Palestinians\" title=\"Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied on Everyday Palestinians\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has for years overseen a secret police force in Gaza that conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians and built files on young people, journalists and those who questioned the government, according to intelligence officials and a trove of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The unit, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported their own neighbors to the police. People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. In some cases, the records suggest that the authorities followed people to determine if they were carrying on romantic relationships outside marriage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hamas has long run an oppressive system of governance in Gaza, and many Palestinians there know that security officials watch them closely. But a 62-slide presentation on the activities of the General Security Service, delivered only weeks before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, reveals the degree to which the largely unknown unit penetrated the lives of Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The documents show that Hamas leaders, despite claiming to represent the people of Gaza, would not tolerate even a whiff of dissent. Security officials trailed journalists and people they suspected of immoral behavior. Agents got criticism removed from social media and discussed ways to defame political adversaries. Political protests were viewed as threats to be undermined.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Everyday Gazans were stuck \u2014 behind the wall of Israel\u2019s crippling blockade and under the thumb and constant watch of a security force. That dilemma continues today, with the added threat of Israeli ground troops and airstrikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re facing bombardment by the occupation and thuggery by the local authorities,\u201d Ehab Fasfous, a journalist in the Gaza Strip who appeared in the files of the General Security Service, said in a phone interview from Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Fasfous, 51, is labeled in one report as among \u201cthe major haters of the Hamas movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The documents were provided to The Times by officials in Israel\u2019s military intelligence directorate, who said they had been seized in raids in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Reporters then interviewed people who were named in the files. Those people recounted key events, confirmed biographical information and, in Mr. Fasfous\u2019s case, described interactions with the authorities that aligned with the secret files. The documents reviewed by The Times include seven intelligence files ranging from October 2016 to August 2023. The military intelligence directorate said it was aware of files containing information on at least 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The General Security Service is formally part of the Hamas political party but functions like part of the government. One Palestinian individual familiar with the inner workings of Hamas, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the service was one of three powerful internal security bodies in Gaza. The others were Military Intelligence, which typically focuses on Israel, and the Internal Security Service, an arm of the Interior Ministry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Basem Naim, a spokesman for Hamas, said the people responsible for the General Security Service were unreachable during the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With monthly expenses of $120,000 before the war with Israel, the unit comprised 856 people, records show. Of those, more than 160 were paid to spread Hamas propaganda and launch online attacks against opponents at home and abroad. The status of the unit today is unknown because Israel has dealt a significant blow to Hamas\u2019s military and governing abilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli intelligence authorities believe that Mr. Sinwar directly oversaw the General Security Service, according to three Israeli intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. They said the slide show was prepared for Mr. Sinwar personally, though they did not say how they knew that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The presentation said that the General Security Service works to protect Hamas\u2019s people, property and information, and to support its leadership\u2019s decision-making.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some slides focused on the personal security of Hamas leaders. Others discussed ways to stamp out protests, including the \u201cWe Want to Live\u201d demonstrations last year that criticized power shortages and the cost of living. Security officials also tracked operatives from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ideologically aligned militant group that often partners with Hamas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some tactics, like amplifying Hamas\u2019s own message, appeared to be routine politicking. In other instances, officials suggested using intelligence to undermine opponents and distort their reputations, though the files were vague about how that was to be done.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cUndertaking a number of offensive and defensive media campaigns to confuse and influence adversaries by using private and exclusive information,\u201d the document read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Security officers stopped Mr. Fasfous on his way to a protest last August, seized his phone and ordered him to leave, a report says. Mr. Fasfous confirmed that two plainclothes officers had approached him. The authorities searched his recent calls, and wrote that he was communicating with \u201csuspicious people\u201d in Israel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe advise that closing in on him is necessary because he\u2019s a negative person who is full of hatred, and only brings forth the Strip\u2019s shortcomings,\u201d the document said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The most frustrating thing, Mr. Fasfous said, was that the officers used his phone to send flirtatious messages to a colleague. \u201cThey wanted to pin a moral violation on me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The report does not include that detail but does describe ways to \u201cdeal with\u201d Mr. Fasfous. \u201cDefame him,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you\u2019re not with them, you become an atheist, an infidel and a sinner,\u201d Mr. Fasfous said. He acknowledged supporting protests and criticizing Hamas online, but said the people he was in touch with in Israel were Palestinians who owned food and clothing companies. He said he helped run their social media accounts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The General Security Service\u2019s goals are similar to those of security services in countries like Syria that have used secret units to quell dissent. The files of the General Security Service, though, mention tactics like censorship, intimidation and surveillance rather than physical violence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis General Security Service is just like the Stasi of East Germany,\u201d said Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer specializing in Palestinian affairs. \u201cYou always have an eye on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Palestinians in Gaza live in fear and hesitate to express dissent, analysts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere are a lot of people practicing self-censorship,\u201d said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science from Gaza City. \u201cThey just don\u2019t want problems with the Hamas government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That view clashes with the most strident comments of Israel\u2019s leaders, like President Isaac Herzog, who blamed Gazans for not toppling Hamas before the Oct. 7 attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere\u2019s an entire nation that is responsible,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/2023-10-12\/israel-targets-network-of-tunnels-in-gaza-as-death-toll-rises\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">he said<\/a>. \u201cThis rhetoric about civilians were not aware, not involved, it\u2019s absolutely not true. They could have risen up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The General Security Service, the files show, also tried to enforce a conservative social order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In December 2017, for example, the authorities investigated a tip that a woman was acting immorally with a man who owned a clothing shop. A security report noted that she visited the shop for an hour on one day, then more than two hours the next. The report presented no evidence of wrongdoing, but proposed that \u201crelevant parties\u201d address the matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An October 2016 report described young men and women performing unspecified \u201cimmoral acts\u201d at a Palestine Liberation Organization office in Khan Younis at night. Hamas sees the Palestine Liberation Organization as a compromised entity, whose leader too often favors Israeli interests. The report offered no evidence of misdeeds but recommended summoning a man who claimed to be in possession of videos and pictures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The files also show that Hamas was suspicious of foreign organizations and journalists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Monique van Hoogstraten, a Dutch reporter, visited a protest encampment along the border with Israel in April 2018, the authorities noted the most banal of details. They noted the make and model of her car and her license plate number. They said she took pictures of children and tried to interview an elderly woman Ms. van Hoogstraten confirmed the reporting trip in an interview with The Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The file recommended further \u201creconnaissance\u201d on journalists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">None of the files reviewed by The Times were dated after the start of the war. But Mr. Fasfous said the government remained interested in him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Early in the war, he said he took images of security forces hitting people who fought over spots in line outside a bakery. The authorities confiscated his camera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Fasfous complained to a government official in Khan Younis, who told him to stop reporting and \u201cdestabilizing the internal front,\u201d Mr. Fasfous recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI told him I was reporting on the truth and that the truth won\u2019t hurt him, but that fell on deaf ears,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t have a life here as long as these criminals remain in control.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/13\/world\/europe\/secret-hamas-files-palestinians.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has for years overseen a secret police force in Gaza that conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians and built files on young people, journalists and those who questioned the government, according to intelligence officials and a trove of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times. The unit, known as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/09\/multimedia\/00hamas-surveillance-01-wvzb\/00hamas-surveillance-01-wvzb-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[46052,563,5552,8527,5054,443,49693],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49320,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49318\/revisions\/49320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}