Three years after Al-Aqsa Flood and the obligation to defend Palestine

On 7 October 2026, three years will have passed since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The anniversary confronts the world with an imperative to defend Palestinian existence, halt the crimes against the Palestinian people and hold accountable the governments that sustain the occupation.

After three years, “Israel” has achieved no victory in Gaza. Its legacy is genocide, devastation and ethnic cleansing. Faced with this reality, no diplomatic declaration can replace concrete measures to protect lives, end the occupation and secure the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

The latest developments demonstrate that the ceasefire has not ended the violence. Gaza’s Ministry of Health has recorded more than 78,000 Palestinians martyred since the genocidal offensive began, including 1,422 since the ceasefire announced in October 2025.

History, however, did not begin in October 2023. Since the Nakba of 1948, expulsions, dispossession and territorial fragmentation have shaped the Palestinian experience. Military occupation, settlements and the siege of Gaza all predate Al-Aqsa Flood.

Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, led by Hamas and carried out with the participation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and other Palestinian resistance groups, including the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and the Popular Resistance Committees, must be understood within this historical process.

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In my analysis, it exposed the colonial project’s inability to secure lasting submission and shook the image of invulnerability surrounding the Israeli military apparatus. Understanding its causes requires confronting the occupation and the denial of self-determination. Resistance arises from occupation, and the Palestinian question cannot be reduced to a security problem for the occupier.

As the third anniversary approaches, this reflection retains a decisive question: how can Palestinians be expected to renounce resistance while the structures that deny them freedom remain in place?

Resolution 2649 (XXV), of 30 November 1970, recognises the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and foreign domination by the means at their disposal and condemns the denial of that right, referring specifically to Palestine.

Resolution 2787 (XXVI), of 6 December 1971, affirms the legitimacy of the struggle for self-determination and liberation, including that of the Palestinian people, by all available means.

Resolution 3070 (XXVIII), of 30 November 1973, expressly reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination by all available means, including armed struggle.

Resolution 3103 (XXVIII), of 12 December 1973, proclaims the legitimacy of the struggle against colonial and foreign domination and racist regimes, and establishes principles concerning the protection of combatants and the application of the Geneva Conventions.

Taken together, these resolutions preclude treating the Palestinian demand for freedom as “terrorism” by definition. They make clear that the Palestinian right to resistance and self-defence is not a concession granted by the Zionist occupier.

Criminalising all resistance as “terrorist” amounts to denying oppressed peoples the rights recognised by the UN itself. Within this context, the resistance struggle of peoples under colonial and foreign domination legitimises the use of all means at their disposal, whether stones, rifles, rockets or drones.

“Israel”, meanwhile, cannot invoke self-defence to justify unlawful occupation, apartheid or the expulsion of Palestinians. As an occupying power, it is obliged to protect the civilian population, ensure the provision of food, medicines and health services, and facilitate humanitarian relief, pursuant to Articles 27, 55, 56 and 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. No claim of security authorises collective punishment, forcible transfer or the destruction of the conditions necessary for life.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice found “Israel’s” continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and affirmed the obligation of states neither to recognise nor to assist in maintaining that situation.

In September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that “Israel” had committed genocide in Gaza. The commission identified killings, serious bodily and mental harm, the imposition of conditions of life intended to destroy the group, and measures intended to prevent births.

Imposed starvation, forcible displacement and the destruction of the conditions necessary for survival threaten the continuity of Palestinian life. Without food, water, shelter or medical care, death extends beyond the bombardment. Calling this devastation “collateral damage” dehumanises the victims and conceals political decisions.

The third anniversary also demands scrutiny of the conduct of the powers that supply arms, diplomatic protection and material support to “Israel”, particularly the United States. The continuation of this support, in the face of documented crimes and international obligations, demands concrete action.

Palestinian resistance lives on in the families who remain on their land, the healthcare workers who treat the wounded and the journalists who document the attacks. It exists in the preservation of memory, the education of children and the refusal to be erased. Recognising this determination and resilience means recognising that devastation does not extinguish an indigenous people’s right to exist.

After three years, solidarity must translate into political consequences. Assistance that sustains the unlawful occupation must end; arms transfers that contribute to crimes must be prevented; humanitarian access must be ensured; and efforts to hold perpetrators accountable must be supported.

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Civil society must hold governments to account, support Palestinian and humanitarian organisations, protect those who expose abuses, and strengthen peaceful solidarity and boycott campaigns. News fatigue must not diminish the value of a life. Commitment to Palestine must withstand attempts to make daily destruction acceptable.

Three years after Al-Aqsa Flood, “Israel” has no right to impose the subjugation or disappearance of a people. Palestine does not ask permission to exist: it demands an end to the occupation and the right to determine its own future.

Defending Palestinian life means demanding an end to the crimes, reparations for the victims and the dismantling of the structures that perpetuate domination.

Justice cannot remain subordinate to the convenience of governments and the impunity of their allies.

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