To be a resistance fighter or to be a Zionist

When the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was announced on the anniversary of the death of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, an Egyptian newspaper published the next morning a drawing of a broadcaster announcing the latest news of the Arab nation, while the face of the late leader was following him through a picture of him covered in black and a tear drawing sadness on his cheek.

On the same day, my attention fell on a widely circulated comment by an Egyptian citizen on a social media platform, in which he said: “Each of us carries an Arab cry that he does not know where to take it,” and another declared: “Today, the sects have melted and we are left with only two sects, so either you are a resistance fighter or you are a Zionist and that’s it.”

This is not the only echo of our feelings about the major event that took place last week, because there are other echoes whose significance we should not ignore. I was alerted to this by a personal experience I went through recently, when I was invited to a conference in an Arab capital, and at the hotel I tried to follow the news of Gaza through the various news stations, but I was surprised that the hotel blocked them all, so that the news broadcast was limited to one Arab channel that I had heard of but was not a follower of.

Because I had no other choice, I spent four nights watching the news on that channel, and I was surprised that all the news and talk shows expressed the Israeli point of view, and did not mention the Palestinian resistance in any good way.

In our case, whatever observations or reservations we may have about the party’s position in Syria or elsewhere, we should not forget its embrace of Palestine and the heavy price it paid for that. We should also mention this to Iran, with whom we can disagree on everything except the Palestinian issue, especially when the nation’s resolve weakens and the people turn away from the “fundamental” issue for one reason or another.

We should not forget in this context that Netanyahu’s arrogance and exaggerated display of force are intended to distract attention from his stumbling in Gaza and his attempt to erase the traces of shame that haunt him due to the scandal of the exposure of his army and government on October 7. It is worth noting that he and his group have been insisting for decades to convince the Arab world that its real enemy is Iran, not Israel. He has been talking all the time about the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, showing sympathy for the Sunnis, claiming that he is closer to them than those he considered their historical “enemies,” and criticizing the extremism of the Shiites, in contrast to the moderation of the Sunnis, appointing himself, the archenemy, as a jurist among us.

Netanyahu's arrogance, which relies on American support backed by Zionist influence and the Arab absence that raised the banner of silence, and was considered a sign of submission and satisfaction, was added to the weakness of international institutions that no longer respect or take into account the Arabs and their cause, despite recognizing their legal rights.

On the other hand, I add my voice to those who were astonished by the extent of the Israeli penetration of the support front in the manner we read about and saw, especially after it was noted that some of the crimes committed by the occupation and considered victories are primarily due to the penetrations that the enemy was able to achieve, especially in Beirut, which has been a vast field for it for half a century.

On this occasion, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar must be commended for his early interest, since his youth and before his arrest in 1988, in securing the movement, purifying the ranks of the resistance, and fortifying it against infiltration, which cut off the path to all those attempts in a way that ensured their success in their journey in the most delicate and dangerous stages of their launch.

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It is no secret that the Israeli far right now rules Israel and runs the government. At present, all indications are that it is the internal army that controls the West Bank. The Minister of Internal Security, who is one of their symbols, has provided it with more than 200,000 weapons that have been distributed to the most influential settlers throughout the West Bank, who are unfortunately assisted in this by the security coordination elements of the Palestinian Authority.

The popularity of the right-wing parties has also increased to the point that they now represent the majority in parliament, and they are expanding their raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque and seizing Palestinian homes and lands.

The euphoria that Netanyahu expressed recently was transferred to them, such that it raised their morale, so they doubled their raids on Palestinian villages, raised the ceilings of their ambitions, and no longer hesitated to openly adopt the views and dreams of the fathers of Zionism, who promoted the narrative of the "Promised Land" extending from the Nile to the Euphrates. It even became noteworthy that Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, which renewed the Palestinians' dream of regaining their usurped homeland, at the same time mobilized the biblical parties, revived old myths, and renewed their aspiration to extend their authority over all the occupied territories and beyond.

What seems like impossible myths and illusions has been transformed by the Zionist machine into maps drawn on paper and hidden projects around which studies are conducted, funding is collected, and dreams of the future are woven. The eyes of planners look to the Gulf region in the hope that it will play a role, not only in funding, but also in expanding the scope of involvement in the desired formation of the Middle East, which is excluded from being described as Arab; in order to absorb the new arrivals from the region’s invaders.

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This calls us to read Nasrallah’s assassination from another angle, as it occurred about a year after the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which destroyed Israel’s image and exposed it militarily, strategically, intelligence-wise and morally, as the Palestinians dealt with it as an equal whose pride could be challenged. This heralded the birth of a generation of Palestinians who became an existential threat to Israel.

The steadfastness of this generation and the legendary resilience of its popular incubator means that the battle with it will continue, and that as long as these new Palestinians remain on the face of the earth, the Israelis will not rest easy, and they will have no future in Palestine. Therefore, the Zionist mind concluded that the problem lies in the Palestinian existence itself, not in Hamas, and they declared it explicitly when they erased all forms of understanding with the Palestinians, including the Oslo Accords and the agreement to demarcate the maritime borders with Lebanon, and they practically closed in their political discourse any talk about the two-state solution.
This background explains the Israeli behavior in Gaza, Rafah, and the West Bank, as well as the continued raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut and the killing of Sayyed Nasrallah, as he is one of the symbols of resistance and support that are intended to disappear. This is not the end of the road, of course, because the chains must continue through continued pressure to weaken Hezbollah and silence the voice of resistance in South Yemen and Iraq.

Striking Iran will be the final link in the effort to dry up the sources of funding and support. If this is achieved, it will relieve the Israelis, the Americans, and those around them, as the Palestinians will be left without support or help, and the page on the Iranian nuclear project will be turned. Thus, no voice will be raised in solidarity or condemnation, and the Arab world will continue its traditional silence, returning to its position as spectators to what is happening.

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I don’t think it will happen, and I don’t hope it will. But I can imagine how Israel, the United States, and their allies think about the Middle East they are waving. But I am sure of one thing in this case: if the invaders succeed, their allies among the owners of the land in the Arab world will be no better off than the Palestinians of our time.

*Quoted from Al Jazeera Net