‘Triggering the Zionists’: Fursan Al-Aqsa’s 7 October mission update  

On 11 November, Palestinian-Brazilian games developer Nidal Nijm announced on platform Steam that his ground-breaking third person shooter, Fursan Al-Aqsa: Knights of Al-Aqsa Mosque, received an update. Called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” after the historic Hamas-led resistance operation in 2023, the update “allows you to relive the iconic day on which the brave Palestinian Resistance humiliated Israeli Military Forces.” Naturally, this led to increased interest in the game.

First released in 2022, the game caused quite a storm for its original portrayal of the Palestinian resistance as heroes and not the stereotypical Arab terrorist. However, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an anti-Semitism watchdog, claimed that it “glorifies Palestinian terror against Jews”, which was disputed by Nijm. “The objective of my game,” he insisted, “especially here in the West, is to show that the armed struggle of the Palestinian people is not terrorism, as shown in video games where the USA soldiers are the heroes and the Arabs are the enemies and terrorists.”

Mission page for Fursan Al-Aqsa: Knights of Al-Aqsa Mosque third person shooter game

Nevertheless, it seems that the new update, while it has been welcomed avidly by the pro-Palestinian gaming community, has come under closer scrutiny by the British authorities. It was reported recently that Fursan Al-Aqsa was banned from the Steam UK website at the request of British counter terrorism police while there are restrictions in Germany and Australia.

Speaking to MEMO Nijm explained that the restrictions in the latter two countries are due the lack of Age Rating Classification, and that it would be too expensive and simply not feasible to review his game, especially considering players from both countries are comparatively so few. He revealed that the top number of players are actually from the US and China.

As for the UK, Nijm asserts that it “was clearly due to political reasons” as they are “accusing my game of being ‘terrorist’ propaganda.” In e-mails seen by MEMO, several weeks ahead of the game’s update announcement, Steam owner Valve Corporation notified Nijm that Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) contacted them and that they were “requested from authorities in the UK to block the game.”

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Having played Fursan Al-Aqsa, including the updated Al-Aqsa Flood mission, I can concur with others’ reviews that the game is indeed both refreshing and entertaining, beyond the Hollywood and gaming industry clichés.

We play as keffiyeh-clad Ahmad Al-Falasteeni, “a young Palestinian Student who was unjustly tortured and jailed by Israeli Soldiers for 5 years,” who lost all his family members in occupation air force strikes, and now seeks revenge against those who wronged him, by joining the fictional resistance group in question Fursan or Knights of Al-Aqsa.

Loosely based on real events, the mission begins with a cut scene depicting resistance fighters arriving at the occupation base, Re’im in southern historic Palestine, arriving by parachute, a nod to the motorised paraglide manoeuvre carried out by Hamas fighters on 7 October.

Scene from the Fursan Al-Aqsa: Knights of Al-Aqsa Mosque, third person shooter game

Nijm told MEMO, that he intentionally added the cut scene to “trigger Zionists” as well as to test the notion of freedom of expression. “Why was everyone ok with the infamous mission ‘No Russian’ in Call of Duty Modern Warfare but they can’t tolerate my game?” Nijm asks.

“In my game, if you kill the hostages, unarmed soldiers, the mission fails. On Call of Duty you must kill civilians on the Airport to complete the mission,” he adds.

The mission brief provides an overarching geopolitical context to the resistance operation, often neglected by many Western politicians and in mainstream media which treats 7 October of occurring in a vacuum. Emphasising the centrality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and safeguarding its sanctity, we read that:

“The 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli incursions in West Bank, violence at Al-Aqsa mosque, Israeli settler violence, confiscation of property and demolition of homes, among many other acts of oppression resulted in the biggest coordinated Military Joint Operation of Palestinian Resistance Groups against Israel, known as Operation al-Aqsa Flood.”

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The developer demonstrates a keen awareness of the ongoing war, which is evident throughout the other missions. For instance, the game also takes players to the occupied-West Bank, featuring missions aimed at preventing raids in resistance hotbeds like Jenin and Nablus. The latter is aptly named ‘The Lions’ Den,’ in reference to the prominent resistance faction based there.

The purpose of the Al-Aqsa Flood mission is to infiltrate the army base, sabotage the UAV drones, “kill Zionist Soldiers and take some of them as hostages.” Although this has come to be seen as controversial – it needn’t, video games, especially shooters do indeed glorify violence, and even serve as propaganda for US military recruitment or soft power projection.

The controls can at times feel clunky, but one soon gets into the rhythm of things, and the influence of stealth classic Metal Gear Solid is abundantly clear, so too is the general vibe of Call of Duty Modern Warfare, minus the US propaganda.

Being patient, rather than rushing to complete the mission is definitely an essential strategy. Otherwise occupation soldiers can quickly overwhelm, despite being rather dumbed down adversaries – whether this is another intentional facet of the game may be up for debate. As with any shooter game, the much desired “headshot” is always a satisfying element, and Fursan Al-Aqsa is no exception. Equally there are animated stealth skills, which require a more cautious approach or, if faced with a group of enemies, one can simply lob a grenade to eliminate the Zionist soldiers.

Whenever the character dies, akin to souls-like games, instead of being taunted with “You died,” we are instead informed that we have attained martyrdom, which strongly resonates with the mind-set and attitude of the resilient resistance and the Palestinian people in general.

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For an indie game, developed by a solo developer, Fursan Al-Aqsa has done impressively well garnering “Overwhelmingly Positive” overall reviews on Steam and “Very Positive” recent reviews. Despite set-backs like the removal of the game on Steam, Nijm feels no resentment. He told MEMO, “I will be forever grateful to Valve for allowing the publishing of my game on Steam in the first place. I see Valve as one of the few companies that truly respect freedom of creativity.”

“I understand that whenever Steam receives a complaint from some country or authority, they need to comply with it. So I do not blame Valve nor Steam. The blame is on the UK Government and authorities that are p*ssed off by a videogame.”

Pointing out the blatant hypocrisy, Nijm states “By their flawed logic, the most recent Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 should be banned as well. As you play as an American soldier and go to Iraq to kill Iraqi people.”

For now, Fursan Al-Aqsa remains a PC game. Nijm mentioned that both Xbox and Nintendo rejected his pitches, and he remains doubtful about future prospects given the recent controversy. However, Sony PlayStation approved the game for release on PS4 and PS5. To publish on the PlayStation Store, Nijm needs to purchase development kits for both consoles, which are costly. He is hesitant to make this investment without certainty that the game will be allowed on the PlayStation Store, to avoid wasting money.

He added: “I recently contacted Nvidia to see about the possibility of getting my game on Nvidia Geforce NOW streaming platform. I am almost sure they will refuse my game because we all know that Nvidia supports Israel.”

The game is a work in progress, and there are promising signs for further updates, with several missions “coming soon,” including a highly symbolic battle at vicinity of Al-Aqsa Masjid, which one would assume would be the grand finale in liberating the land.

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