"Born in Gaza in 1997 to a family with six children, Hamza grew up and lived his entire life in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. He got his bachelor’s degree in accounting at the Islamic University of Gaza in 2021 and then worked as an accountant for two years before escaping the enclave in August. The Jerusalem Post interviewed him from his place in exile, where he continues to share and create pro-peace and anti-Hamas content."
"Hamza also pointed to an issue unknown to many in Israel: that convicts were released en masse from Gazan jails as a result of Israel’s offensive. So now there is a lack of law enforcement in the enclave, on top of everything else. According to the peace activist, this paved the way for the establishment of several gangs, which work with Hamas to plunder humanitarian aid."
"Hamza said Hamas had been losing support in Gaza before October for a variety of reasons, including social and economic conditions, as evidenced by the number of emigrants who fled Gaza before the war and the anti-Hamas riots that took place in July. “Hamas’s leadership couldn’t find a better solution other than turning this anger to another enemy – Israel,” he said."
"De-radicalization is a massive undertaking, but history has shown it is possible. “If you told anyone that Germany would be de-Nazified 90 years ago or the UAE would be de-radicalized ten years ago, they wouldn’t believe you. With the proper reforming of education and the renewal of religious discourse, I believe it can be accomplished.
“In my opinion, we should learn from the UAE’s experience on that and start making genuine efforts for rehabilitation, producing counter-content against terrorism, and providing them with more jobs to not be exploited by terrorists for money,” he said."
“I consider what happened to me as an individual experience. It started when I read a book titled Islamic Fascism by the great author Abdel-Samad Hamed. I continued by learning about the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism. I was shocked about what the Jews had to go through. Then I went on to read about the common history of Jews and Arabs in this territory and about Jewish history of thousands of years, which I had never heard of before,” Hamza said.
“After that, I vowed to disregard all I had heard about the Israelis and begin listening to them. I currently have numerous Israeli friends, both to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli issue and as personal pals.”
