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Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied on Everyday Palestinians (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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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 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.

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.

. . .

Everyday Gazans were stuck — behind the wall of Israel’s 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.

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[-] footoro@sh.itjust.works 98 points 7 months ago

Yeah no shit Hamas is an authoritarian corrupt movement. That still doesn’t justify the genocide on Palestinians and the apartheid, occupation and systematic rape, abuse, torture, and also the Israeli mass surveillance that is used to blackmail people or even track them down to murder them.

[-] ConfusedPossum@kbin.social 36 points 7 months ago

If anything Hamas is the product of the systematic marginalization and humiliation of the Palestinians

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 61 points 7 months ago

Looks like there's a multi-pronged attempt to shift the narrative to "see? Hamas is bad, so Israel is justified" today based on articles being posted.

[-] breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca 26 points 7 months ago

People say the same thing literally any time there's a negative story about Hamas. That isn't how this story is framed. Israeli policy (blockade) and military are not portrayed as a relative good at all. It also speaks directly against a narrative by some Israelis that Palestinians bear collective responsibility for the actions of Hamas.

The idea that we must help Hamas cover up their crimes is a bad one, however well-intentioned. If they don't want their crimes and misdeeds reported by the world, they should consider not committing any.

[-] EatATaco@lemm.ee 13 points 7 months ago

Some people can't think critically nor handle any nuance. It needs to be black and white for them, which is why they can't fathom a world where people recognize that Hamas is trash without also thinking Israel is justified.

The irony being that their thought process is identical to the people who claim any criticism of Israel is anti semitism.

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[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago

"Their unelected leadership was spying on Palestinians, hence we're justified in mass murdering Palestinians to get them"

I mean, it's the kind of excuse that worked for America's invasion of Iraq to the point that even nowadays there are still plenty of useful idiots justifying the resulting estimated 1.4 million Iraqui dead with "Saddam was a murderous dictator" (and yet in all those years caused 1/100 of the deaths America did in far less time)

As long as people keep falling for any old bollocks then any old bollocks is exactly what they will be given

[-] slurpinderpin@lemmy.world 49 points 7 months ago

We can talk all day about how bad Israel is, but these guys aren’t good guys either

[-] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 28 points 7 months ago

There were some idiots like that, but anyone who wasn’t just being completely reactionary knew they were idiots.

The only good people in this are all the innocent, the problem is they are the ones doing the most dying on both sides

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[-] xc2215x@lemmy.world 43 points 7 months ago

Hamas or not, Israel has gone too far.

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[-] Rookwood@lemmy.world 33 points 7 months ago

Everyday Palestinians? What genius propagandist came up with that one? Israel doesn't seem to make the distinction.

[-] cygnus@lemmy.ca 43 points 7 months ago

My thoughts exactly. Nearly everyone agrees that Hamas is bad; what we object to is the grossly excessive violence being applied to all Palestinians.

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[-] alquicksilver@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

The NYT has been shown to be biased against Palestinians, so this, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me anymore. I used to trust the NYT as one of the more trustworthy sources, but am reluctant to give them any traffic anymore. It feels like, at least in the US, the right-wing crazies have won because "mainstream media" (all media, frankly) really is starting to feel untrustworthy.

I strongly dislike nearly everything about this timeline.

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social 7 points 7 months ago

I think it’s less “right wing” per se and more that the news networks are corporate conglomerates with a narrative they want to propagate.

They also want to access to the politicians, who are in turn beholden to their donors. The politicians won’t give them access unless the media are willing to also subjugate themselves to the donor class narratives.

I think it’s more about the money on politics and the ruling that corporations are people and money is free speech that is the problem.

I think the media is corporations, which advocative for neoliberal policies in general, and because they want access to the politicians they have to be on board drinking the donor kool aid.

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[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 28 points 7 months ago

Oh, look, a Look-over-there New York Times article about how it's the merelly authoritarian on the "other" side that are worse than the full blown Genocidal Fascists murdering an entire population - men, women and children, lots and lots of children - whilst claiming they're only going after said autoritarians.

I did NAZI that coming.

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[-] Linkerbaan@lemmy.world 23 points 7 months ago

Oh look New York Times is trying to win another Pullitzer Prize.

Reminder that Leaked NYT Gaza Memo Tells Journalists to Avoid Words “Genocide,” “Ethnic Cleansing,” and “Occupied Territory”

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 20 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Running a hamas hit piece during Israel's genocide. You know it's going to be legacy media.

[-] EatATaco@lemm.ee 18 points 7 months ago

Regardless of how bad Israel is, Hamas is trash. Are we just supposed to pretend or ignore this fact because we are disgusted by Israel?

[-] suction@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

Americans have to take a side and treat everything like sports, didn’t you know?

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[-] kerrigan778@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

It just doesn't seem like the most relevant headline right now, "Hamas still also bad" is a bit water is wet.

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[-] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

what did you expect from a group created and funded by israeli intelligence to dismantle peaceful pro peace palestinian leftist organizations?

[-] bartolomeo@suppo.fi 12 points 7 months ago

I know they were funded in part by Israel to destroy Palestinian unity and give Israel an excuse to kill more Palestinians and take their land, but was Hamas really created by Israel?

[-] sazey@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Maybe Israel didn't found Hamas as such but they certainly nurtured it like a baby bird.

[-] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 7 months ago

they basically created it in the same way us created al qaeda

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[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Paywall and the archive doesn't work...

But it sounds like this was pretty tame compared to other countries.

Shit, Israel goes into Gaza and abducts people for torture and long imprisonment without charges based on social media and claimed statements to informants...

And this says Hamas followed people to see if they were having an affair?

And kept files on people? Some journalists?

Hasn't Israel killed more journalists than even Russia the last couple years?

I don't see what's surprising or concerning here. And I don't see where the article is getting their info either. Are they just repeating IDF propaganda again?

Nevermind, I googled it.

The author is from multiple propaganda outlets in Israel, and belongs to pro-Israel "think tank"...

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/adam-rasgon

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Institute_for_Near_East_Policy

Although WINEP plays down its links to Israel and claims that it provides a 'balanced and realistic' perspective on Middle East issues, this is not the case. In fact, WINEP is funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel's agenda ... Many of its personnel are genuine scholars or experienced former officials, but they are hardly neutral observers on most Middle East issues and there is little diversity of views within WINEP's ranks."[43]

Not only funded by AIPAC, but started be people with a bunch of AIPAC connections.

[-] SulaymanF@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

The Israeli Shin Bet does pretty much the same domestic espionage and there’s rightwing patrols in ultra orthodox neighborhoods as well monitoring for illicit relationships etc.

[-] SoupBrick@pawb.social 5 points 7 months ago

Thanks for the research, the fediverse is so much better than reddit.

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[-] anticolonialist@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

The NYT is garbage state propaganda with no more journalistic credibility than the Enquirer

[-] efstajas@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

Please. Of course the NYT are far from infallible, but "no more journalistic credibility than the Enquirer" is just a ridiculous statement. There's a lot to criticize about their reporting on Gaza, but at the same time they've published some of the rawest and most eye-opening coverage of the situation in Gaza I've come across.

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[-] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 11 points 7 months ago

Has NYT only just figured out now that the nuance was never in Hamas being "the good guys" or not?
Hamas may be better than Israel right now in that they're not actively pulling a genocide, but nobody apart from Hamas thinks Hamas are really the good guys in this - but Hamas being a horrid government doesn't then somehow justify Israel's genocide against the "Everyday Palestinians" Hamas are oppressing.

[-] Jafoo@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

Governments spy on their own citizens? This is more shocking than learning Ivy League unis give preference to legacy students

[-] gasgiant@lemmy.ml 8 points 7 months ago

Oh my god that's awful.

Nearly as bad as an agency that does that to their own people and that of another nation.

Not seeing a lot of similar articles about Shin Bet though. Wonder why.....

[-] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

No shit. By the way I'm not defending netanyahu. He's a pos.

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this post was submitted on 13 May 2024

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