Hamas is claiming it has vastly improved Gaza's only prison, having seized control of the institution during its violent rout of Fatah last month. The group boasts the place is cleaner, the food is better and that Islam will reform the offenders. "Hamas has come to build the homeland with the mercy and justice of Islam," prison director Ali Hmaid told CTV News.
Graffiti on the wall promises that "Islam is the solution," along with "No injustice from now on." The prison's barber no longer shaves beards, in a gesture of Islamic devotion. And in another twist, cell doors are now open and prisoners can play sports. Rules governing family visits have been loosened and the sewing factory has been reopened. One prisoner said he should not have been jailed for having just one marijuana cigarette. But he had no complaints about his treatment, even with his guards out of earshot.
Most of the cells emptied out at the height of fighting between Hamas and Fatah, a conflict that left Hamas in charge of Gaza and Fatah holding on to the West Bank. More than 500 prisoners escaped, and files were burned. People saw Fatah guards changing out of their uniforms into civilian clothes to blend into the exodus. They too wanted to escape.
Promising an end to the injustice that existed under Fatah, Hamas urged the escapees to return. Sixty did. One accused collaborator with Israel came back because he said he would be safer in prison. He said Hamas promised to review his case.
Hamas claims to have no political prisoners, although Fatah and some human rights groups claim they are being held elsewhere in the confines of the Gaza Strip. There are also allegations of torture.
Hamas opened the prison to the media, in part because it wants to show it can be an effective governing force. Right now, the regime finds itself ostracized, mainly because of its hardline stance against Israel. |