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.
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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.
Oh you’ve misunderstood what I’ve said. Sadam definitely wasn’t some good leader that united the country, and I know we helped put him in power to stop the Iraqi Communists.
I’m just saying that the oppression had effectively held the country together for decades, and so when we arrived, stuff was a little more stable, and then we fucked it up.
Afghanistan had already been going through a civil war for a long, long, time. I wasn’t making any value judgements like “Saddam is good”, I was simply saying that Iraq was an easier situation than Afghanistan.
No I didn’t misunderstand you . What I was trying to say was that even your slight optimism was misplaced :p no hope no future with us invasions ^^ shit always goes south (especially if you’ve been fcking with em for decades then decide to invade ) doomer for life ^^ but they have oil and better infrastructure since forever compared to Afghanistan they are still a far more developed nation with a functioning economy give or take. Anyways it was nice talking to you under this " Omg did you know hamas is bad ? says the israeli intelligence thread " yes yes we know and we condemn