Moumen al-Natour
Moumen al-Natour | |
|---|---|
مؤمن الناطور | |
| Born | Moumen Al-Natour 12 December 1995 |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Years active | 2019–present |
Moumen Al-Natour (Arabic: مؤمن الناطور, romanized: muʾmin alnnāṭūr; born 12 December 1995) is a Palestinian politician, lawyer and human rights defender. He is an organizer of the We Want to Live movement, a movement based in the Gaza Strip which has opposed the region's Hamas-controlled government.[1]
Activism
In March 2019, Moumen Al-Natour was an organizer of the 2019 Gaza economic protests, which protested Hamas and the economic conditions of the Gaza Strip. The protests were the largest since 2007, when Hamas took control of the region.[2] During the protests, Hamas broke into Al-Natour's home, confiscated his family's cell phones, and threatened them with arrest unless Al-Natour gave himself up.[3][4] He was subsequently arrested and charged with collaborating with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[4] He was arrested again in May and in August 2019.[5][6][7]
Since 2019, Al-Natour has been an organizer of the We Want to Live movement, which grew in part from the 2019 protests.[1] He has been involved with protests calling for elections and opportunities for youth in the Gaza Strip.[8]
Al-Natour has been arrested and imprisoned by Hamas twenty times, for his criticism of the group and his attempts to organize protests. Al-Natour reported being tortured while imprisoned.[1][9]
Al-Natour has also represented journalists who have been arrested for their criticism of Hamas. Although he is often unable to help those arrested in court, he amplifies their stories on social media, where mass pressure has sometimes led to their releases.[1] Al-Natour has also represented women trying to get out of forced and abusive marriages.[10]
During the Gaza war, Al-Natour founded Palestinian Youth for Development, which works to collect and distribute aid to Palestinians in need. He has expressed doubt that the war would be able to destroy Hamas completely. He supports a postwar leadership model that would center Palestinians from the region who are critical of Hamas, rather than outside aid groups.[9]
In an October 2025 piece in The Wall Street Journal, al-Natour wrote that in July 2025, Hamas representatives told al-Natour to report to an interrogation at Al-Shifa hospital.[11]
Personal life
Al-Natour and his family live in Al-Shati refugee camp, in central Gaza, but were displaced to southern Gaza in late 2023 due to the Gaza war.[1][12] By July 2025, al-Natour had returned to Gaza City.[11] As of August 2025, al-Natour reported living "as a fugitive", moving frequently to avoid confrontations with Hamas.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e Sharhani, Yaghoub (1 November 2023). "De meeste Gazanen zijn klaar met de dictatuur van Hamas". De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Knell, Yolande (18 March 2019). "Gaza economic protests expose cracks in Hamas's rule". BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "مساواة تستنكر ملاحقة الزميل المحامي مؤمن الناطور والنشطاء والحقوقيين/ات في غزة" [MUSAWA denounces the Hamas security services’ attacks on peaceful gatherings in Gaza and their persecution of activists and human rights activists.]. musawa.ps (in Arabic). 16 March 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b "!التهمة.. إنك بدك تعيش" [The accusation...is that you want to live!]. Al-Arabiya (in Arabic). 23 January 2023.
- ^ "جهاز الأمن الداخلي في محافظة غزة يحتجز المحامي مؤمن الناطور" [The Internal Security Service in the Gaza Governorate detains lawyer Moamen Al-Natour]. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (in Arabic). 23 May 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "جهاز الأمن الداخلي في محافظة غزة يحتجز المحامي مؤمن الناطور" [The Internal Security Service in the Gaza Governorate detains lawyer Moamen Al-Natour]. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (in Arabic). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ ""حماس" تشن حملة اعتقالات ضد نشطاء في غزة" [Hamas launches an arrest campaign against activists in Gaza]. Al Ain (in Arabic). 9 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Bashir, Fatima (6 March 2021). "هل تصدق الانتخابات وينتهي كابوس العاطلين عن العمل" [Can you believe the elections and end the nightmare of the unemployed?]. Al Shabab Radio (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b Weinthal, Benjamin (14 December 2023). "Young generation of anti-Hamas activists in Gaza step up to serve but are snubbed by UN, aid groups". Fox News. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Arafat, Amjad (26 September 2021). "عذّبها ابن عمها كأسيرة حرب... لعنة ميراث الأب في غزة" [Her cousin tortured her as a prisoner of war...the curse of the “father’s inheritance” in Gaza]. Raseef22 (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b Al-Natour, Moumen (8 October 2025). "Opinion | Free Gaza's Palestinians from Hamas". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ Badr Saffarini, Buthaina (15 October 2023). "القصص لا تكتمل.. شهادات متقطّعة من غزة" [Stories are not complete... intermittent testimonies from Gaza]. Ultra Palestine (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Lachter, Efrat (17 August 2025). "Grassroots push for freedom grows in Gaza as Hamas tightens its deadly grip". Fox News. Retrieved 13 October 2025.