op-ed: Al-Arouri and the Israeli threats... A leading and unitary person

Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas and the official in the West Bank, gave a series of interviews in which he appeared as a strong leader who did not fear assassination, was patriotic and united, and in line with the Israeli threats to assassinate him, which have escalated significantly in the recent period in response to the continuation and escalation of resistance operations, in an attempt by the government Netanyahu Smotrich Ben Gvir to portray that the resistance is not a result of occupation, aggression, racism and settlement, but rather is caused by people and movements dependent on external axes.

The Palestinian resistance has been going on for a hundred years, and whenever leaders and generations rise, they are replaced by new leaders and other generations. The resistance because of certain people like Al-Arouri and others does not return to the importance of their role. Rather, it is Palestinian nationalism. These are Israeli claims to justify the occupation's inability to stop the resistance.

With such allegations, the Netanyahu government is trying to kill more than one bird with one stone, as it magnifies the external danger in an attempt to contain the widespread opposition to the government's plan, and seeks to employ resistance operations to provide cover for the continuation of the decisive plan that works in an unprecedented manner for annexation, Judaization and displacement, and paves the way for military aggression that you will think Much in its scope and targets for fear of a reaction, and perhaps the magnitude of the threat campaign does not bear serious intentions to implement it as much as it is an attempt to restore deterrence, intimidate the resistance and urge it to stop the resistance or limit its escalation, because whoever wants to assassinate does not announce it, and Israel may resort to silent assassinations In Gaza or abroad, meaning that Israel is not directly responsible for it, and it will focus on confronting the resistance in the West Bank and its symbols more than anywhere else first, and Gaza second.

The resistance announced through a number of its leaders and spokesmen that it takes the Israeli threats to carry out assassinations against its leaders and symbols very seriously, and that it will surprise the enemy with the size and type of response to any Israeli escalation. Because the inability to stop the resistance threatens the Kahanist government with its downfall, as it came to decisiveness, and instead of decisiveness, the resistance escalated during its reign much more than most of the previous governments that were always criticized by the parties participating in the current government. Since the beginning of this year, 36 Israelis have been killed as a result of the escalation of resistance operations. Thousands of operations, which included firing bullets, placing explosives, destroying the property and infrastructure of the settlements, and confronting the incursions of the occupation forces and the attacks of the settler colonizers, which have escalated at very high rates since the beginning of this year.

The crucial point in Al-Arouri's interviews is that he preached the possibility of defeating the occupation from the West Bank within a year, which is a very important point. Because the West Bank is the centerpiece of Israeli plans at this stage, and because it sets for the Palestinian people a central, realistic and achievable goal for several reasons, including: First, the presence of about four million Palestinians in the West Bank against a million settlers, who are determined to resist, as evidenced by the fact that the resistance continues, wave after wave. With a noticeable escalation in the waves of resistance that the West Bank witnessed during the last two years; secondly, because there is a global rejection of occupation and settlement based on international law and United Nations resolutions, and this is an important factor whose importance must not be underestimated, and it does not liberate the land, but it helps to liberate it; And third, because Israel is going through the worst phase since its establishment because of the deep internal crisis that is likely to get worse if it does not find a way out, and it is expected that the crisis will be exported abroad and against the enemies of Israel.

Beware of exaggerating resistance abilities and underestimating enemy strength

There are some drawbacks to Al-Arouri's point of view, which are exaggerating the strength and capabilities of the resistance and exaggerating what it has achieved so far, and underestimating the strength of the occupying power and the achievements it has made during the last two decades. It is true that Israel is in its weakest state, but it is still strong and capable of oppression, and it relies on an American-Western alliance that is ready to save it, even from itself, when needed.

For example, the Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli "withdrawal", did not become liberated, but rather semi-liberated. The type of resistance operations in the Gaza Strip and the resulting losses are not enough to explain the Israeli retreat. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is mainly due to the existence of a plan by Ariel Sharon, based on making the Israeli political initiative the only game in the city, and blocking the way for any other initiatives, by taking action Taking one step back in Gaza in exchange for advancing ten steps forward in the West Bank, and sowing discord and rift between the Palestinians, and this, with regret and bitterness, is what actually happened. The hateful division took place in it, while it was besieged and exposed to aggression, and the strength accumulated and accumulated by the resistance, despite its importance and being an important development that should not be denied without exaggeration and underestimation, especially that it took place against the Israeli wind, and yet we must not forget that it is taking place within a larger and longer framework Imprisoned in history, this does not diminish its capabilities, but rather defines its conditions that must be taken into account when making calculations of confrontation, its possibilities and its future.

Priorities of the Axis of Resistance

The "axis of resistance", if this term is used correctly, despite the importance of its existence and role, is also in a difficult situation, despite the progress it has made, and any look at the conditions in Lebanon, Syria and Iran and the internal and external crises that they suffer from clarifies what is meant. It also does not work according to Palestinian priorities, calculations, and agenda only or primarily, as the Palestinian player is not the strongest player in it, nor is it the only possibility nor likely that a regional war will break out. war and peace.

In the context of this transitional period, any major war is undesirable from various sides; Because the results are not guaranteed, because no party has the ability to resolve at this stage, so the world is satisfied with the repercussions of the Ukrainian war, and because peace is also elusive, so it is expected that we will witness skirmishes, tensions, and contradictory signals, sometimes towards calm and at other times towards escalation, small battles and temporary settlements It aims to prevent collapse, explosion, and détente, until new variables, developments, and factors introduce a change in the rules and outcomes of the conflict, perhaps the prisoner exchange deal with giving Iran billions of dollars, and Tehran’s commitment not to exceed the sixtieth line in uranium enrichment, skirmishes on the Palestinian-Lebanese borders, and the start of exploration for Oil in Lebanese territorial waters, the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation, the inclusion of countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE in the BRICS group, the continuation of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file, and a major deal in the region whose most prominent title is the Saudi-Israeli normalization; All indications of what we went to.

In this context, it is wrong to set a short timetable by Al-Arouri to end the occupation of the West Bank, as he is currently saying, and as previously reported in speeches by other leaders of the Hamas movement and the resistance forces. The realistic thing is to set achievable goals on the way to achieving bigger and bigger goals, and so on, such as : Strengthening the factors and elements of steadfastness and popular presence on the homeland, keeping the flame of resistance burning while the cause is alive, and doing everything possible to thwart the Saudi-Israeli normalization and not encourage it or ignore it, which if it happens will inevitably be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, and we do not say that it is easy but rather unlikely, especially in light of current Israeli government, but its occurrence must not be ruled out entirely.

In addition to this, the continuation and escalation of the comprehensive resistance in all its forms, within accurate calculations without recklessness or lethargy; Where it does not give pretexts to the occupation to commit massacres and carry out cleansing and displacement operations, and the intense endeavor to involve wider popular sectors in the popular resistance, and not to focus on armed resistance only.

Here, the boycott of the occupation and the imposition of sanctions and isolation on Israel worldwide must take on the importance it deserves. So that the boycott campaign spreads in all its forms, as well as expanding, generalizing, rooting and organizing field unity, to include all sectors and fields, in a way that provides the infrastructure to end the division. Without national unity, it is impossible to end the occupation, especially in light of the renewed bets of the Palestinian official leadership on the possibility of a political horizon, on the basis of The background to the major deal that the Biden administration is trying to achieve between Riyadh and Tel Aviv before the end of next year.

It is also possible during this stage to struggle to thwart the plans of the current Israeli government that focus on annexing Areas (C), completing the Judaization of Jerusalem and its captivity, especially Al-Aqsa, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, thwarting the scheme of deepening apartheid, and plunging our people at home into a spiral of crime and violence. procedure.

One last point, which is related to national unity; Al-Arouri showed great concern for dialogue and national unity by distinguishing between the Fatah Resistance Movement alongside all the resistance factions and narrow circles immersed in security coordination. However, a distinction must be made between the importance of continuing to work for unity, and what this requires of continuing the national dialogue and meetings. With the various components of the Palestinian political movement, and between holding a meeting like the El Alamein meeting, which resulted in a zero cube, and one team came out with many points, while the other team returned with nostalgia.

As for the distinction between arrests, the arrests carried out by the authority during the era of the late President Yasser Arafat were at a stage in which there was a political process and an authority that resisted, negotiated and made concessions, and was witnessing what the occupation opposed of the revolving door policy. As for the arrests in the period that followed and those that took place recently, they took place in light of the authority’s efforts to restore its prestige, prevent the continuation and escalation of the resistance, and continue its security role without a political process or mutual commitments.

Yes, the national dialogue and meetings between the components of the political movement must continue, but preparations must be made for it, and it must be based on national and democratic will, ground, and foundations. As for the dialogue that took place in the El Alamein meeting, it was not a dialogue. It aimed, at maximum, to tame and contain the opposition factions, and at the minimum, to obtain factional legitimacy for the authority, despite its continuing course on the miserable path, in light of the worst government in Israel taking power without progress. Authority is nothing in return, not for the factions, nor with regard to stopping arrests on political grounds and for the resistance fighters. This is something that needs to be re-evaluated and lessons drawn.