Resistance is the choice and way to victory

The occupation is taking advantage of the worst moment the Palestinian cause is experiencing in light of the Arab and Islamic positions’ shameful regression and the world’s abandonment of the slogans raised since the establishment of the UN until recently. The occupation is accelerating its pace of settlement expansion, the Judaisation of Jerusalem, its siege on Gaza, and conspiring against the refugees’ right of return.

All these crimes and violations aim to destroy the Palestinian national identity and disregard the national rights of the Palestinian people with the consent and approval of the Arab countries, which has long been boasting its leading role in fattening the Palestinian sheep by pumping money into it preparing it for slaughter. This role will be exchanged for positions from the future leadership which  it will forcibly impose on the Palestinian people to serve the occupation’s project.

This shocking situation coincides with fragmentation and division among the Palestinian factions, which has greatly impacted the psyche of the youth and put them on a path where they can no longer find the direction of the compass. The truth is that the reality on the ground greatly pushes towards confronting everything the cause is facing and the plotting against the country by means of a permanent movement. The Zionist-American settler-occupation project on the ground is pressing on the Palestinians’ nerves and is eliminating any future prospects for the youth to achieve a life for themselves on their land, free to aspire to build a future on a national and personal level.

This challenge, which is strongly present during the formation of the youth’s vision for the future, the shaping of their views, and the determination of their positions, prompts them to express their anger at reading the current situation in detail.

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The occupation army invades more than 20 cities, villages, towns and camps every night. It arrests an average of 15 Palestinians a day, demolishes homes, spreads barriers and checkpoints, and protects settlers who violate the rights, interests and shops of Palestinians. The PA does not encourage resistance and confrontation, but instead thwarts acts of resistance, arrests resistance members and strips them of their weapons after the PA itself has been stripped of its powers and influence in government, losing them to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) in Beit El.

These facts and realities are currently and permanently putting pressure on the movement and abilities of the people, including the youth, as every one of their movements and life details are somehow intertwined and connected to the occupation. The reality on the ground is pushing towards resisting and confronting this destructive project that is affecting and threatening everything in the country. The environment is conducive and the circumstances are favourable, but there are obstacles present that hinder the youth from embodying their personalities, which reject the reality and resist it by all means possible.

In light of this, the youth have become confused and are being pulled in different directions. They are stuck between resisting the criminal occupation and fighting off the PA, which believes its destiny and survival is linked to the occupation. We are witnessing acts of resistance that are ongoing and escalating, but that is also governed by these influences that complicate the scene. The occupation occupies, kills, demolishes, confiscates and arrests, and it must be instinctively resisted, but this instinct is met with a Palestinian reading that does not agree with this innate option. This option is the path down which revolting nations follow; it is the path to escape the occupation and achieve independence.

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To the Palestinians I say, the situation is clear and the occupation cannot be driven out except with iron, fire and resistance. Do not hesitate and strike from a united front, and know that nothing but what is destined to happen will happen on earth.

This article first appeared in Arabic in the Palestinian Information Centre on 8 March 2019

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.