Not long before he was shot dead by one of the gangs of Gaza, Saleh al-Jafarawi had identified the Hamas internal security forces whose tentacles were spreading out across the territory.
Wearing black baseball caps embroidered with gold and carrying assault rifles as they were stationed from Gaza City in the north to Khan Yunis in the south, the patrols were a sign that Hamas was ready to crush any existential and internal threat.
Three days after posting images of the security forces, Jafarawi, a journalist, was killed by an armed militia, caught in the crossfire as Hamas wrought revenge on gangs that dared to challenge it. A few days after that came the first public executions of men that Hamas claimed were plotting to overthrow the militant group that has ruled by fear since 2007.
