Published: 15 April 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Poverty and unemployment in Gaza drove many young men to join ISIS; Hamas tortured and imprisoned them. One young man tells RAMI AMAN his story
IN HIS HOUSE located in the al-Junena neighbourhood of Rafah city, in the southern region of the Gaza Strip, 20-year-old Ahmed Samir (a pseudonym) talks about his wish to leave Gaza for good, because of Hamas.
Samir joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2018. He recalls when he first joined: "I couldn’t finish high school. One day I went to the mosque to pray and there I met someone affiliated with ISIS.
"He brainwashed me completely from the first meeting. We were not just friends. I used to walk with them, read for them and listen carefully to what they believe… I was unable to accept others. I was living a state of autism within my family."
What were the reasons that Samir joined Islamic State? "I had no job. I felt empty concerning my future,” he explains. “I became disillusioned. I thought the ISIS members were implementing justice and rights.”
I had no job. I became disillusioned. I thought the ISIS members were implementing justice and rights.
The increasing rates of poverty and unemployment in Gaza, which stand at 85%, according to the latest statistics from the PCBS (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics) are believed to be the reason behind the attraction of youth to ISIS. This has led to a revolution against the conditions caused by the Hamas regime.
It is not known exactly when ISIS began spreading in Gaza. However, politicians believe it began in 2015, when a video was circulated in which ISIS threatened it would expand its influence within the Gaza Strip. The ISIS group in Gaza believes Hamas does not adhere to Sharia (Islamic) law and accuses Hamas of being "infidels and apostates".
Politicians from Gaza are certain that "ISIS aims to drag Hamas into the Sinai, away from Israel, thus embarrassing Hamas in Egypt".
