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What is required from Palestinians to confront Netanyahu’s fascist government?

January 13, 2023 at 12:30 pm

Activists gather for a protest against the government coalition being negotiated by Former Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on December 12, 2022. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

With Netanyahu’s fascist government approving a group of economic and political sanctions against our people, foremost of which is the confiscation of $39 million in clearing funds to be given to the families of Zionists killed in Palestinian resistance operations, to seizing the value of sums paid to prisoners and families of Palestinian martyrs in 2022, and freezing Palestinian construction in Area C, which constitutes 60 per cent of the occupied West Bank, under the pretext of the Palestinians approaching the ICJ, Netanyahu’s extremist government has actually begun implementing its hostile policies against the Palestinian people, and imposing its extremist vision to end the Palestinian cause.

The Netanyahu government’s anti-Palestinian decisions came shortly after the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and made provocative statements from inside the the Muslim Holy Site about the alleged sanctity of the so-called “Temple Mount” for Jews. He also made hostile statements against Palestinian prisoners from inside the Nafha Prison, threatening to intensify the conditions of the prisoners. This was followed by dozens of prisoners being moved to solitary cells. These are all signs that today, the Palestinian people are facing a fascist, racist government, which appears to be in a hurry to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians by force. This is evident just days after the new government has been sworn in; in a clear indication that the warnings of a confrontation with the occupation are escalating day by day.

Given the policies of this extremist government, and the fascist statements of its ministers, they seek to impose exclusive Jewish control over Al-Aqsa Mosque, build a synagogue inside its courtyards, and demand the imposition of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners. This is along with their declared support for the illegal executions committed by the occupation soldiers in the West Bank and Jerusalem. They legitimised settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, and issued racist threats against our people in the occupied Palestinian territories. They are also determined to Judaise the Negev and Galilee regions by granting privileges, facilities and exclusive economic exemptions to Jews in order to settle in those areas, in a clear effort to expel the Palestinians who remained steadfast on their occupied land in 1948.

READ: An extremist Zionist government is facing a weak Palestinian Authority

Today, the most important question for the Palestinians comes to mind. How can we confront this fascist government? Can we utilise the extremism of the Netanyahu government for the benefit of the Palestinian cause? What are the main challenges we face? Can the PA withstand the Netanyahu government? Does the PA’s security services’ pursuit of supporters of the resistance in the West Bank meet the interests of the Palestinians and achieve the goals of the Palestinian cause, or does it serve the extremist policies of the Netanyahu government? Can the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank and Gaza succeed in reigning in settlement expansion in the West Bank considering the division? What is required of our people in the occupied territories in order to confront the extremism and racism of the Netanyahu government?

Ben-Gvir is seeking a prominent spot within Netanyahu's next coalition - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Ben-Gvir is seeking a prominent spot within Netanyahu’s next coalition – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Perhaps we will not be able to provide satisfactory answers to all the questions that emerge, but perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is how to benefit from the extremism and fascism of the Netanyahu government to expose the false democracy and lies that the occupation promotes to Western societies. Here we must launch media and diplomatic campaigns to highlight all the extremist statements and positions of the occupation government, especially its refusal to recognise the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and the establishment of a Palestinian state. This is in addition to the racist statements that incite the killing of unarmed Palestinians and promises to provide protection for the occupation soldiers who kill Palestinian citizens.

Eforts by government ministers to Judaise Al-Aqsa Mosque and their intimidating plans to end the Hashemite Custodianship over the holy sites and deprive the Jordanian endowments of managing Al-Aqsa Mosque, exposes the depth of normalisation with the occupation in the Arab region, as such attacks should ignite the entire Arab region in the face of the Zionist occupation.

Internally, if the PA leadership wants to endure Netanyahu’s racist government’s targeting of its capabilities, it must review its political positions, stop persecuting supporters of the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank, especially the Lions’ Den groups in Nablus, and the rebellious youth in Jenin, and take the initiative to implement the decisions of both the PNC and the Central Committee to end the humiliating agreements with the occupation, and to end security coordination, which Netanyahu’s extremist government is keen to continue, after all, it is a strategic treasure that serves its settlement plans in the occupied West Bank.

Likewise, if the PA leadership wants to stand firm and survive, it should initiate reconciliation meetings with the active Palestinian forces in the Palestinian street, especially the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, the PFLP and the DFLP. It would also achieve the desire of the Palestinian street, as successive polls indicated they wanted general Palestinian elections, and to stop relying on the American and European positions in favour of the two-state solution.

The international community is today suffering from a global conflict, which means that these world powers are preoccupied away from the Palestinian cause and the conflict in the Arab region.

With regard to the occupation’s plans to target our people in the Negev and the Galilee, and to escalate the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian society in the occupied Palestinian territories, we should all work to support the steadfastness of our people at home by launching media, popular and institutional campaigns to highlight their suffering, strengthen communication with them, and foil the occupation’s goals of tearing apart the components of Palestinian society, cracking down on our people inside the occupied Palestinian territories, targeting their Arab identity and terminating their Palestinian affiliation. We therefore call for the formation of a national front that includes the Palestinian people in various arenas, in a way that strengthens the unity of the Palestinians in the face of the occupation’s plans.

In conclusion, we believe that the escalation of resistance in all its forms against the fascism of the Netanyahu government, and its settlement plans against the Palestinians, is sufficient to contain the hostile and reckless statements made by the ministers of the Netanyahu government against the Palestinians. Moreover, raising the cost of the occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem by escalating resistance operations is sufficient to deter the fascist government of Netanyahu from its plans to oppress the Palestinians and violate their rights.

This article first appeared in Arabic in the Palestinian Information Centre on 10 January 2023

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