On the anniversary of the glorious October War, lessons learned

Half a century ago, the Egyptians and Syrians were victorious when they took the initiative and surprised the entire world. They broke the Arab silence and headed towards Sinai and the Golan. This day constituted a turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict, as the ability of the Arabs to unite and conquer the Israeli entity was demonstrated.

Therefore, this day is considered a black day in the history of the Israeli occupation, as the Egyptians crossed into Sinai, and the Syrians crossed into the Golan, and the Prime Minister of Israel at that time, Golda Meir, launched distress calls to which the United States of America responded to stop what US Secretary of State Kissinger called a disaster.

During my meeting with Kissinger more than once, he spoke about his role in harnessing his diplomatic skill, in addition to the massive military supplies provided by the United States, in order to save Israel and reach a truce agreement, which included stopping the clashes and returning the city of Quneitra to Syria, and the eastern bank of the Suez Canal to Egypt.

The most prominent results of the October War were the restoration of the Suez Canal and the return of navigation, the recovery of part of the Golan Heights, the restoration of Arab dignity after the defeat of 1967, and the restoration of Arab confidence in the face of the invincible army.

On this glorious anniversary, a number of lessons must be learned, the most prominent of which are:

The Israeli occupation is an occupation by force of arms, built on a false and illegitimate foundation, and resisting it by all means and methods is a legitimate right until all Palestinian and Arab lands are liberated.

The Israeli occupation only understands the language of force, and the Palestinians and Arabs must fully understand that they will not be able to confront this entity and its ambitions to occupy Arab lands and control the capabilities of the Arab world unless they are strong with their decision, will, sovereignty, unity and equipment.

Unity and cohesion are the basis of victory in any battle, and it is a message to the two sides of the division, Fatah and Hamas, that this division is like a second Balfour that we are creating with our own hands, and it is considered the greatest danger threatening the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and the destruction of the Palestinian national project.

Peace is one of the available options that the Arabs have repeatedly presented, whether through the Fez Initiative in 1982, or the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to establish a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue in a way that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and in a way that guarantees the right to Return to refugees, but unfortunately these initiatives have always collided with the racism and ambitions of the Israeli occupation, and it is a message to all Arab countries that free peace and normalization at the expense of the Palestinian cause are a reinforcement of the Zionist movement’s plan to control the Arab world and its capabilities and will bring them nothing but destruction and misery.

As for the lesson that the Israeli occupation must understand well, it is that after more than 50 years of the glorious October War and 45 years after signing the peace treaty with Egypt, it has not been able to liquidate the Palestinian cause, nor has it been able to normalize with the heroic Egyptian people, and the resistance in Palestine is still rising. On all fronts, what is happening in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, and the heroics of the Gaza Strip is a clear message that a just and comprehensive peace is not the path to protecting the Palestinian people, as we have a right to be victorious, sooner or later. Rather, it is a path to protect Israel and the future of its generations. We will continue to strive for peace because we are peace advocates, but not at the expense of the rights, dignity and sanctity of the Palestinian people.

On the anniversary of the glorious October War, we salute Egypt and Arab Syria, and we pray for the souls of our martyrs and the martyrs of Egypt, Syria and Jordan who won the battle of dignity and Lebanon and its resistance that defeated the occupation and liberated southern Lebanon and all the martyrs of the Arab world, wherever they fell and however their pure souls ascended to their paradise, and will remain. The blood of the Palestinian martyrs that is shed daily paves the way towards freedom, independence and victory.