Has there been any significant pro-Palestinian protest critical of Hamas?

Question

I've spent quite a bit of time getting to know the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, and all this time I've only seen a few cases of pro-Palestinians criticizing Hamas for being part of the problem, most of what I've seen were silent on Hamas and related militant groups.

Where I live (Canada), soon after October 7, a pro-Palestinian march chanted Israelis were terrorists, I've seen another one decrying the killings of Gazan civilians by Israel, but nothing when it was determined that a rocket that fell close to a hospital was from a group within Gaza, etc.

I've never seen any large-scale protest critical of Hamas or related groups, about there not being any election since Hamas took over, Hamas and related militants purposefully and indiscriminately targeting civilians in Israel, Hamas using civilian infrastructure for military purposes, or even supposedly some of their leaders being millionaires/billionaires and living far away from the conflict, and so many other problems you'd think someone who actually cares about Palestinians would be critical of.

Has there been any significant pro-Palestinian protest critical of Hamas?

Related (question from 2014): Was there ANY official condemnation of Hamas over use of civilians and especially children as human shields?

Answer 1

Yes. For example, Palestinians have protested against Hamas (despite the risks of protesting against a heavily armed and dangerously insane group).

Here is some coverage from John Oliver for example:

Israel-Hamas War: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (There is a timestamp but I highly recommend you watch the entire thing)

"And it's notable that in July despite all the restrictions on dissent in Gaza there were actually people on the streets chanting slogans including "Fuck off Hamas!" and "We want to live"."

He is referring to July 2023 protests also covered by AP:

Thousands take to streets in Gaza in rare public display of discontent with Hamas - AP News - 30 July 2023

Hamas’s security forces disperse rare Gaza protests against its rule - The Times of Israel - 14 March 2019

Protests against Hamas reemerge in the streets of Gaza, but will they persist? - The Times of Israel - 8 August 2023

There are also quite a few Israeli citizens and Jews who have protested on the pro-Palestine (or pro-Palestinians) anti-Hamas side.

Hundreds arrested as US Jews protest against Israel’s Gaza assault - The Guardian - 19 Oct 2023

I do not think I have to explain that those Jews are critical of Hamas. For example, one of the organizations who organized the protest wrote on their website: "the massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians are horrific war crimes". But they are pro-Palestine (or pro-Palestinians).

If you think about it, being pro-Palestine (or pro-Palestinians) automatically makes you anti-Hamas.

And if you are pro-Israel (or pro-Israeli people) then that automatically makes you anti-Netanyahu.

"In support of that argument, in an article in Foreign Affairs, two authors affiliated with Arab Barometer, a nonpartisan group that evaluates public opinion across the Arab world, point out that in a survey of Palestinians days before the war began, "73% of Gazans favored a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." And two-thirds of those surveyed expressed little or no trust in Hamas." https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/05/1209976575/israel-hamas-war-hope-empathy-personal-stories & https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-palestinians-really-think-hamas

"A Nov. 3 poll found 76% of Israelis want Netanyahu to resign." https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1211767117/israel-netanyahu-growing-opposition-hamas-war-gaza

Answer 2

This protest in Switzerland was clearly anti-Hamas and pro-Palestinian.

Excerpt from their page (translated by Deepl, verified by me, original available in German/French):

The unjustifiable massacres and hostage-takings by Hamas were followed by a massive military retaliation by Israel against the Gaza Strip. This collectively punishes the defenceless and imprisoned civilian population, which has almost no drinking water, food or medical care to survive in the face of the blockades.

It was mainly organized by a Swiss NGO called GSoA/GSsA on 2023-11-02 in Zurich, Switzerland. It had two speeches, one written by someone from Israel and one written by someone from Palestine, both of whom wanted to remain anonymous. It wasn't the biggest pro-Palestine protest in 2023 in Switzerland, but certainly significant.

Answer 3

Frame challenge: why would they even bring it up in such a protest?

Protests tend to focus on a specific issue without really going beyond that.

It's somewhat like asking "Has there been any pro-ham-on-pizza protest critical of pineapple on pizza". Some pro-ham-on-pizzanian (including those taking part in protests) may indeed have been critical of pineapple on pizza, but obviously if it's specifically a "pro-ham-on-pizza protest", you wouldn't expect their opinions on pineapple on pizza to be brought up during the protest (except maybe when it comes to what they think of ham and pineapple pizza).

As for protests generally, you probably wouldn't find many protests being anti-Hamas, because that's already been designated as a terrorist group by most of the western world. The point of a protest is to cause some action or change in opinion, but I'm not sure such a protest would have much to accomplish (unless it's taking place in Gaza itself or you're protesting for your government to take some action against Hamas). I'm not aware of any aid the US has given specifically to Hamas (whether the Gaza humanitarian aid qualifies is questionable). On the other hand, it's given upwards of 100 billion dollars in military aid to Israel, and has designated Israel as a major ally. So if you're anti-Hamas and anti-Israel, it may make a lot more sense to protest the latter, because there are obvious changes to push for.

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I'm putting aside the fact that there have been anti-Hamas protests by Palestinians (as another answerer points out), which sounds very "pro-Palestinian" to me, but some might disagree or view that term more in the context of being anti-Israel.

Answer 4

I viewed images of a lots of demonstrations in Germany and most are focused on their rejection of Israel & do not mention Hamas.

This demonstration is representative of that. A participant was removed because he carried a sign saying "Free Gaza from Hamas".

Wikipedia has an extensive article listing 2023 Israel–Hamas war protests. For the pro-Palestine demonstrations, no anti-Hamas signs can be seen. A google image search for "palestina demonstration" or "palestina demonstration hamas" likewise does not reveal any.

Instead, a lot of demonization of Israel can be seen ("genocide" accusations and such). In Germany, pro-Palestine demonstrations were forbidden for a while because of the high likelihood of incitement & antisemitism (including Jews=child killers, child killer Israel, attacks against journalists as jew press, solidarity with samidoun (which was outlawed after it publicly celebrated the 7.10. terror attacks), etc).

Now, that doesn't mean that no such demonstration can exist. I'm sure somewhere there will be one. But by and large, these demonstrations focus on Israel, which they solely blame for the current war (despite the war having been started by the brutal massacre of 1200 Israelis by the terrorist group Hamas).

Answer 5

Has there been any significant pro-Palestinian protest critical of Hamas?

It's difficult to protest "pro-Palestinian" since Palestine is not a political party or course of action. Palestine is just a territory.

One could only protest actions of either Israeli army or of Hamas - or both.

Answer 6

The political message of demonstrations are usually delivered through speakers. People will march and chant and speakers with expert knowledge or direct experience with the situation at hand will give speeches. On pro-Palestinian demonstrations - at last in the Western world - it is very rare for at least a few speakers to not condemn attacks "targeting civilians" or war crimes "on both sides". Which clearly are formulations critical of Hamas. Speakers on demonstrations following October 7 may also explicitly condemn Hamas's attacks or demand an unconditional return of the civilians it holds.

However, such language is utterly mundane and not captured in media's headlines. Journalists generally focus on what is unique and not on what is routine. So to verify for yourself that Hamas is indeed condemned with formulations similar to the above you have to either listen to speeches from demonstrations or read their transcripts.

Here are some examples, proving that indeed Hamas or its attacks on civilians are condemned on Western pro-Palestinian demonstrations:

Rally in Chicago, USA:

But amid the cries of "Free Palestine," some also condemned Hamas' deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians.

"We are against killing civilians," said Najeh Zahghlol, a Palestinian American in Chicago. "We're against that."

How some Palestinian émigré communities in the U.S. reacted to the Israel-Hamas war

Rally in Washington, DC, USA:

Anne Mustafa [speaker at pro-Palestinian rally], of Montgomery County, Md., called for an immediate cease-fire and a greater flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. [...]

Mustafa, however, strongly condemned Hamas and said she does not support the killing of innocent civilians no matter who is behind it.

“I do not support any form of terrorism,” Mustafa said. “I support only humanitarian causes.”

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters march across DC

Rally in Dublin, Ireland:

Sinn Féin TD and party leader Mary Lou McDonald equally condemned the the targeting of the Gaza Strip and attacks on Israeli citizens by Hamas. She labelled the tactics by Hamas a breach of international law that must be condemned.

Speaking to RTÉ’s News At One today, McDonald added: “I have to say the the bombardment now of Gaza is equally to be condemned.”

Rally held outside Dáil in solidarity with Palestine