Facts we do not disagree on in this war

The first of these facts is that October 7th itself could be repeated in a completely different way, unless an honorable settlement is reached for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the continuation of the occupation and the violation of everything Palestinian will inevitably lead to repeated attempts to end it, whether peacefully or by war. The second of these facts is that Israel does not respect us, our blood, our feelings, or our right to life, and therefore treats us as human beings with unequal rights or dreams. What is truly frightening about this matter is that there are Israelis who believe that we do not enjoy the same degree of love for life or desire for it or the feeling of pain and pleasure. There is someone who said on an Israeli TV that we are just flies who do not care about death. This is more than frightening talk, and reveals a shocking level of lack of respect, appreciation, or recognition of the Palestinian, as a being who enjoys the same degree of humanity.

The third of these facts is that Israel cannot continue the war or win it without an international alliance or a broader one. This war revealed that Israel is in constant and dire need of weapons with multiple capabilities, and it also needs to recruit other segments of the public at all times. Israel’s need for this international alliance reveals that Israel is fragile and weak, not only because of geography, but also because of its total dependence on the colonial Western alliance that insists on saving it, despite the effort and embarrassment that this entails. This exposes the falsehood of Israel protecting the interests of the colonial West. Rather, it is this West that uses Israel – in the full sense of the word – in our region, and for this reason it receives protection and support in return for this use, which casts a great burden on the future of Israel itself. These are real fears expressed by many Israelis.

The fourth of these facts is that there are limits to Israeli power, as Israel's amazing military power was unable to impose a solution or an end, and was unable to achieve what it wanted, and did not implement everything it promised, and was unable to transform amazing power into satisfactory results. This means that Israel, instead of searching for political alternatives in which it "concedes" some of what it has usurped, accepts to use force and more force; in order to achieve impossible goals. This indicates arrogance, haughtiness, disregard for life, and total dependence on the colonial West.

Over the course of 76 years, Israel has not been able to achieve by force what it achieves by political alternatives. This leads us to the fifth fact: it is impossible to bypass the Palestinian people, ignore their rights or overcome them. The past hundred years have proven that the Palestinian people, who have tried resistance and negotiation time and time again, have not achieved their goals so far, but they have proven their tremendous ability to survive, endure and continue. This means that days are cycles, as the Holy Quran indicated. Colonialism, such as the one we live in, does not necessarily have to be defeated or retreat in one, two or three rounds. What is important in all of this is that the Palestinian people have not been defeated from within, and have not been broken despite all the massacres, persecutions, denial and attempts to erase them. The sixth of these facts is that Israel has taught us to choose the most difficult and costly path. Israel does not really want to see our moderation or our desire for a settlement. It always wants to drag us into the square of conflict. Thirty years of desire for a settlement and stability have been transformed by Israel into more settlement and killing, and the weakening, impoverishment and embarrassment of the Palestinian National Authority. It is as if Israel is telling us: "Choose a path other than moderation." As if moderation exposes Israel's nakedness and aggression.

The seventh of these facts is that our Arab region is empty, fragile and weak, that it is susceptible to all possibilities and that it has largely lost the ability to influence regional and international politics, and that this region will receive material, security and political support from abroad, such that its existential crisis has deepened, trust between it and its people has grown distant, and its regimes have turned into poor and isolated regimes that seek protection, legitimacy and survival. Therefore, the Palestinian people have paid the price of this absence, weakness and fragility every time they clashed with the occupier. What has happened and is happening in the Gaza Strip so far leads us to the final fact, which is that a new page in the history of the conflict has begun between us and the occupation, and it is a stage that may lead to profound changes for each party. Wars have profound conclusions and lessons. This war is not like any other war, as it may lead to a settlement if the occupier is rational, and it may quickly lead to another war if the occupier believes that it owns all destinies.