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HomeRead, Watch, ListenWorld
Israel Hamas WarInterviewWorld

‘Hijacking, anarchic, extreme’: How some Gazans view international pro-Palestine protesters

International pro-Palestine protesters think they are helping Gazans. Gazan activists say they are propping up Hamas terrorists.
Manar Al-Sharif
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Pro-Palestine protesters on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Pro-Palestine protesters on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on August 3, 2025 (Image: DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images).

Published: 8 September 2025

Last updated: 9 September 2025

From the streets of London to North American campuses to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, supporters of Palestine raise their flags and chant in solidarity.

But in Gaza itself, the value of this support is not always clear. I spoke with three Gazans — two still living amid war, and one now abroad — about how they view the voices raised in their name.  

Their views reveal disillusionment and show that solidarity is complex and sometimes counterproductive.

Hamza Howidy: Peace and human rights activist

Gazan asylum seeker Hamza Howidy is sceptical about the international pro-Palestine protest movement (Image: supplied).
Gazan asylum seeker Hamza Howidy is sceptical about the international pro-Palestine protest movement (Image: supplied).

Palestinian asylum seeker Hamza Howidy has been threatened by Western pro-Palestine demonstrators in Germany because he opposes armed resistance and supports Israel’s right to exist.  

He says the international Palestine movement thinks it knows better than Palestinians themselves, when it comes to what Gaza needs.

“In the past, our cause was hijacked by Pan-Arabism. Palestine became a symbol for Arab regimes, but actual Palestinians were ignored or used… Today we’re being hijacked by what I’d call Pan-Leftism. 

“Now huge parts of the Western left, along with their local followers, push two fixed demands on Palestinians: full boycott of anything connected to Israel — academic, cultural and economic — and full support for armed resistance. 

“If you question them, you're accused of betrayal. You're told you're not a real Palestinian.”  

Since leaving Gaza in 2023, Howidy has been able to observe the international pro-Palestine movement at close quarters.  

It is hypocritical to accuse Israel of genocide while supporting the atrocities of Hamas.

He believes these supporters have an opportunity to help the people of Gaza, but they lack a clear vision and waste their efforts on maximalist demands that do not help Palestinians. He supports demonstrating for humanitarian aid, an end to the war and rebuilding Gaza, but says uncompromising sloganism hurts Palestinians and supports a corrupt regime.

"Both Palestinians and Israelis have the right to exist. It is hypocritical to accuse Israel of genocide while supporting the atrocities of Hamas and chant, we want to dismantle the Zionist entity, than to oppose the genocide in Gaza". 

Howidy says the pro-Palestine movement paints the Palestinian people purely as victims, misrepresenting them as incapable of thinking and making decisions for themselves. 

He is frustrated by the international pro-Palestine movement’s support for armed resistance. "For 80 years, we have tried armed resistance. The Palestinians no longer have a place to live in Gaza City. More than 80 per cent of the city is destroyed. People are living in tents, starving, and suffering psychological damage. Instead, we must acknowledge our mistakes and decisions and take responsibility. Diplomacy and negotiation are the solutions." 

Howidy feels strongly about the need to speak up for his people and finds it difficult to do so in Germany, where awareness of Germany’s persecution of Jews means avoidance of discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

"When I arrived in Germany, applied for asylum, and shared my story, the response from immigration officials was not to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to protect myself from opponents.” 

He kept talking, received threats and called the police: “Their efforts were ineffective, perhaps because they didn't understand the sensitivity of the situation". 

Rami Saeed: Journalist, Gaza City 

Rami Saeed is sceptical about the value of the slogans carried by Western demonstrators.  

"Free Palestine? Is it Gaza, the West Bank, the Arabs inside Israel, or the Palestinians of the Diaspora? This [slogan] is not related to reality but rather used for spite and blackmail. It is just an anarchic slogan since it's only used by people who don't understand the reality on the ground.” 

Saeed says the solidarity movement does not acknowledge the culpability of Hamas for the continuing conflict.  

“The West considers Hamas as freedom fighters. If that is the case, then Hamas should be concerned with the affairs of its people. On the contrary, Hamas oppresses its people and hijacks them for the movement's extremist agendas.  

'Free Palestine'... is just an anarchic slogan since it's only used by people who don't understand the reality on the ground. 

“The West must know that the people of Gaza only want to remain on their land and live in peace. People are naturally non-ideological; however, it is essential to recognise a fundamental difference between Hamas, the resistance movement, and the civilians. 

"Hamas could have accepted the agreements with Israel, including the Abraham Accords, by demonstrating realism and pragmatism. Hamas refuses to establish a Gazan administration reflecting the values of the people because it is a fundamentalist and ideological movement. Their refusal eventually led to a catastrophe.” 

Saeed believes most Gazans oppose both Hamas and armed confrontation with Israel. He said it will take more than an end to the war with Israel for Gaza to be free, pointing out that Hamas came to power through a military coup and elections were merely a formality. 

Yahya Al-Hajj: Economic and political activist, Gaza City 

Yahya Al-Hajj is also concerned that solidarity movements conflate Gaza and Hamas, supporting a regime that is bad for the people of Gaza.  

"Solidarity in its form is a good thing in the sense we understand it. However, "Free Palestine" and other slogans that are being carried, support for the continuation of the resistance violently [lead to] more deaths for the people of Gaza, which we reject entirely,” he said. 

Al-Hajj believes that solidarity movements must share their message, applying pressure to Hamas as well as to Israel. He blames Hamas' recklessness for some of the suffering and believes it should make concessions to save the lives of Gazans. 

Support for the continuation of the resistance violently [leads to] more deaths for the people of Gaza.

Solidarity protesters need to learn about what life was like in Gaza before October 7, Al-Hajj said. They should consider the reality of life under Hamas, the lack of democracy, and the suffering and division of the population, as well as the experiences of those impacted by the war.

Al-Hajj says West pro-Palestine demonstrators avoid discussing facts and prefer to stick with slogans that reinforce extremism. “I prefer to discuss everything happening on the Strip openly, without suppressing any voice,” he said.

Beyond the slogans 

For Gazans, solidarity is not symbolic — it is practical. International support can ease suffering, but only when it listens to the priorities and realities on the ground. Otherwise, it risks adding to the burdens Palestinians already carry.  

The Palestinian cause is complex and international protest movements oversimplify it.  

Any meaningful change will require listening not to Westerners waving Palestinian flags, but to Palestinian voices.

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About the author

Manar Al-Sharif

Manar Al-Sharif

Manar Alsharif is a Palestinian-Syrian journalist and activist who grew up in Syria. After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, she and her family were forced to flee to Egypt before later moving to Gaza. Her journalism and activism in Gaza led to her arrest by Hamas authorities, where she spent three months in jail, including a period in solitary confinement, and endured a two-week hunger strike. She remains committed to amplifying marginalized voices and exposing the realities of repression. 

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