Hamas to Create ‘Martyrs Ministry’

Gaza City, Gaza Strip (TML) – The ousted Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is considering setting up a Martyrs’ Ministry, which will be tasked with supporting families of Palestinians killed in conflict with Israel, Hamas Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyya said.

He announced this in Al-Tuffah, west of Gaza City, where he was visiting families of killed Palestinians, together with two government ministers and other senior Hamas members.

The Palestinian government is proud of its martyrs and their families, Haniyya said. “We will stand by you, sons of our people, in the path of jihad and resistance, and until we complete the path of the martyrs we will maintain their good achievements.”

Ihab Ghussein, a spokesman for Hamas’ Interior Ministry said the idea had still not been finalized.

“We have thousands of families whose fathers and brothers were killed as martyrs and we need people to take care of them. The efforts are not united at the moment,” he said. “So as a government we’re thinking of creating a new ministry but it’s still a thought that needs a lot of discussion, it hasn’t been approved yet.”

There are also discussions as to whether the beneficiaries of the new planned ministry will include families of Palestinians killed by other Palestinians in internal factional fighting, or whether it will only apply to Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

Naji Shurab, a political science professor at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University said the announcement was probably a public-relations stunt, due to Hamas’ plummeting popularity in Gaza.

“I don’t see any reason for this ministry,” Shurab told The Media Line. “They want to concentrate on this because this is an important subject for the Palestinians and many Palestinians lost their sons.”

This is especially important for Hamas, as talks between the hard-line religious movement and their main rival Fatah are focusing on a date for elections, set for some time next year.

There are indications that Hamas’ popularity in the Gaza Strip is waning, and setting up a Martyrs Ministry, a move that is relevant to many Gazans, is an effort to revive its image.

In a survey conducted in February 2009 by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah University in Nablus, 23% of the Gazan interviewees said they supported Hamas, but in a similar poll conducted in July, only 18.6% of Gazans said they supported the organization.

Ghussein dismissed claims that the announcement was a publicity stunt.

“It’s not like that. We are always thinking about the families and we have thousands of martyrs and many families can’t afford to live and don’t have work, especially under the siege. We’re thinking how we can help these people.”

Several administrations, including the Ministry of Social Affairs, are tasked with caring for families of Palestinians who have been killed, but the creation of a ministry will put all these efforts under one roof, and in Shurab’s words, “show the Palestinians they’re doing something.”

Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a violent coup in June 2007. Since then, it has been running its own government in Gaza, separate from the Western-backed government in Ramallah, but Hamas’ cabinet is not recognized by the international community.

During his visit to Tuffah, Haniyya praised the Palestinians who were killed during Israel’s 22-day operation in Gaza in January. He singled out one Mahmoud A-Rifi, who tried to capture an Israeli soldier before he was killed by Israeli warplanes.