"Factions" of National Disappointment

Author

Al-Mutawakkil Taha

The strange and alarming thing is that after three years of extended and brutal extermination, and after hundreds of thousands of victims and rubble, all Palestinian factions have not been able, or perhaps do not want, to unite, to have a single program, a single rhythm, and comprehensive representation under one umbrella! Then, in the face of the question of legislative elections, they convened for a non-meeting for factional dialogue?! As if two decades of fragmentation and atrocities were not enough for dialogue! What kind of absurdity, lightness, and superficiality is this? Is this not a cause for questioning and regret? What will unite us if what has happened does not unite us? The Palestinian "national unity" is the lost "Kafkaesque doll" that we have not found anyone to compensate us for... even with words and promises. What is happening means one thing, which is that there are no opposing or loyal factions, except in form... and that the existence of a national movement is mere pretense, fabrication, and illusion. The strangest thing is that these forces have suddenly realized the necessity of uniting their scattered selves, or starting a serious dialogue, as if what has passed did not push them to feed their horse until the day of the race! Is this naivety, opportunism, or flimsy excuses? This reminds one of the story of the groom who did not know he was a groom until the night of the "consummation"!

These "factions" will work on reproducing themselves, with the same failed and disappointing faces, in every race and conference, and they will try to seize all positions, posts, and pivotal points. In the best-case scenario, they will bring in domesticated faces, ready to justify and cheerlead, to cover up the violations and corruption they commit, with a supposed discourse that claims strength and purity!

Those who have destroyed the national movement, through the gateway of governance or opposition, in a strategically systematic manner, have merged with the opposite, and have continued their role in eliminating every idea and principle... or through neutrality, sulking, and adventures...

I ask; do those who want to postpone the elections only now realize the situation in Gaza and Jerusalem? It is something that drives one to madness and laughter. Were they not aware of the supposed alliances on the Palestinian scene? Does democracy have to be tailored to the whims of certain individuals, or it won't exist at all? What does this mean? The disdain for all our capabilities, rights, future, and traditions is a confirmation of a crisis that has surpassed the circumstances and structure, reaching an existential crisis.

Are we so troubled to the point of tragedy, having lost trust in each other, in ourselves, and in our future?

We insult our symbols and belittle them, and we cannot produce new symbols. We revert to ourselves to tear ourselves apart! We resort to the ultimate language, meaning we deify ourselves and demonize our national opponents, losing the ability to dialogue and listen. We tend to belong to narrow circles, whether they be sectarian, geographical, or political factions. Often, the defeated imitate their enemies and resemble their opposites. Political collapse begets moral and value collapses. Voices of frustration and cries for help and confusion rise, and it seems that belonging to salvation or the homeland is a form of absurdity and folly, with the vocabulary of despair and hopelessness increasing, making it appear as if hope has died! We seek personal salvation instead of collective salvation.

Our people have been shocked after the horrific genocide, which has produced a general state of fear, leading to personal salvation, only to discover that personal salvation will lead to nothing and will not protect them. This drives some individuals and voices to seek some form of collective salvation, which is a difficult and complex matter. I believe that our people, who have collided with all closed walls and seen that the factions have exhausted their roles, may sacrifice governance to restore the idea of liberation... what is happening with violations, arrogance, and poverty will find no outlet except through explosion. Beware! The ghosts are still on every road, behind every wall and door.

Responsibility is more related to awareness than to courage, and people are allies of their days, interests, or simple needs. Politics is voluntary or violent rape. Something may happen that is like the drop that overflows the cup, or the straw that breaks the camel's back, meaning that there are invisible accumulations that are brewing and growing, waiting for that drop to spill over... meaning; what happened was not born of its moment, nor will what will happen occur 'suddenly'! We must fear for everything that concerns us and do the impossible to preserve and protect it, if we want our land, or what remains of it, to be a land of justice and hope for generations. For he who fears nothing loves nothing, and we fear for our dream, our land, our blood, our families, our constants, our rights, and our children who have not yet been born.

What happened on the seventh of October, and the horrific massacre that occurred, is outside the box of the usual and the expected. Therefore, addressing it and reflecting on it requires a new language, and it is necessary to think about it with tools from outside the box. O factions that are fragmented and silent, you did not move a muscle in the face of the bloodshed of settlement and forms of annihilation, but you rush and become active in front of elections and the pursuit of self-affirmation!

It is not permissible for any Palestinian, from now on, to reproduce any ready-made and pre-prepared statement, as its destruction is certain. Nor should they repeat any available thought, or derive any vision from it, or utter those stammerings that have led us to the abyss.

Yes! I call for a reconsideration, reflection, and deep exploration of everything we have said, decided, believed in, and acted upon, or that has guided us. Because, simply and briefly, its invalidity and failure have been proven, if I may say it conspired against us.

The Palestinians are on a date with salvation, but they are also on a near date with truths and news that will astonish them! They will strike one hand with the other and regret what has happened from disgusting conspiracies and suspicious arrangements that stood behind what has happened and is happening! The Palestinians are on a near date with the heavy repercussions that blood, rubble, settlement, and poverty have left behind, which necessitates a different plan to absorb and overcome this stickiness and the monstrous clouds of smoke!

Israel has proven, during its ongoing blatant aggression, with all its human mass, that it is our complete opposite, incapable of understanding or coexisting with. We have seen decisive signals over the decades that this entity is not amenable to any form of acceptance, cooperation, or agreement. The only remaining outcome is: either us or them, on this land, as long as they remain in their current state and positions. There should be no betting on any coming or going party.

The savage Zionist-American alliance, extending from here to there, passing through the hot ocean around us, is the scandal of the age. Therefore, it is not permissible to bet on or await hope from the American killers' allies.

No one claims to possess the ability or capability to formulate the necessary strategy that must exist, based on a suitable intellectual foundation, relying on itself and depending on itself, and sufficing with what it has, without extending its hand to what others have in terms of ideas, sayings, or theories. Simply put; because it is mere claims, and because it is deception, illusion, hallucination, hypocrisy, lies, and charlatanism, which has produced for us nothing but what we see as complete hell.

It is necessary to derive a phrase that returns the stones of the house to the wall, restores the farmer to his plundered olive tree, and pushes the spring to flow between the hills, while the sun rises over a new land free of strangers and killers.