op-ed: Palestinian unity is more urgent than ever

The so-called Israeli Minister of Security, Yoav Gallant, held a meeting with the heads of the settlements and pledged to provide all the necessary support and assistance to enhance their steadfastness and the survival of their settlements. The Minister of Finance, Smotrich, pledged to provide 700 million shekels for the annexation and Judaization schemes in the West Bank. Likewise, the godfather of settlement in Jerusalem is the Israeli Minister of National Security. Itamar Ben Gvir supports an extremist who leads an extremist party as well, to win the upcoming municipal elections, Arben King,  all of them are talking about Jerusalem, Judaizing it, deepening the Jewish presence in it, and reducing the Palestinian national presence whenever possible.

This Ben Gvir had made racist statements, during which he claimed that his right to movement and mobility in the West Bank is more important than the right to freedom of movement of the Palestinians, and that his right to life is more important than the right of the Palestinians as well.

These racist statements are just examples of what Israeli leaders think, and they are constantly repeated in words and deeds. These racist statements received wide and denouncing reactions on social media. Among the celebrities who denounced them, the famous supermodel Bella Hadid, who has an estimated 60 million followers. On Facebook (it should be noted that this Hadid family fled Nazareth during the 1948 Nakba and the establishment of the State of Israel).

On the other hand, President Abu Mazen said during his presidency of the eleventh session of the Fatah Revolutionary Council that the national authority will not allow the passage of occupation plans that aim to perpetuate this unjust occupation.
The reality is that this occupation only understands the language of force and effective real deterrence, and the repeated statements and declarations that have expired, are no longer of any influence or interest to this expansionist occupation, which has never stopped exercising its greed by confiscating the land and displacing its owners and children.

These occupation practices require, first and foremost, the restoration of Palestinian national unity and an end to this unjust and destructive division of the national position. The occupation knows this very well, and that is why it no longer cares about words and statements and is keen to deepen the division whenever possible. This is what our leaders must think about and work to end this tragic and destructive stage of division and to fragment the national situation and make it weak and unable only to repeat statements and declarations.