Resistance movements in Gaza are responding to a wave of popular anger over Israeli provocations in Jerusalem and at al-Aqsa.
Bashar TalebAPA images
As
I write, the building I live in here in Gaza is shaking continuously.
Above us, Israeli F-16 warplanes pummel us with a seemingly endless
barrage of bombs.
I am writing amid a rapid flow of developing events, so it is certain
that by the time this is published, many things may have changed, but I
am trying to highlight the general features of this current round of
escalation in Palestine.
The escalation began in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, in a
series of provocations carried out by the Israeli occupation
authorities.
The first in this series was the decision to prevent Palestinians
from gathering at Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) in Jerusalem in late
April. This sparked a series of protests which eventually forced Israel to rescind the order.
Another – ongoing – provocation, which drew some international attention, is the expulsion orders pending against Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah that Israeli courts have granted to Israeli settlers.
A third Israeli provocation was the storming of al-Aqsa mosque
during prayers on the morning of Friday, 7 May. Israeli forces fired
tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets onto worshippers, resulting in
over 200 injuries.
In a fourth provocation, settlers announced that on 10 May they would march through Jerusalem to celebrate what they term Jerusalem Day. The intention was to march near al-Aqsa mosque.
This march escalated into a fifth provocation on the morning of 10
May as, for the second time in a week, Israeli forces stormed al-Aqsa, attacking worshippers praying inside and ransacking the sacred site. More than 300 Palestinians were injured.
A wave of anger
These provocations persisted throughout Ramadan, and caused a wave of
anger to sweep through Palestinians across their homeland. Protests
broke out in Haifa, Jaffa, Ramallah and Gaza.
In Gaza, demonstrators called on the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing
of Hamas, to intervene. Palestinians in Gaza strongly supported the need
for a swift response by resistance factions to retaliate for the
violations in Jerusalem.
I read what seemed like hundreds of messages from activists on social
media asking Hamas why they were late in retaliating. Taxi drivers and
shopkeepers, ordinary folks on the street: Everyone was posing the same
question.
Eventually, Qassam issued a warning that Israeli troops had two hours to evacuate al-Aqsa, lift the siege of the murabitoun – the faithful who remain at the site around the clock in order to protect it with their presence – and release all prisoners.
As the deadline expired, and Israel failed to respond, Qassam fired a burst of rockets towards Jerusalem.
The Israeli military responded by bombarding the city of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Nine people, including three children, were killed there as they were preparing to break their fasts.
Gaza freedom fighters kept retaliating and Israel expanded its bombardments to include residential homes.
The Israeli air force destroyed several residential towers that also accommodated dozens of media offices and commercial establishments.
Israel also attacked police offices and several government buildings, all civilian targets.
Why it’s different
The current escalation is distinguished by the fact that the
Palestinian people demanded a response to the practices of the Israeli
occupation. Hamas, in responding, is being considered heroic.
There is no public judgment or denunciation of Hamas’ decision to
act, even when citizens are paying the harshest price of Israeli
aggression, losing their loved ones and their homes.
It is clear in Gaza that Palestinians remain firm in their belief in resistance as the pathway to liberation from occupation.
This round of fighting is also significant because it came as a response to continuous violations in Jerusalem.
All previous rounds of Hamas escalation have been provoked by Israeli
aggression on the Gaza Strip. Thus, when Jerusalem called for Gaza’s
aid, and Gaza rose to defend Jerusalem, this amplified the burgeoning
sense of Palestinian national unity and liberated the Palestinian
resistance from its isolation in Gaza.
Whether in Gaza or anywhere else in Palestine, Palestinians struggle
against the occupation, whose attacks and violations affect them
everywhere.
This escalation has also been characterized by an increasingly
defiant spirit within the resistance factions. The cancelation of the
“Jerusalem Day” march was an early victory.
The reality of suffering and tragedy is always present in Israeli
aggressions on Gaza. Still, this time, the escalation feels meaningful,
it feels heroic.
People across Palestine desperately needed someone to make them feel
supported and defended. Palestinians need to feel they are not paying
the price alone. It is therefore hugely significant that resistance has
exploded across historic Palestine.
Israel has been committed to destroying the Palestinian identity,
especially in deliberately economically deprived cities, towns and
villages inside the 1948 boundaries – the areas where the state of
Israel was declared that year, during the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of
Palestine.
Mass protests in those areas, the torching of police stations and the
replacement of Israeli flags with Palestinian flags, all seem like a
new revival of the Palestinian spirit.
Palestinians are still deeply rooted in their land, clinging to their
identity, their deep sense of unity is more significant than any
factors that may divide, and their ability to survive Israel’s terror
and crimes never ceases to amaze.
Israel has a powerful arsenal of missiles, and in an attempt to
recover lost dignity in the face of Palestinian resistance, Israel
continues to commit crimes against civilians in Gaza.
Yet, Israeli power does not ensure legitimacy or stability. The
Zionist project in Palestine is alien to this land, and all efforts to
neutralize or eject the Palestinian presence have failed for more than
70 years.
The Palestinian people may weaken, but they will not die. They have the will to fight until the end and certain victory.
Ahmed Abu Artema is a writer who lives in Gaza and a researcher at the Center for Political and Development Studies.
