Dr. Dalal Erekat: We must admit our decline... and restoring the Palestinian situation requires decades of intensive efforts

Muhammad Jaradat: The October 7 attack came to answer the questions of 76 years of attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause

Adnan Al-Sabah: It is not time to count the scores, as the war is not over, and the lesson is in the endings, because the next stage is difficult.

Samah Khalifa: Any future regional settlement will not be possible without addressing the Palestinian issue

Muhammad Manasra: The October 7 attack did not achieve any gains and deprived the Palestinian cause of its independent decision

After about a year of the Israeli war of extermination against the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians find themselves at a stage in which they must evaluate the achievements and losses resulting from that war.

The opinions of a number of writers, political analysts and university professors differ in separate interviews with “I” regarding the gains achieved from the October 7 attack, but they agree that the ongoing war of extermination that followed the attack achieved unprecedented popular achievements on the international scene, especially with regard to returning the Palestinian cause to the global agenda.

Some writers and analysts believe that the resistance, despite the blows it has suffered, has been able to maintain its presence in the military and political scenes. Also, despite talk of a possible truce or diplomatic solutions, writers and analysts believe that the coming period will witness an escalation of the regional war.

Gains on the international level and losses on the ground

In her assessment of a full year of the Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, Dr. Dalal Erekat, professor of diplomacy and conflict resolution at the Arab American University, confirms that the main Palestinian gains were on the international level, where Palestinian diplomacy was able to return the Palestinian issue to the global agenda, whether through legal or political efforts.

However, Erekat believes that these international gains cannot hide the huge losses suffered by the Palestinians on the ground.

Erekat stresses the need for the Palestinians to realize that they have lost a lot, whether on the human, political, social or cultural level, stressing that the assessment of what happened must be realistic and logical, as the process of restoring the Palestinian situation will require decades of intensive efforts at all levels.

Erekat explains that the decline witnessed by the Palestinians over the past year was not only in the large number of martyrs and wounded, but also included the comprehensive destruction of the infrastructure in Gaza, as the war set the sector back decades, and these enormous losses cannot be considered an achievement.

Even amid talk of diplomatic and peaceful initiatives and solutions, Erekat points out that Israel continues to implement its colonial project under various pretexts, such as eliminating Hamas or confronting Iranian or Turkish support. However, she stresses that these pretexts should not hide the basic truth, which is that Israel seeks to annex Palestinian lands and achieve its colonial expansionist project.

Erekat believes that the far-right Israeli occupation government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu has already made great strides towards annexing the territories, while leaving Gaza destroyed, with no infrastructure, as a result of the Israeli war that caused widespread destruction and continuous killing.

Concern over deteriorating Palestinian political situation

Erekat expressed her concern about the deterioration of the internal Palestinian political situation, as no progress has been made towards unity or ending the Palestinian division over the course of 17 years, and no achievement has been made in this regard even after a year of the war of extermination, noting that the Palestinian political situation has “regressed and is in need of major restoration.”

She warns that renewed talk of international peace conferences could return the Palestinian issue to square one, especially if there is no tangible progress on the domestic front.

Erekat stresses that what is required in the next stage is to keep Gaza within the framework of the future Palestinian state, with the necessity of preventing the Strip from being transformed into the "State of Gaza", and it is also necessary to confront the annexation of the West Bank, which is what Israel seeks.

Erekat stresses the importance of ending the Palestinian division and achieving national unity, calling for activating the Palestine Liberation Organization and restoring the presence of the Palestinian leadership in the Gaza Strip, in addition to continuing to use diplomatic tools on the international scene to achieve the ultimate goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

October 7th is a direct result of the crimes of the occupation

Writer and political analyst Mohammed Jaradat points out that one year after the war of extermination that Israel launched on the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attack, the Palestinians stand wondering about the outcome of that war and what was achieved from it.

Jaradat believes that October 7 was a direct result of the ongoing Israeli crimes and violations, not only in Gaza and Al-Aqsa Mosque, but also in the West Bank.

The October 7 attack, according to Jaradat, came to answer questions from decades of more than seventy years, which were full of massacres, injustice, and the deliberate liquidation of the Palestinian cause through unjust political paths.

A major turning point in the course of the conflict

“The October 7 attack was a major turning point in the course of the conflict, as it placed the Palestinian cause in a new historical phase,” Jaradat says. “Despite the heavy losses and great sacrifices paid by the Palestinian people, including thousands of martyrs and wounded and the destruction of infrastructure in Gaza, this war brought the Palestinian cause back to the forefront of global politics and media. For the first time, the Israeli depth became a permanent arena of confrontation.”

Jaradat points out that the Palestinian resistance has proven its ability to withstand and continue, despite the repeated strikes, whether in the military field or in politics. Despite the decline in the intensity of the missile bombardment, the resistance continues to launch intermittent strikes on Israeli cities and settlements, in light of the occupation’s failure to achieve its declared goals from the war, especially breaking the will of the resistance and restoring its prisoners.

On the other hand, Jaradat points to the importance of supporting the various support fronts, most notably the Lebanese front, which witnessed a major escalation, as the Lebanese resistance’s response to the occupation’s massacres had a clear impact on the development of the battlefield, with its missiles reaching Tel Aviv.

According to Jaradat, this escalation confirmed that Gaza is still the address and focus of the conflict, and that the occupation failed to secure the northern settlers who were displaced, and did not succeed in achieving the desired stability.

Israel is experiencing an unprecedented historical crisis

Jaradat believes that Israel is now experiencing an unprecedented historical crisis, represented by deep political and social divisions at home, and the crisis of the Israeli detainees who were left by the Israeli government, in addition to the blows it received from several fronts and axes, which deepened this crisis. With its continued international isolation, Israel is exposed to increasing criticism at the global level because of the war of extermination it is waging on Gaza.

Jaradat expects that the coming period will witness an escalation, whether in the resistance operations in Gaza or the West Bank, as well as in Israel’s expansion of its wars in the region, which will push the axis of resistance to expand its fronts as well.

Jaradat points out that the occupying state finds itself today in a major diplomatic and political predicament, as it moves from one internal crisis to another, and despite some security successes, it has not achieved its goals from the war, and is still marking time.

On the other hand, Jaradat believes that the Palestinian, regardless of his political or geographical affiliation, will eventually find himself part of the axis of resistance, due to the ongoing crimes of the Israeli occupation, whether he wants it or not.

It's not time to take stock yet.

As a year has passed since the Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, writer and political analyst Adnan Al-Sabah asserts that the time has not yet come to count the scores, pointing out that the war has not ended yet, and that the lesson lies in the end of the war.

Al-Sabah believes that the Palestinian cause has regained momentum on the international scene, with the rise of a wave of global solidarity with the Palestinians, but the question he poses is: “Has this solidarity been invested in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinians?”

Al-Sabah points out that the Israeli occupation is going through a critical phase, as it is waging what he calls a "war of survival and self-assertion."

According to Al-Sabah, Israel, after a year of this war, is not only seeking to restore its prestige, but it is also seeking to break the will of the other, warning that the next stage may witness a more severe and violent escalation. The occupation, according to Al-Sabah, will not accept to remain broken, and will be prepared to use all available means to achieve its goals.

Regarding the second year of this war, Al-Sabah confirms that the Palestinian people, with all their factions and segments, are seeking to stop the war, but he stresses that this is not the way the occupation wants.

Al-Sabah wonders about Israel's ability to endure another year of this war, noting that "Israel has a surplus of power, but this does not create a cohesive society."

The necessity of returning to UN Partition Resolution No. 181

From Al-Sabah's point of view, the post-war phase calls for redefining the Palestinian national project within a unified political framework.

Al-Sabah stresses the need to return to UN Partition Resolution No. 181, which stipulates the establishment of two states for two peoples, considering that demanding the implementation of this resolution is the best way to achieve justice.

Al-Sabah believes that going to the United Nations should focus on demanding the implementation of this internationally recognized resolution, and that if the world continues to ignore the rights of the Palestinians, then it should move towards the option of “withdrawing recognition of Israel.”

Al-Sabah believes that the next stage depends on the rule of "victory or defeat," stressing that Palestinian unity is the key to achieving victory, and he says: "We win with our unity, and we are defeated with our division."

Bringing the Palestinian issue back to the forefront of the regional and international scenes

Writer and political analyst Samah Khalifa believes that the Palestinian people will not get used to humiliation, despite the long decades of occupation and confrontation, and more than 76 years of continuous conflict with the Zionist project.

Khalifa points out that before the outbreak of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, the Palestinian cause was absent from the international arena, especially in light of the renewed American projects that aim to remove it from the Arab and international scene, and one of the most prominent of these projects is “normalization,” which several Arab countries implemented publicly, after it was passed indirectly, but the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle turned this equation upside down and drew the world’s attention once again to the Palestinian cause.

Khalifa asserts that this battle has re-shed light on the suffering of the Palestinians from killing, destruction and confiscation of their rights, and has once again raised their demands for their right to an independent state on the 1967 borders, a concession that came after they had been demanding their entire land, without this concession achieving any tangible results. However, now, with the continued illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, the right of the resistance to defend oneself and one’s land remains.

As a year has passed since the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, Khalifa points out that the occupation's methodology of killing and destruction is not new.

Khalifa stresses the need to evaluate the achievements and failures of both sides of the war after the battle. On the Hamas side, despite losing some control over the Strip, it is still the main actor in Gaza, where its leaders, such as Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, continue to operate, albeit partially. In addition, Hamas continues to hold dozens of Israeli prisoners, all of which has kept Israel from achieving its war goals so far.

Khalifa believes that the "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle has returned the Palestinian issue to the forefront of the regional and international scenes, stressing that any future regional settlement will not be possible without addressing the Palestinian issue.

The resistance regained the element of surprise.

Khalifa points out that the resistance has regained the element of surprise in its confrontation with Israel, as happened in the October 1973 war, but in a deeper and stronger way, as it has inflicted heavy losses on Israel, including the evacuation of settlements in the Gaza Strip and the northern border areas with Hezbollah, which has not happened since the declaration of the establishment of the occupying state.

Khalifa stresses that the Palestinian resistance, despite its human losses, has succeeded in keeping its losses lower than expected, while the Israeli army's losses are increasing day after day, despite the fact that the largest losses were among Palestinian civilians.

On the other hand, Khalifa points to the international success in launching a broad campaign against Israel, whether at the level of international courts or through demonstrations in major capitals, in addition to the economic boycott, and the suspension of military aid to Israel by Spain and others, leading to the recognition of the State of Palestine by some countries.

On the other hand, Khalifa points out that Iranian interventions through its allies such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi Shiite militias pose a new challenge to Israel, especially in light of the internal conflicts and divisions in Israeli society over the policies of the Netanyahu government.

Khalifa stresses the importance of reading the scene from a historical perspective, as Israel faces long-term challenges, based on what happened in Lebanon when the Fatah movement was expelled from it, but there was the rise of new resistance factions such as Hezbollah after the invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

“Although Israel was able to partially destroy Hamas and create a severe shock to Palestinian society that will continue to resonate in Palestinian and regional consciousness for years to come, making them realize the price they might pay if they repeat their attack, Hamas will realize that it must develop its capabilities and vision of the expected results, as the hostages are no longer the winning card it had counted on, and thus a new and different generation of resistance will be born,” Khalifa said.

The war of extermination on Gaza will continue with American and Western support

As for the nature of the next stage, Khalifa believes that the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip will continue with American and Western support, regardless of any humanitarian disaster that will result from it, under the pretext of eliminating the infrastructure of the resistance as a whole, no matter how much time it takes. The resistance may have prepared what will enable it to withstand, which will lead to a new equation with Hamas and the resistance as its foundation. If the resistance no longer has enough to offer to withstand, a truce and ceasefire will take place that will direct the position of the resistance to new political data based on the Gaza Strip and the holy places. If the resistance ends as an effective force on the ground, the Palestinian cause will be eliminated as an independent state, the rule of Hamas will end, the resistance and its infrastructure will be destroyed, then the withdrawal from the Strip will take place and it will be handed over to the international and Arab community and the Palestinians who are prepared to be part of the solution, on condition of security control under Arab and American supervision, while working to rebuild the Strip.

Regarding the northern front, Khalifa warns of the possibility of the war expanding with direct intervention from Hezbollah, which may push the United States to intervene directly as well, which means the region being dragged into a third world war, with the possibility of Iran entering directly into the conflict front.

The necessity of activating the role of the PLO and integrating all factions into a national dialogue

On the internal Palestinian level, Khalifa stresses the need to activate the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and to integrate all Palestinian factions and forces into a factional dialogue, in order to form a Palestinian national consensus government that works to unify Gaza and the West Bank.

Khalifa calls for exporting the scene of Palestinian national unity to the world, to support the growing international solidarity movement with the Palestinians, which began after October 7, and escalated at a remarkable speed.

Prioritize peaceful struggle

Writer and analyst Muhammad Musa Manasra believes that the October 7 attack did not achieve any tangible gains on either the political or military levels for the Palestinians.

Although the attack and the massacres that followed achieved global popular solidarity from the international community, Manasra believes that this support could have been achieved without the need for this massacre and the resulting bloodshed.

"The Palestinians must have the courage to face themselves and admit that our people's goals could have been achieved through other, less costly means, such as political struggle, and without all this blood," Manasra says.

Manasra calls for giving priority to peaceful struggle, but he does not mean the negotiations that took place over the past decades, describing them as not being based on scientific foundations or solid references, and not being used as a form of struggle.

Manasra explains that it is wrong to describe these negotiations as serious or scientific negotiations, stressing the need to review the negotiation phase comprehensively and evaluate its effectiveness and usefulness in achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

On the other hand, Manasra believes that one of the most dangerous results of October 7 is the loss of the Palestinian cause’s independent national decision, pointing out that this situation reflects the inability of the Palestinian factions, whether Fatah or Hamas or others, to manage Gaza effectively later.

He holds the Palestinian leadership responsible for giving up the initiative, stressing that the Palestinian cause is no longer entirely in the hands of its people.

A critical and serious review of the performance of Palestinian organizations

Manasra stresses the urgent need for a serious and critical review by the Palestinian organizations of their political performance, programs, slogans, and their entire past experience, calling for the summoning of independent specialists to complete this evaluation and identify the mistakes made by the factions, whether in relation to the armed struggle or political strategies. These ideas were put forward and called for in our space by the Palestinian thinker Abdul Majeed Hamdan.

Manasra stresses that the results must be presented to everyone in a transparent manner, with the aim of overcoming mistakes and learning from them to achieve real progress, as achieving progress and adopting tasks for the future depends to a large extent on evaluating the entire previous struggle experience.

The absence of a constitutional law regulating the work of political parties in Palestine

As for the internal political situation, Manasra criticizes the absence of a constitutional law regulating the work of political parties in Palestine, which has allowed Palestinian organizations to be affiliated with other countries and serve foreign agendas. It would have been more appropriate to establish a law to prevent such subordination.

Manasra calls for establishing a clear legal framework that guarantees the independence of political organizations from any external interference, with the need to focus on building a unified Palestinian political system capable of confronting internal and external challenges, and the existing Palestinian organizations are unable to achieve this confrontation.

Manasra asserts that if the Palestinians do not review themselves and perform real self-criticism, they will continue to repeat the mistakes of the past, which will hinder the achievement of their national and political goals.