By Mohammad Rasoul Kailani
Update: Today, October 7 2023, is a pivotal day in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas has launched a wide scale operation into Israel that has defied Israeli expectations. A barrage of accurate rockets preceded the destruction of Gaza’s apartheid wall and an incursion into Israeli cities by land and sea. Israelis in these areas rapidly fled at the site of masked militants approaching urban areas in pickup trucks. The story is developing, but major new outlets cite a figure of 5,000 rockets and around 70-100 dead. The ratio of civilians to combatants in this figure is unknown. That being said, IDF personnel and equipment have been captured and paraded around Gaza, demonstrating the military success of this operation.
Israel’s Prime Minister has declared war in response. As of now, nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Likewise, the ratio of militants to civilian deaths is unknown, but given Gaza’s extreme population density and historical trends, it’s likely that innocents are paying the price. This year, 247 Palestinians have been killed as a direct result of Israeli violence. As predicted below, it is of no surprise that expansionist, fascist and genocidal Israeli government policies have pushed Palestinians towards violent solutions.
Palestinians have a legal and moral right to resist their occupation. Every source of universal law, from the United Nations to the Bible and Quran acknowledge that the oppressed are entitled to resist their oppressor. Of course, Western leaders and mainstream news outlets choose to ignore this. Almost everyone, from the British Prime Minister to my local news outlet, CP24, have engaged in dishonesty and cowardice. Condemnations of the attack are bleated, ignoring all previous attacks by Israel, and merely describing Israel’s current barrage as a “retaliation” with no mention of the Palestinian deaths.
Even though Palestinians have a right to resist, this is not necessarily conducive to a peaceful solution. Whether one thinks the raid was right or wrong, Israel will no doubt twist this in order to keep building illegal settlements, displace Palestinians, imprison without trial and shoot teenagers. More importantly, there is a significant power imbalance between Israel and Palestine, particularly from a military and media perspective. There is the fear that the hard work of activists exposing Israel’s crimes will be diminished by the current violence.
At this moment, we do not know why Hamas engaged in the most calculated Palestinian attack since 1948. Maybe this is an attempt to stop Saudi-Israeli normalization, or an effort to regain the popularity and respect of Palestinians, which has been fading over the years. Perhaps with all the captured equipment and hostages, including an Israeli general, Hamas can win massive concessions. Maybe this is just the result of increased Palestinian frustration with death and destruction every day. Maybe the people are fed up with a “peace process” that is going nowhere.
Today’s events have only reconfirmed my thoughts on a peaceful or violent liberation of Palestine and her people. Regardless, we pray for the safety of civilians on both sides, and hope that today’s events only compel Palestinians and Israeli leaders to seek a real solution.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Palestinian West Bank, which has now endured 56 years of an illegal Israeli occupation, is seeing turbulent times. The election of a fascist government in Israel has clearly encouraged Jewish settlers there, whose very presence violates international law, to engage in what can only be described as pogroms. A notable example is the settler rampage that occurred in Huwara last February, where settlers shot a Palestinian man to death, injured 100 more and set the entire town on fire. On June 24th, 50 Israeli settlers armed with rifles set fire to cars and houses in Umm Safa. Of course, these attacks are promptly met with statements of condemnation from IOF spokespeople, but these do not align with statements made by other government officials. For example, after the violence in Huwara, Finance Minister Bezalel Smoterich called for the army to destroy the entire village. Do bear in mind that Smoterich manages some administrative affairs in the West Bank. So much for just governance! On top of that, you have Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who is an illegal settler himself. He ensures his country is secure by going to Palestinian neighbourhoods and flashing guns!
If you’re still convinced these incidents are one offs, take a look at official statistics. A United Nations Official Report from June 3rd has found that 112 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year, more than double the number killed in the same period last year. Yet it is not only lives that are destroyed, but livelihoods as well. 575 homes have been demolished this year alone. In short, the increasingly radical fantasies of Israeli voters result in aggressive policies in the West Bank, which only serve to increase the blood debt with added interest. It’s no wonder, then, that many Palestinians look favourably to violent solutions to the conflict. In the most recent survey of the Palestine Centre for Survey and Policy Research, 71% of Palestinians support the formation of armed groups, with only 23% opposed. A poll from the same centre last year shows 31% of Palestinians supporting a peaceful solution, whilst 40% think waging an armed struggle against Israel will create a path to liberty.
A combination of settler attacks on villages, army raids on refugee camps and feelings of abandonment have prompted Palestinians to back new armed groups, namely the Lion’s Den, created by young militants from all backgrounds disillusioned with the PLO. Oslo has yielded nothing, the Palestinian Authority is seen as useless and there is no solution in sight. It’s no wonder then, that Palestinians grow more partial to the idea of armed struggle every year. Yet as appealing as it may sound to those who are subjected to constant house raids and abuse, a violent solution is not a solution at all. For a true and lasting peace, both sides need to come to the negotiating table with honest intentions.
On the Right to Resist
This article comes from a strategic point of view; i.e, Palestinian armed resistance against Israeli soldiers is LEGAL and MORAL. The United Nations has passed many resolutions recognizing the right of any subjugated and colonized people to resist imperialism. One of these is General Assembly resolution 38/17 from 1983, which specifically “Reaffirms the inalienable right [to resist} of the Namibian people, the Palestinian people and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination to self-determination, national unity and sovereignty without foreign interference”. Resolution 2625 states that global citizens have a right to resist “alien subjugation, domination and exploitation.” Ethically speaking, I would like to remind my Jewish friends, whom Israel claims to represent, that our Prophet Moses had fought the tyranny of the Ancient Egyptians by force in order to liberate the Tribes of Israel and lead them to the promised land. If the One, Almighty God decreed that it is ethical to resist tyranny, how can the Israeli state deny this right?
The Rifle or the Olive Branch?
Now, while it is clear that Palestinians CAN resist Israel violently, this does not mean they SHOULD; there is no contradiction here. When speaking with Palestinians, they often lament that peace processes yield nothing. It’s not that negotiations don’t work, it’s that Palestinian leaders have failed their people at the negotiating table. The biggest example is the Oslo Accords. When signed in 1993, many hailed it as a road map to a conclusive peace, but what really happened was Israel further asserting itself in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, being granted a few sparse bantustans. The great Palestinian American academic, Edward Said, called this a “capitulation” and a “Palestinian Versailles”.
A member of the Palestinian National Council, Said claimed that Arafat entered negotiations without a concrete plan, or even a negotiating team. In fact, he did not even bring a lawyer! Arafat was tremendously unpopular at this point. It’s for this reason Said stated that Arafat settled for scraps; “he wanted to assure himself something”. In the same interview, Said highlights that fairer settlements proposed in the ‘70s were carelessly rejected. Of course, this is not to say that Israel is an honest negotiator, but the fact of the matter is that Palestinian figures claiming negotiation is fruitless is much like someone saying doing a pull up is impossible, but only trying to do so with one arm and 100 pounds on their back.
Furthermore, there HAS been a significant development for the Palestinian cause that was achieved peacefully. Shortly after the construction of the West Bank Barrier in 2004, the International Criminal Court overwhelmingly ruled it was illegal. One would expect this to be a massive victory for the Palestinian people, but most have never heard of this. The PA simply shoved this under a desk in Ramallah, and this was never acted upon. This “Iron Wall” remains standing and makes the lives of Palestinians incredibly difficult. Still, there is an important lesson in this; it is possible to extract concessions diplomatically, but a real effort must be made to do so.
The Importance of Optics
Lastly, we must reckon with the fact that violence, although justified in this context, makes us look bad. The finest example of this is the violence that occurred in May 2021. On May 6, Palestinians in Jerusalem protested the illegal eviction of six families from their homes. In response to this, Israel raided the Holy Mosque of Al Aqsa during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Grassroots journalism, led by the incredible siblings Mohammed and Muna El Kurd, painted the picture clearly. As hard as they looked, Hasbara trolls could not find a reasonable justification. Thanks to social media, it was abundantly clear that WE were in the right. That was, until Hamas decided to launch rockets towards Israel in retaliation. Suddenly, the American media’s amnesia kicked in, and the entire focus shifted towards these rockets, which are really as effective as fireworks from the Friday Market.
One headline from Fox on May 13 read that Israel fired rockets as a “response” to Hamas attacks, conveniently ignoring the context in Jerusalem. Even semi-liberal CNN reported in a biased manner. In an article from the day before titled: “At least 35 killed in Gaza as Israel ramps up airstrikes in response to rocket attacks”, the first paragraph reads: “Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have escalated further as Palestinian militants in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which responded with ramped up airstrikes on the coastal enclave, as unrest spread to cities and towns beyond Jerusalem.” No explanation for why there was “unrest” and a simple portrayal of Arabs as needlessly violent is what one gathers from reading this reductive piece. The fact of the matter is that whether Palestinian resistance by violence is right or wrong, it will always be portrayed as the latter, so pursuing it is damaging to our public image. In the Western democracies that bankroll the occupation, public opinion will be key in determining whether Israel will be met with support, neutrality, or sanctions.
The One Way to Palestine
Israel’s new government is the most atrocious and ruthless since Oslo. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Zionist mentality is on full display for the world to see. Whenever a racist minister makes a horrid remark, IDF spokespeople rush to do damage control. Do not be deceived into thinking some Zionists are more “moderate” than others, because their end goal is the same. It’s just that some, particularly Ben Gvir and those like him, are stupider than others and do not know the importance of mincing words. With the amount of bigoted remarks coming out of the Knesset on a daily basis, showing Israel’s true face is a walk in the park. This government, as terrible as it is, allows us the opportunity to change the narrative. Yet, if Palestine chooses the violent path, this is all the mainstream media will talk about. Time and time again, they have made the oppressed look like the aggressor. After the Six Day War, the legendary Nizar Qabbani wrote a poem called “One Way”, and he concluded it by writing
“There is one way to Palestine, and it passes through the barrel of its gun.”
But we are in a new age, and it is clear that the way to Palestine passes through its activists, its cameras, its journalists, and ultimately, the negotiating table.
Cover image: Anadolu Agency
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of 9awtak.com, its staff, or other contributors.
