Hamas’ “culture police” have been rounding up long-haired youth, beating them and then cutting their hair, another sign of the imposition Hamas’ fundamentalist Islam on Gaza.

The anti-long hair crusade follows Hamas police raids on Internet cafes and bookstores where secular Arabs might find mental daylight.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) exposed the latest Hamas attempt to run peoples’ lives.

“The police has [sic] detained and attacked several men over the past days, stating that the hairstyle of these men was indecent,” the human rights group Sunday.

“I finished my work…and took a taxi to…east of Gaza City,” one victim said.

”While waiting for another taxi to take me home, I was surprised that a policeman called me and ordered me to get into a police jeep. There were about 12 other young en inside the jeep and no one knew the reason of his detention….

“At the police station, they ordered us to stand in a queue and they were making fun of our hairstyles using abusive words.  When a detainee protested, he was beaten. The policemen started cutting a young man’s hair and I was the next one to have his hair cut.”

Hamas is trying to get out of admitting that its goon “culture” squads are on the lookout for those who do not conform to radical Islam.

A Hamas spokesman maintained that “the police did not launch the alleged campaign,” which supposedly was headed  “by the Islamic Bloc namely (My morals … Secret of my success), in which they address certain forms of negative behavior such as wearing low-waisted trousers.”

Hamas earlier this year showed its concern for the modesty of women by banning them from running the annual marathon sponsored by UNRWA.

One of Hamas’ concerns is that it might be seen as too “liberal” while the rival Salafists compete for who can be the most extremist Muslim in Gaza.

The latest hair-raising story may seem minor if not ridiculous, but it could be one of those seemingly secondary events that could provoke the populace to throw off the yoke of yoke. Then they will face the problem that grips Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria, where people are learning, “Be careful what you wish for.”