Hamas Losing Support in Gaza as Group 'No Longer Interested in Resistance', Former Member Says

One of the reasons for the decline in the organisation's ratings is said to be their inability to improve the lives of ordinary Gazans. Another is the corruption of their institutions, whereas a third one is change in their ideology and their willingness to sit down for talks with Israel.

Hamas, an Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, is the biggest military organisation in the coastal enclave.

Boasting an army of some 30,000 trained combatants, it also enjoys the backing of thousands of supporters who favour the ideology of the group because of its commitment to "destroy the State of Israel".

Resistance Movement

Up until recently, Ibrahim, whose full name cannot be disclosed for security reasons, has also been a Hamas supporters.

Now in his late 40s, he says he joined the organisation when he was 16 and that back then he was determined "to make a difference" and help the organisation to curb the "threat of Israel".

Back in its early days, in late 1980s, Hamas was a resistance movement that aimed at annihilating Israel. The group's leaders didn't mince words when it came to the Jewish state and its members carried out multiple terror attack against Israeli military and civilian targets.

"I truly believed in their struggle and their path. I knew Israel would not leave the lands it had occupied and I was sure that only Hamas would be able to liberate them", Ibrahim says.

Shift in Ideology?

In 2005 things started changing. Hamas that has seen the weakness of the Palestinian Authority -- that was established in 1993 following the historic Oslo Accords, which decided to join the political arena. It set up a politburo and entered a competition with other Palestinian factions, the biggest of which was Fatah.

Those efforts eventually bore fruit. In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections, taking most seats in the parliament. A year later -- encouraged by that victory -- the group took over the Gaza Strip, ousting the officials of Fatah.

Since then, says Ibrahim, the group started falling off in his eyes. And that eventually led him to leaving the group altogether.

"When they started shifting their ideology and preferred to talk politics rather than resisting Israel, I got disappointed with them. The true leaders of the organisation, those who resisted Israel, have long gone. The movement has become more pragmatic, and I cannot stand their diplomatic approach," reasoned the former Hamas member.

People Leaving

Ibrahim is far from the only person who has been displeased with Hamas. The group's popularity in the Gaza Strip has declined since the time it took over the enclave, although its ratings have gone up in the West Bank, an area controlled by Fatah.

Some, like Ibrahim himself, were dissatisfied with the organisation's shift in policies and ideology. Others slammed Hamas for the never-ending wars with Israel, for the inability to lift the Jewish state's continuous blockade that have been in place since 2007, for the low standards of living, and for the group's corruption.

Only recently, in March, a poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research revealed that seven percent of Gazans viewed life in the enclave in a positive light. 69 percent thought the institutions run by Hamas were corrupt, and 31 percent expressed a desire to emigrate from the area.

"Most of the people now look at Hamas the way they look at Fatah. Both of them have become two sides of the same coin. The group is no longer interested in resistance. All they care about is power and money".

It is difficult to assess how many people have withdrawn their support from the group that has been running the enclave with an iron fist for the past 15 years. Ibrahim and local journalists Sputnik has spoken to say that there are plenty of people like him, but the 49-year-old also believes their numbers will only be growing with time.

"Hamas is now negotiating with Israel indirectly and mainly under the table", he said referring to talks the group is holding around the issue of the monthly allowances provided by Qatar.

"I am sure it is a matter of time until they start talking to Israel directly, without any mediators. And this will inevitably anger the masses".