This project examines how violent nonstate actors (VNSAs) maintain their control over populations. Some VNSAs hold territory and act as the de-facto sovereign, delivering their interpretation of law and order, and sometimes provide different public services. In this study, we examine the mechanism of internal policing, repression, and control that are applied by those actors.

The project looks at Hamas, a VNSA that operates as the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip and in defiance of the Palestinian Authority, to learn about this phenomenon. This project analyzes and documents the actions of Hamas’s internal police force, the “Arrow (Sahem) Unit.” Formally co-opted by the Gazan Ministry of the Interior in 2024, the Arrow Unit plays a role in internal policing, regulation and distribution of aid supplies, punishment of offenders, and military operations, among other things.

To map the group’s presence, actions, and motivations, we examine the Arrow Unit’s Telegram channel, in which they document their punishments, announce formal operations, order curfews, threaten would-be offenders, post news reports, detail profiles of agents working with occupation forces, and discuss economic issues, to name a few topics.

From their Telegram channel messages, we compiled a comprehensive dataset of every Telegram post since January 2025. The dataset allows us to track how they speak about different topics, actors, locations, and events over time, conduct sentiment analyses, and record their actions.