GAZA CITY — For the first time, the Hamas regime allowed a protest against Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Gaza Strip.

On Feb. 21, Hamas authorities permitted a demonstration against the Assad regime at the Islamic University in Gaza City. About 300 Palestinians at the Hamas-aligned institution held a rally in which posters of Assad were torched.

“Shame on child murderers,” read a banner unfurled at the protest. Hamas security forces did not intervene in the student protest. The rally was organized by the Hamas-aligned Palestinian Gathering to Support Syrian People.

Witnesses said the rally began with 200 Islamic university students. They said another 100 people, many of them carrying signs, joined the protest.

This marked the first Hamas-approved protest against Syria. Over the last year, Hamas security forces stopped several attempts to organize anti-Assad demonstrations in Gaza City and Khan Yunis.

Palestinian sources said the withdrawal of virtually all mid- and senior-level staffers from Hamas headquarters in Damascus allowed the rally in the Gaza Strip. They said Hamas members and their families had been threatened by the Assad regime. (Copyright © 2012 East West Services, Inc. 02/23/12)