On the anniversary of the departure of the martyr Faisal, Jerusalemites in the face of assimilation and family

A few days ago, Jerusalemites commemorated the twenty-second anniversary of the death of the martyr Faisal Al-Husseini, the undisputed Emir of Jerusalem and its knight, who dismounted prematurely.

On the anniversary of Faisal’s passing, and in light of the great emptiness he left behind because he was not employed by anyone, nor did he derive his powers from anyone nor from an official position or position, but rather he was a natural leader and a lover of Jerusalem, who practiced his love for it with the pain of the lover, the eagerness of the beloved, and the asceticism of the retreat In the altar of lovers and the generosity of ascetics.

On the anniversary of Faisal's passing, a lot can be said, but here I will not cry and I will not mention the virtues and virtues of the deceased because he is alive in the conscience of Jerusalemites, and lamentation is not permissible for the living.

The martyr's friends and loved ones gathered, and although I am one of his closest friends and the one who loves him the most and misses his absence, I was unable to be with them for reasons beyond my control. They gathered in a modest number with pictures of Faisal and Palestinian flags to hang on the gate of the Orient House, to which Faisal was able to restore its Jerusalem national splendor, after it was transformed after 1967 into the Orient House Hotel. It was built by the Mufti of Jerusalem in the first half of the last century, Sheikh Ismail Musa Al-Husseini, and it witnessed the visits of international personalities such as the German Emperor Wilhelm, the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and others, and a funeral home for the late Sharif Hussein was opened in it.

Faisal was able to restore his status from a hotel to a lofty symbol of Palestinian patriotism and to make it a focal point for national action and a destination for political visitors. He hosted prime ministers, foreign ministers, senior officials and delegations from many countries of the world who used to come to the Orient House as the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in The heart of Jerusalem and a national address for Palestine, and I had the honor to accompany Faisal in these meetings or to act in his place as assigned by him when he was forced to be absent abroad, with a group of people from Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip representing all the colors of the Palestinian political spectrum. It was called the Orient House group led by Faisal Al-Husseini and at one time constituted a nightmare for some who feared that it would turn into an alternative leadership, although without exception it owed absolute loyalty to the leadership of the PLO, and categorically rejected all offers and temptations in return for deviating from the line of leadership in Tunisia.

Faisal's friends gathered to commemorate his memory, and perhaps they did not know that Faisal's image was still a nightmare for the occupation, as they had hardly gathered there until the occupation police raided them and took away the pictures and flags and dispersed them by force in front of the gate of the Orient House, which was closed by military order from the occupation since August 2001, i.e. after The departure of the martyr Faisal in less than three months. The closure orders regarding him and many Jerusalemite institutions closed by military orders are still renewed every six months, turning their closure into a fait accompli.

Taking pictures of Faisal and the Palestinian flags is part of the systematic Israeli policy to blockade Jerusalem, obliterate its national identity and prevent the emergence of any political activity in it. This Israeli policy was not limited to preventing the development of political life in Jerusalem, but extended to include cultural, sports, social and economic life and activities under the pretext that they are carried out in coordination with or with funding from the Palestinian Authority, and this is pure fabrication. The aim of this Israeli policy is to fight and tear apart the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Jerusalem and to dissolve the Palestinian identity in it on the way to the familyization of society, institutions and life in Jerusalem.

There is no doubt that the siege that it imposed on Jerusalem since March 1993 and the apartheid wall that it erected around it since 2002 and completed its construction until 2006 have led, over time, to the separation of Jerusalem from its Palestinian depth in all respects, and gradually led to its transformation into what is more like Palestinian cities that It was occupied in 1948, and the gap between Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian territories is constantly deepening.

There is no doubt that the subject of social, cultural and political transformations in Jerusalem requires in-depth study. Despite the harsh Israeli policy and the fierce campaign against the Palestinian identity and presence in Jerusalem, and despite the isolation of the Palestinian Authority and its inability to be up to the challenges faced by the Jerusalemites, and their expectations that the Authority is unable to meet, Israel failed to kill the morale of the Jerusalemites or buy their belonging. Despite some negative manifestations that one can see from time to time in Jerusalem, especially what happened in some Jerusalem schools recently, I can say with confidence that today there are new generations in Jerusalem who preceded the political leadership of the Palestinian people and constitute an advanced position in confronting the occupation. With boldness, we only see it in Jerusalem.