A Man's Home is Hamas's Castle

Der Spiegel didn't have much difficulty finding Gazans openly critical of Hamas. Reporter Ulrike Putz simply went to Beit Lahiya as Palestinians returned to their homes.

Two in particular, Mohammed Sadala, and another -- identified only as Hail -- shed light on how Hamas bears responsibility for the widespread destruction to civilian homes:

Mohammed Sadala's rage is aimed at the man, whose remains he found in his bedroom: a Hamas fighter. He and a comrade broke into the home which had long stood empty after the Sadala family fled. The Hamas men shot at the approaching Israelis from the balcony. The soldiers fired back, killing the militants and destroying the house of the 10-strong family in the process . . . .

Hail's house is just a few streets away and only suffered light damage. There are a few bullet holes in the living room walls and all of the window panes are broken. Hail also found out after the cease-fire that the militants had used his house as a base for their operations. The door to his house stood open and there were electric cables lying in the hallway. When Hail followed them they led to his neighbor's house which it seems Hamas had mined.

As Hail, in his mid-30s, sat on his porch and thought about what to do a man came by: He was from Hamas and had left something in Hail's home. He let him in and the man then emerged with a bullet proof vest, a rocket launcher and an ammunitions belt. An hour later a fighter with Islamic Jihad called to the door, then disappeared onto the roof and reappeared with a box of ammunition. "The abused civilians' homes for their own purposes. That is not right," Hail says with disgust while trying to remain polite.

I'd say Hamas has some 'splaining to do. (Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)

See also The Age for a Palestinian medic's first-hand account of how Hamas gunmen hijacked his ambulance.

Posted at 05:45 PM