Report: Hamas killed, maimed dozens of opponents

[oberliner]

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hamas directed gunmen to eliminate political opponents and suspected collaborators under the cover of Israel's military offensive in Gaza, killing 32 people and wounding dozens in such attacks since December, an international human rights group said Monday.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Gaza's Hamas rulers to halt what it described as a pattern of arbitrary arrests, torture and summary executions by the Islamic militant group.

Human Rights Watch portrayed the attacks as the worst outbreak of internal violence since Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007 and expelled rivals in the more moderate Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now controls only the West Bank.

Such practices are aimed, in part, at quashing dissent in Gaza and make a mockery of Hamas' claim it upholds the law, the group said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTyo8mV2mx7RYxp7nCnaponz765QD97M7UVO0

[sam sarrha]

1. just another gang of ignorant thugs..

[Vegasaurus]

2. But, but but

they are the "democratically elected leaders of Gaza".

The fact that Hamas is a human rights nightmare, and knows not a thing about democracy shouldn't change our opinion that we must respect them!

Deaths, stonings, kidnappings, murders and maiming by a government body?

None of this matters, because the Hamas was "democratically elected".

[cali]

4. well,

no one is proclaiming that Hamas is a wonderful, noble outfit when they state factually that Hamas is the democratically elected government in Gaza. And it's an absurd strawman argument to say that people believe we should respect them. People are saying that we should respect the fact that they were democratically elected.

We deal with human rights abusers all the time. And we're closely alied with Israel which has a very poor humnan rights record of its own in Gaza and the OT.

Yes, it matters that Hamas was legitimately elected to represent the people of Gaza.

Time for peace talks. And thank goodness president obama recognizes that.

[LeftishBrit]

3. A seriously crap government.

[Violet_Crumble]

5. Link to HRW's report...

http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/04/20/under-cover-war-0