Hamas police on Sunday prevented dozens of activists from demonstrating in solidarity with Syrian people in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

The policemen peacefully stopped the protest shortly after it started in front of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza city.

The demonstrators, nearly 30 of them, waved Palestinian and Syrian flags, with banners supporting the Syrian anti-government protest, before they left.

Since 1999, the political bureau of Hamas has been based in the Syrian capital Damascus. The Islamic movement came under pressure from Syria and Iran, its main regional backers, to support President Bashar al-Assad in his efforts to suppress the opposition there.

In general, Hamas, which took over Gaza by force in 2007, usually bans any public activities except those organized by its supporters.