Do Not Abandon the Right to Resist Occupation

Author: ابراهيم ابراش

We know that this title will be surprising and may anger the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, and some may say it is out of context with the event and reality, after all that Hamas and armed resistance factions have caused, even indirectly, in terms of death, destruction, and hunger in the Gaza Strip, leading to the entire Palestinian issue falling into a maze and the danger of liquidation. We also understand the fury directed at Hamas in Gaza, even to the absolute rejection of any talk about resistance, steadfastness, and sacrifice, along with all the nonsense from Al Jazeera and its mercenaries. However, in the framework of long-term strategic national thinking, we must distinguish between resisting occupation as a right and principle, on one hand, and what Hamas is doing, which has exploited this right for non-national purposes and whose existence as a group stemming from the Muslim Brotherhood was originally questionable.

The idea of resistance has been distorted when it was limited to direct military action as if it were a war between two states, and it was further distorted when practiced factionally without a national strategy and outside the national framework. It was also twisted when linked to regional axes that have exploited it for purposes other than the Palestinian national interest.
Resistance is not just about weapons; there is cultural, media, economic resistance, and every form of rejecting occupation, exposing its dangers, and asserting Palestinian identity, culture, and narrative is a form of resistance. Consolidating the steadfastness of the people on their land is resistance, indeed the highest form of resistance at this time.

Resistance is not merely bearing arms; it is an integrated cultural, intellectual, social, economic, and humanitarian system, and the flaw lies in the absence of this comprehensive vision for negotiation, both in popular national culture and Islamic religious culture. The flaw worsened when religious groups entered the fray of resistance, linking it to jihad and Islam, and they arrogated to themselves the right to speak on behalf of God. Since these groups are extremist and ignorant of the true concept of Islamic jihad and have excommunicated and betrayed anyone who does not belong to them, even if they are of their faith and homeland, they have distorted national resistance and incited countries around the world to classify it as terrorism.

Therefore, what is required is not to abandon the idea of resisting occupation but to reassess the entire cultural, intellectual, and social system surrounding resistance, especially the Islamic culture propagated by movements and religious channels managed by Western intelligence circles, particularly British and American.

The importance and necessity of strategic thinking about resistance arise from the fact that the struggle with this racist entity will not end with this round of war, regardless of the outcomes. We must not fall under the phobia of Netanyahu's propaganda and his talk of a great and final victory, and the Battle of Gaza is not the main theater of conflict.