Skip to main content

Why Hamas can’t control arms proliferation in Gaza

Amid the uncontrollable proliferation of weapons in the Gaza Strip, human rights centers and institutions sounded the alarm, while Hamas seems unable to prevent citizens from obtaining arms.

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 16:  Members of the Palestinian police force of the Islamic group Hamas display automatic rifles allegedly seized from the Doghmush clan August 16, 2007 in Gaza City, Gaza. The Doghmush clan, linked along with the Army of Islam to the kidnapping of British journalist Alan Johnson, was involved in gun battles on August 14 that left two Hamas police officers dead.  (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)
Members of the Palestinian police force of Hamas display automatic rifles allegedly seized from the Doghmush clan, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Aug. 16, 2007. — Abid Katib/Getty Images

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In light of the ongoing proliferation of unauthorized weapons in Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, human rights centers and institutions sounded the alarm following the escalation of violence and distruption of civil peace. 

Meanwhile, the Hamas movement that rules Gaza seems unable to control the spread of weapons among civilians.

In late September, firearms and white weapons were used in several family feuds that erupted in various governorates in the Gaza Strip. These resulted in casualties among citizens, especially among women and children. Most recently, on Sept. 27, during a family quarrel in the city of Nuseirat, in central Gaza, five people were stabbed with knives.

In a statement issued Sept. 26, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights listed several family fights where firearms were used, most notably a quarrel that occurred between two families in Shajaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, on the evening of Sept. 25. “As a result, four persons sustained injuries, one of whom is in serious condition,” the statement read.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish