Palestine triumphs

The victory of the valiant Palestinian resistance against the occupation army after the barbaric Israeli attack launched by air, land and sea over eleven days and nights against defenceless civilians in their homes, confirms a number of matters. Not least of these was the honourable way in which the Palestinian resistance factions worked together in a common command room under the same banner of Saif Al-Quds (“Sword of Jerusalem”).

This achievement would not have been possible without Hamas and its Al-Qassam Brigades military wing leading the factions and giving an opportunity to everyone resisting Israel’s military occupation, regardless of political affiliation and narrow partisanship. This also provided an appropriate environment for training by those with necessary capabilities and expertise achieved throughout the 14 years of Hamas governance of the Gaza Strip.

The battle began in defence of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Palestine, to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque from the desecration of extremist settlers, and to prevent the forced displacement of our people from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. This reinforces the nature of the conflict on the land of Palestine; that it is an existential and ideological conflict and not as some depict it otherwise.

Moreover, there was an unprecedented consensus among all Palestinians, as our people in Jerusalem, Gaza, the occupied West Bank and the territories occupied in 1948 came together to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque. This suggests that our people are rallying around their national constants, and that they believe that resistance is the only way to restore our legitimate rights.

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Then there was the level of solidarity for the Palestinians from the Arabs, Muslims and free people of the world, who took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to demonstrate against the Zionist occupier. This put the Palestinian cause back onto centre stage and pushed the US government to take action to stop the Israeli attack on our people.

The battle also revealed the fragility of the occupying power in several ways, including the belief that the occupation army is invincible. It actually appeared to be confused and unable to protect its soldiers and settlers from the resistance strikes. What’s more, the occupation state was paralysed with fear by the rockets from Gaza. The so-called Iron Dome missile defence system was unable to intercept them all and prevent them from reaching their targets. Despite claims to the contrary, the army’s intelligence gathering fell short, and it was unable to get information about the resistance and its leaders. Instead, it directed its air strikes against civilians, killing the disabled, children, women and the elderly, without damaging the capability of the resistance to strike deep within the occupation state.

All of this confirms to us and to everyone else that we Palestinians can take back our rights from the occupation, first and foremost through our unity and then by rallying behind the resistance, adhering to our national principles and making Jerusalem the main cause of the fight in all the upcoming confrontations.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Felesteen on 24 May 2021

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