Long live the Palestinians, those wonderful people

The 77th anniversary of the Zionist usurpation of the land of Palestine will be celebrated as “Independence Day” in the occupation state in a couple of weeks. This is based on the myth of national liberation from British colonialism and the establishment of an independent state that successive Jewish generations dreamt of. The Zionists will flex their military muscles, and special events will be held across the country.

For Palestinians, 15 May 1948 was the day that Palestine was occupied by settlers. It is the day that British colonialism was replaced by even more horrific settler colonialism. The Nakba was neither liberation from colonialism nor independence; it was the largest armed robbery of the 20th century, during which an entire homeland was seized and ethnic cleansing created a Jewish majority in an Arab land.

The consequences of the Nakba are still felt today. The heart of the Arab region was torn apart and our land in Palestine was usurped before the eyes of the entire world, which blessed it and even hastened to allow it to happen through the Security Council, which was established specifically to achieve the goals of the victorious major powers after World War II. The colonial powers rushed to recognise the occupation entity planted on Arab land. The first to recognise Israel was the Soviet Union, followed by the US, not the other way around, as many believe. East and West conspired to stab the Arabs in the back. Moreover, without Arab collusion, the West would not have been able to carry out its conspiracy in Palestine.

The roots of the Zionist entity, of course, go back to the infamous Balfour Declaration, issued by the British government on 2 November, 1917, to establish a “national home” for Jews in Palestine. Those who did not own the land promised to give it to those who do not deserve it. The promise was fulfilled on 15 May, 1948.

Ever since, the Palestinians have lived with endless torment, suffering, expulsion, killing and land theft at the hands of the Zionists.

They have lost their lives, blood, honour and wealth. The Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom from occupation is ongoing. Gaza, which has resisted a brutal enemy committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for many years, but especially over the past 18 months, stands as a clear example of this ongoing struggle. The Arab rulers’ collusion against the Palestinian people’s struggle is also ongoing, while the international community has failed to uphold the laws and conventions which are supposed to prevent what Israel has been allowed to do with impunity. The major powers, led by the US, support the Zionist entity, while the Arab rulers guard Israel’s still undeclared borders.

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All Arab regimes, without exception, have exploited the Palestinian issue to appease their people who are concerned about Palestine, from the era of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser until now. They have done so to maintain their grip on power. However, behind the scenes there have been years of deception through the peace agreements signed with the Zionist enemy. Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, as did Jordan in 1994.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation signed the Oslo Accords on 13 September, 1993, according to which the occupation state of Israel was recognised and the clause relating to armed struggle to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea was removed from the PLO’s national charter. In exchange, the Palestinians were given an “authority” that exists solely to ensure security coordination with the occupation state, and a vague promise to establish a state that has still not seen the light of day. Instead, every day sees more theft of the land meant to be part of that state and the establishment of colonial settlements in occupied territory.

Today, less than 20 per cent of historic Palestine remains uncolonised by Israeli Jews, but even that is controlled by them.

The cursed Oslo Accords led to more killing and arrests of Palestinians struggling for justice and freedom, under the pretext of security coordination with the occupation authorities.

The Aqsa Intifada which began on 28 September, 2000, revived the spirit of resistance among the Palestinian people under the late leader Yasser Arafat. He had returned from America frustrated after the Camp David meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak under the auspices of US President Bill Clinton. Arafat was convinced that there was no point in peace agreements with the Zionist entity as they were illusions that evaporated into thin air after he had counted on them to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees to their land. That was the hope that kept the Palestinians going for seven years post-Oslo. Then they woke up to the reality and the return to the struggle for freedom.

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The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, was founded just before the First Intifada, in late 1987. It sought the return of the whole of Palestine, from the river to the sea, and believed that the only way to achieve this was through legitimate resistance, as stipulated by international law. Resistance did not stop with the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, as the occupation state continued to control the border crossings into the enclave and imposed a blockade on the Palestinians there.

Moreover, Israel has launched five military offensives on the Strip since Hamas won the 2007 Palestinian parliamentary election. Neither Israel, its international allies nor the Palestinian Authority led then as now by Mahmoud Abbas accepted the result of the free and fair election, and a more comprehensive siege was imposed on Gaza, where Hamas was strongest. However, none of this has weakened the resistance groups, diminished their resolve, or reduced the perseverance of the Palestinian people, as they continue to seek the liberation of their land. They have suffered greatly for justice, dignity and independence.

Abbas and the PA’s security forces have collaborated with the Zionists in the efforts to defeat Hamas. Predictably, the resistance has been labelled as “terrorism” in order to get the support of the West. Most recently, the PA head has used the derogatory term “sons of dogs” against the resistance movement.

Hamas is unlikely to surrender its weapons, though, as the Zionists are demanding.

I think that its leadership understands very well that any peace deal with Israel will not be honoured — it has never honoured any agreement signed with the Palestinians — and surrendering weapons will effectively abandon Gaza to the Zionists to do as they please, which is what we see happening in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

There is no doubt that the resistance in Gaza defends the right of all Palestinians to exist, not just in Gaza. The generation fighting in Gaza is made up of the grandchildren of the Palestinians who were expelled from their land in 1948. They have never lived in the places where their ancestors lived, but they know that the land is theirs, and that they will never abandon their legitimate right to return to it. The Palestinian people are a nation that will not die and will not be defeated. Long live the Palestinians, those wonderful people.

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