Between the Israeli blockade and the capricious imprisonments, torture and arrests for 'morality offenses' by Hamas police, the people of Gaza are prisoners twice over.
[...]
The blockade of the Gaza Strip — brought into focus by Israel's deadly interception of blockade-busting ships May 31 — is not the only problem faced by that territory's besieged and impoverished population. As Human Rights Watch documented during a trip to Gaza in May, severe violations of personal freedom and repression of civil society groups that defend that freedom appear to be sharply on the rise. The Hamas government, trying to shore up its image as an Islamic reform movement in the face of challenges from more radical Islamist groups, is consolidating its social control by upping its efforts to "Islamize" Gaza.
[Read full article here at the Los Angeles Times]