Palestine Faces Its Most Dangerous Test: Do We Possess the Courage for Awakening?

The call for a Palestinian awakening, as presented in the previous article, was not an expression of moral inclination or nostalgia for a past national moment, but rather an attempt to seize a harsh historical moment, imposed by the genocide on Gaza, and what it revealed of a comprehensive collapse in protection systems, representation, and meaning. The question today is no longer: do we need an awakening? But rather: does this awakening possess the conditions for realization and the tools to transform into a real political and social path?

There are objective elements that prepare the ground for national revival, even if its realization is not guaranteed. Foremost among these is the profound collective shock caused by the war, not only as acts of genocide but also as a revealing moment of the failure of the international system, the impotence of the existing Palestinian political system, and the closure of horizons before the continuation of the old rules of conflict management.

In addition, the accelerating erosion of the legitimacy of the prevailing political structures stands out, alongside a fateful anxiety that shapes a rising social awareness that transcends, even if partially, the binary division and seeks a new meaning of nationalism that is not reduced to authority or monopolized in the name of resistance. Furthermore, the remarkable transformation in global public opinion, especially in the West, cannot be ignored, where the monopolies of the Israeli narrative have been broken, and a broader moral readiness has emerged to listen to the Palestinian voice, provided this voice is unified, rational, and capable of addressing the world in the language of politics, not merely as a victim.

The awakening: From reaction to historical consciousness

Awakening, in its deep meaning, is neither an explosion of anger nor a fleeting moral awakening, but a transition from a reactive policy to a conscious action policy. It is a moment of collective awareness that old tools are no longer just ineffective but dangerous, and their continuation has become politically, existentially, and morally costly.
Awakenings do not arise solely from the magnitude of tragedy but from the ability to transform tragedy into knowledge, knowledge into organization, and organization into responsible political action. It is not a rupture with resistance but a liberation from monopolization and employment, nor is it a coup against the past but a liberation from its chains.

Why now? A historical window of opportunity

What distinguishes the genocide on Gaza is that it has occurred within a different global context; an unprecedented moral exposure of the international system, tangible fractures in the Israeli narrative within global public opinion, and acute erosion of the legitimacy of existing Palestinian political structures. This timing has created a deep gap between Palestinian society and its political elite, but this gap can potentially transform into a historical bridge if filled with a new national project that redefines politics as a service to the people, not just management of them, representation, not trusteeship; responsibility, not privilege.

The major challenges: Why does the awakening seem highly difficult?

In the face of this opportunity, there is a dense and heavy gear of structural challenges. The division is no longer merely a political disagreement but has become a self-producing system; interests, agencies, mobilization discourses, and mutual fear of accountability. Thus, any real awakening will be perceived as a threat to an existing structure, not just a debatable idea.

In addition, there is a profound societal exhaustion, where anger intersects with fear of change, and despair becomes a form of self-defense. As for the regional environment, it treats Palestine in terms of stability and conflict management, not from the perspective of justice and liberation.

The existing authorities: Embracing discourse and rejecting entitlement

In this context, it is unlikely that the dominant forces in the scene will welcome the idea of awakening as an opportunity for reconstruction.
Hamas may verbally align itself with the vocabulary of awakening, but it will practically hold back from any path that separates resistance from the monopolization of decision-making or redefines the relationship between arms and society.
As for the Palestinian Authority, it will view the awakening as a direct threat to existing balances and will lean towards containing it or emptying it, rather than engaging in a real structural transformation. The problem here is not in intentions but in the logic of authority when it turns into an end in itself.

Palestinians: Between Doubt and Readiness

The Palestinian street, despite its fatigue and frustration, is more ready than it appears to interact with any path that restores its voice and role. The reception will not be immediately enthusiastic but cautious and skeptical, due to long experiences of disappointments. However, this caution can turn into actual support if people sense three clear matters:
First, that this direction does not seek to replace one guardianship with another.
Second, that it does not compromise on rights nor exploit blood in internal conflicts.
Third, that it grants the community a real, not merely symbolic, role. The Palestinians are not looking for new discourses, but rather for a different kind of policy.

The levers and tools capable of turning awakening into reality

Transforming awakening from an idea into a path requires realistic tools, foremost among them:
1.    A carrier that connects the national and the socio-democratic as a vision for the philosophy of governance and administration, and as an independent framework that accommodates vibrant social forces, credible independent figures, serious democratic forces, and social movements especially from youth, women, and refugees, in addition to trade unionists and academics, without claiming exclusive representation or turning into a party.
2.    A minimum national program that does not compete with ideological programs but focuses on rebuilding national representation on democratic foundations, protecting the community from political fragmentation and the threat of social disintegration, and linking resistance to a unified national decision.
3.    Redefining resistance and politics;
Resistance that is not reduced solely to arms, and politics that is not reduced to authority, but in the ability to manage conflict in a way that serves rights and people together.
4.    Tools for popular and community action, from unions, popular committees, and public opinion campaigns, capable of imposing national discussion, not waiting for permission from anyone.
5.    A rational discourse directed outward that addresses the world in the language of law, justice, and human rights, without conceding the essence of the cause.
6. Flexible and dynamic structures and frameworks capable of investing in and developing popular creativity.

The Palestinian community is not a desperate block or outside of history. It is a skeptical society, yes, but it is not indifferent. The long experience has taught it to be cautious of slogans, not to withdraw from politics. Therefore, the reception of any awakening will depend on its sincerity; does it restore people's roles? Does it protect sacrifices from exploitation? Does it open a path, even if long, to salvation? Palestinians do not await miracles, but rather a credible policy.

The Arab and International Dimension: A Conditional Opportunity

The popular Arab mood aligns with any Palestinian direction that restores the moral meaning of the Palestinian cause, but it needs a credible Palestinian carrier that provides it with a political horizon. Arab regimes will deal cautiously, fearing a political model that transcends guardianship. Internationally, popular forces need a rational Palestinian partner, and Palestinians need this moral depth. Official Western entities will try to contain any new path within the logic of "conflict management," while countries of the Global South will find in it an opportunity to enhance their anti-colonial discourse. The Israeli occupation realizes that the most dangerous challenge it faces is not a faction but a collective national project that redefines the conflict outside the binary of security and violence.

From Awareness to Path: The Levers and Tools

Awakening is not measured by the eloquence of texts or the sincerity of intentions, but by its ability to transform into a viable social and political path. Awareness, no matter how mature it may be, remains fragile unless it finds the levers to organize it, tools to protect it, and mechanisms to turn it into an effective force for change.

At the forefront, an independent national framework emerges, neither a new party nor a factional alternative, but a collective and flexible space, drawing its legitimacy from the community rather than authority, and from independence rather than positioning. A framework that does not claim exclusive representation but creates a new moral and political balance in public life.

This is linked to a minimum national program, which does not defer major disagreements nor drown in them, but focuses on clear historical tasks: ending the division as an existential threat that contradicts the national necessity to enhance the ability to persist and withstand, rebuilding political representation, protecting the national fabric of society, and linking all forms of resistance to a collective and responsible national decision.

To transform this program into an act force, peaceful and community pressure tools are necessary: unions, professional associations, youth movements, popular committees, and public opinion campaigns that impose national discussion as a right and restore politics to society after being monopolized for so long by stagnant elites.

Finally, awakening will not be complete without a new political discourse that reconnects the Palestinian interior with the outside, not on the basis of pleading, but on the basis of moral and political partnership, and provides popular allies worldwide with a clear Palestinian title they can defend.

In this sense, the Palestinian awakening is not an event but a moving structure: it nourishes itself from society, pressures authority, confuses the occupation, and addresses the world with confidence.
The Palestinian awakening is neither a promise of quick salvation nor a ready-made recipe for victory, but a difficult commitment to rebuild politics from the bottom up rather than from the top down; from society to leadership, not the other way around.
In an era of genocide, this commitment becomes a form of resistance, as it refuses to convert sacrifices into fuel for stagnation or to reduce the conflict to managing catastrophe rather than seeking to transcend it.

History does not grant peoples many opportunities.
And when it does, it does not forgive squandering them in the name of fear, false realism, or waiting for a miracle that will not come.