Palestinian resistance began to pose a significant and strategic challenge to the Zionist occupying state since the outbreak of the First Palestinian Intifada in 1987. This was followed by events that required the evolution of resistance both tactically and militarily. "Al-Aqsa Intifada" in 2000 saw a major development in Palestinian resistance from a military standpoint, as it faced the Zionist war machine which began using fighter planes, military tanks, and artillery. This led the resistance to develop advanced military means to confront the new Zionist war machine.
Palestinian resistance was not a product of the "Stone Intifada" in 1987 or "Al-Aqsa Intifada" in 2000. It preceded these events with popular resistance led by Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam in 1936, and the Palestinian popular resistance led by Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Husseini in 1947 against the British. Additionally, there was Palestinian popular resistance and the revolution of the people against the Zionist occupation, its massacres against Palestinians, and the "Nakba" in 1948, which resulted in the occupation of Palestinian land and the displacement of its inhabitants.
This resistance, with all its components, goals, and objectives, is both a right and a duty. It is a means to achieve the Palestinian people's goals of liberating their usurped land and determining their destiny, just like other nations that have struggled and resisted occupation until they achieved their freedom. For this to be possible, it must embody a vision, implement a strategy, and be under leadership that prioritizes achieving unity and the necessity of working towards it. The strategy must be capable of being employed in the context of the open battle with the Zionist occupation, which becomes more intense the longer the occupation lasts. This requires mobilizing all resources towards achieving its national and legitimate goals.
Gaza represented a Unique Human Phenomenon and an Iconic Model of Palestinian Resistance
Whether through rounds of fighting or wars with the Zionist occupying state, Gaza has become a unique and globally significant event in terms of its impact and the reactions to it. Gaza has exemplified a legendary model of Palestinian resistance against the Zionist, Western colonial, and racist settler project, addressing global conscience and human sentiment in a distinctive way amid the noise of Zionist hegemony, the strict deterrence of Arab regimes, and the fragmentation of Arab solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its people.
International Charters
Moreover, there is the Arab rush, accompanied by the American stick, to avoid criticizing the occupying state or engaging in normalization with it. Instead, they encourage normalization, flexibility, and alignment with it to avoid its consequences, often at the expense of Arab rights in Palestine. They ignore the role of the occupying state in killing the Palestinian people, displacing them through massacres, and showing no regard for Palestinian rights or respect for international humanitarian law, while demonizing the resistance that is protected by international laws that disappear when it comes to the Zionist occupying state, which enjoys Western-American international cover.
While international charters and UN resolutions guarantee the Palestinian people's right to resistance by all means, including armed resistance, these charters put the West in an awkward position. They boast of being defenders of the law while denying the Palestinians their legitimate right and turning a blind eye to the war crimes committed by the occupying state against Palestinians, both leadership and people, who continuously affirm the legitimacy of their defense of their land, including armed resistance. They have this right not only from an ethical standpoint but also from the perspective of international law and UN resolutions, as stated in Article 2 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, issued on August 26, 1789, which states that "Resistance to oppression is a fundamental right, and Palestinians have the right to demand it."
On the other hand, the right to self-determination is a fixed right in international law and a fundamental principle in the UN Charter. According to its Resolution No. (1514) on December 14, 1960, for the Declaration on the Granting of Independence, it is explicitly stated that "All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development."
This right includes the Palestinian cause, as affirmed by UN Resolution (3236) on November 22, 1974, which states that the UN "recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain their rights by all means in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and calls upon all states and international organizations to support the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain their rights in accordance with the Charter."
Bases of Resistance for Liberation
Palestinian resistance for liberation is based on several foundations. First: The ideological and religious conviction related to the material, moral, and military preparation to reclaim the land and expel the occupier, based on the Quranic verse: “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy” (Surah Al-Anfal: 60).
Second: Emulating the liberatory model achieved by Arab peoples who resisted British and French colonialism until they achieved their freedom, regained their land and dignity. Without resistance, they would not have achieved the honor, dignity, and freedom they desired.
Resistance as a Means to Achieve the Palestinian People's Goals of Liberating Their Usurped Land
Third: Adherence to the established right guaranteed by international norms and laws that protect the rights of peoples to resist colonization for liberation and self-determination, even if those laws and balances are skewed in favor of the occupying state, supported by the US, which blocks all laws in its favor in the Security Council and the UN, or rushes to support, protect, and use force and deterrence against any Arab or Islamic countries opposing it that support the Palestinian cause.
While the occupying state receives all material and moral support from its strategic ally, the US, and generally from Western Europe, Palestinian resistance faces numerous challenges. These include hostility from some Arab regimes that consider it terrorism and a burden on the Palestinian people, forgetting that Jews only understand the language of power and that their most notable traits are treachery and lack of fidelity to promises and agreements. Their relationship with Arabs is based on interests, without ignoring hostility.
Additionally, the Arab regimes' failure to support and assist the resistance axis in Palestine—politically and materially—has resulted in attempts by many Arab regimes to label Palestinian resistance as "terrorism," stripping it of its right to self-defense against the occupier, and considering it a violation of the occupying state's rights. They have frozen all sources of support, fought all who support it materially, banned all institutions providing support, and pursued anyone who politically or materially supports it, freezing their financial accounts.
Despite previous issues, Palestinian resistance remains the banner of the Palestinian people in defending their just cause and the spearhead in the Arab-Zionist conflict equation. Even though some Arab nationals and partners in blood and goals have betrayed it, the resistance has always understood that "no one can replace your own skin" and that only the rightful owners will reclaim the land, even if it costs them rivers of blood, which will be the hallmark of victory and the dawn of liberation “And [they] say, 'When is that?' Say, 'Perhaps it will be soon'” (Surah Al-Isra: 51).
-------------------------------------------------------------
Read this Article in Arabic
