Gaza Youth Group (GYBO) Leader Arrested by Hamas on Return from France

"You used to look around to see if someone is listening, so we used to stay silent, not even to think" - Abu Yazan

(GAZA CITY) - One of the founders of Gaza Youth Break Out (GYBO), known as “Abu Yazan” has reportedly been arrested by the Hamas authorities in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip after returning from a speaking tour in France, the group reported in a press release and via its Twitter account.

GYBO came to prominence earlier this year when it published a manifesto condemning Palestinian political factions. 25-year old Abu Yazan is a founding member of Gaza Youth Breaks Out, which grabbed headlines in December 2010 by issuing a manifesto condemning Hamas, Fatah and Israel, and calling for freedom, "a normal life," and peace.

Abu Ghassan of GYBO told AFP Abu Yazan had been missing since he went to try to retrieve his laptop and mobile phone from the headquarters of Gaza internal security services.

In March, US-based group Human Rights Watch accused Hamas of suppressing peaceful protests in Gaza and called on the group to investigate claims that its security officers tortured an activist involved with the March 15 movement.

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Saychel August 16, 2011 11:16 am (Pacific time)

"arrested by the Hamas authorities in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip"

Editor: You can get this out of an encyclopedia. Hamas is the elected political body in Gaza. There are other Palestinian leadership organizations but Hamas runs Gaza. They are walled in and attacked routinely, but Hamas keeps the peace. Now, within the structure of Hamas you have different personalities and, in a very predictable way, it is the people who are more religious who cause problems for young, open-minded types. Hamas is hard on people who are caught with pot, etc. They are government, they are cops, and we always want to clarify this. Hamas isn't much worse than any other cops either, about the same, but powered by religious and perceived moral obligations. I hope this broadens your understanding/

If Hamas is the authority, how is the Gaza Strip "Israeli occupied"?

Editor: View occupation as you will, the other two remaining places officially called Palestine are West Bank and Golan Heights. This is where the Palestinian Authority is based. There are times when it is hard to tell who you are looking at because the PA is ruthless in many ways and trained by a U.S. retired military officer. And to clarify Gaza, Israel crosses over the border illegally daily, so it is occupied in that sense.

Does Israel tell Hamas whom to arrest?

Editor: No way.

Does Israel have a history of arresting peaceful dissidents?

Editor: It is nearly all Israel does. Yes, there are thousands and thousands of political prisoners held by Israel and one or two Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Israel can't even stop Hamas from firing 100 rockets a month in to Israel. Why are the Israelis still blamed for all this?

Editor: The rockets are a feeble attempt at resistance to a superior force, that is Israel. The rockets in all history have killed 28 Israeli people, not very many for all the fuss.

COLLI August 16, 2011 7:35 am (Pacific time)

Do any freedoms still exist in Gaza? It certainly seems that any effort for peace is squashed by both sides of the equation . . . but then, there is no money to be made for international banking in peace is there? War is a huge money maker for international banking and the corporations and countries they own.

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