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The inanity of authoritarian movements can never be underestimated. The horrific shooting by Hamas of unarmed demonstrators is only the latest example of the Islamist group’s unwillingness or inability to control its forces in the Gaza Strip.

Squandering the general support they enjoyed here by forcibly seizing control of the Strip last June, many Gazans now regard Hamas as an unhinged group of fanatics more concerned with rooting out political opposition than in combating the Israeli occupation.

[T]he Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which has a long record of criticising abuses by Israeli forces and both the main Palestinian factions, issued a strongly worded condemnation of “the excessive use of force” by the Hamas police at the rally. Its investigation into the rally said that, at about 11.30am, a jeep carrying plain-clothes Hamas gunmen drove “provocatively” in the direction of hundreds of demonstrators. <<< more

The more Hamas beats, tortures and kills their own people, the more they resemble the Israeli army and the less they deserve to lead the Palestinians. This is true, no matter how many ridiculous singing policeman they dispatch to help improve morale.

“O Jerusalem, rest assured we are the sacrifice,” goes one song. “I will not retreat from my Jihad, I will not back down.” <<< more