The elite of the third intifada

Such is the nature of things in Palestine: every time a number of years pass, a new generation grows and finds their footing, and soon after that they ignite the struggle. They assume their position on the battlefield, progressing in the ranks of the confrontation, and surprise those who had counted on them to withdraw from and disregard the conflict.

The generation that it is leading the growing movement in Jerusalem and the West Bank at the moment did not participate in the first two intifadas; they were either too young or not yet born. However, today, just like the generations before them, they carry the spirit of the struggle and conflict, which is characterised by persistence, steadfastness and determination. They are also very brave and courageous. This is evident in the operations that they carry out with cold weapons and in their perseverance and great resilience in the streets against the machinery of Zionist repression.

It is true that I cannot make a generalisation about the whole generation, but I am talking about the elite, the cream of the crop. While many believed that the operations were forging awareness and a replacement of the resistance culture that had, they claimed, completely corrupted the Palestinian way of life and so would not yield anything positive or fruitful, who said that self-impressions based on monitoring external appearances is a sound basis for analysis? Who said that sudden and decisive events are expected or can be predicted?

Even so, there have been many signs in the past couple of years which have created the conditions for today’s events in Jerusalem and the West Bank to occur. Last year’s murder of young Mohammad Abu Khdair by Jewish settlers, followed by the events on the ground on the margins of Israel’s war against Gaza; the uprising following the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque at the end of 2014, and the burning to death of the Dawabsheh family, are just some examples. They sparked a culture of daily resistance, although not one as comprehensive and simultaneous as has been seen in the past few days, specifically after the murder of the martyr Hadil Hashlamon by Israeli soldiers in Hebron, the incident in Nablus, and the stabbing carried out by Muhannad Halabi.

The elite of the latest mass uprising can make great progress in achieving the objectives of the resistance if it reaches the point of no return and breaks through the barriers imposed by the Israelis and their state terrorism. After that would come the need to overcome the restrictions and limitations imposed by the Palestinian Authority’s security coordination with the occupation, which cannot be neutralised in any other way than by escalating actions to the point where the mass movement becomes uncontainable.

This is where the responsibility of the resistance in the West Bank and Jerusalem, which looks forward to continuing and escalating its resistance path, is highlighted. This responsibility is divided between working to escalate the actions on the ground by means of organising various forms of civil disobedience, and investing and channelling the energies and efforts of the youth into fruitful and constant resistance work. Nowadays, we are seeing fighting expertise and competencies in the West Bank and Jerusalem that were lacking in the past, which not only deter Israeli attacks but also resume the path to liberation after the miserable failure of the political options.

Translated from Felesteen, 5 October, 2015

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