In 2020, peace activist Rami Aman was imprisoned by Hamas along with other Gazans. Their crime was organizing a Zoom meeting with Israelis about possible solutions to the coronavirus crisis.
Fortunately, the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch launched a campaign for his release, rallying dozens of organizations worldwide. After months in solitary, during a phone call with his mother, Aman was astonished to hear that UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer had called for his release at the United Nations.
"We called on people to take to the streets"
A few weeks later, he was freed. Today Aman lives in Europe, from where he delivers a grim but compelling testimony about life in Gaza. Until his arrest, he says he had led protests in Gaza that were not covered by the Al Jazeera network.
"The largest protest was in January 2017. We called on people to go out into the streets so Hamas would resolve the electricity crisis and create jobs. They fired live ammunition at us, and no one in the media reported it. Why? Because Hamas controls the media inside Gaza and outside Gaza," Aman said. According to him, "For many Palestinians, Al Jazeera is not a trustworthy news outlet."
"Hamas does not allow demonstrations calling for peace in Gaza – not even ones calling on Hamas to end the war. But Hamas gladly welcomes any protest in Israel.
"You won't see Al Jazeera covering protests in Gaza that call for peace or for ending the war. But you will see Al Jazeera cameras in Israel, because Hamas wants pressure to come from Israel, not from Gaza."
He recalls how after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza from Fatah in 2007, the terrorist organization began "controlling everything in Gaza – the media, UNRWA, the private sector."
He says Hamas placed many of its members in jobs at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, mainly because of the relatively high salaries.
Aman sheds light on Hamas' distorted logic: "Hamas loves wars. Hamas loves it when there is no university, no school, no good life for the people. Hamas loves it when all we have in Gaza are tents, just people standing in line waiting for flour and food.
"Hamas loves to control poverty, and to have no kind of real life. In the 2009 war [Operation Cast Lead], I saw it with my own eyes – Hamas celebrated after 1,400 Palestinians were killed and called it a victory. For me, what kind of victory is that?"
"People love life"
He notes that this explains why Hamas can so easily celebrate in the current war the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians: "What happened in the 2023 war already happened in 2009, 2014 and 2021. Hamas used the same methods – exploiting the people of Gaza, controlling the media, and receiving aid. For Hamas, this is a good way to fight its wars. Every time people die and no one cares. But in the end, for Hamas, the message is 'we are still here,' and that means 'victory.' For us it is different. People in Gaza love life."
Even so, Aman accuses: "Hamas teaches Palestinians how to die, how to marry 70 virgins in heaven – and that is certainly not Islam. It is an easy way to brainwash people in Gaza to achieve their goals."
On humanitarian aid he says: "Thousands of trucks, including humanitarian aid, have entered Gaza since December 2023 until now. But people still get nothing. My sister is in Gaza, my family is in Gaza, so I know the reality from them and from my friends. My sister hasn't received anything from October until now.
"Hamas controls this aid and sells it to the people at very high prices. Can you imagine one cigarette costing $50? And what about a pack?
"I believe Hamas made a lot of money in this war from humanitarian aid. Until now Hamas still controls the aid. Hamas is still asking its partners and associates in Asia, America and England to donate through bitcoin or PayPal or other means. So it is not only about the trucks."
Aman recounts how UNRWA humanitarian aid, clearly marked "Not for sale," is openly sold in Gaza's markets and malls. "It says on it 'Not for sale' – the UN wrote that. But it is sold to people. Who started this? UNRWA and Hamas."
"A vision for a positive future"
"Aman represents the dream of a Gaza freed from Hamas' grip of terror, moving toward a positive future built on a vision that includes peace with the people of Israel", said Neuer.
"Aman shows no fear in his efforts for peace. He risked his freedom and his life. The international community, and all those who care about a Palestinian future, must support Aman and his movement for peace instead of empowering the forces that conspired to put him in prison."
