On the Anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood: Towards a Deep and Bold Review

Author: Hani Al-Masri

The Palestinian situation on the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa flood needs a deep and bold review of itself and of the experiences that preceded it since the launch of the Palestinian revolution until today: Where did we go wrong and where did we succeed? And why has the Palestinian people not triumphed despite decades of resistance, sacrifices, immense suffering, and heroic valor? What are the requirements for a new beginning that can lead to victory?

It is not sufficient to summarize the matter by saying that the flood caused a catastrophe and human extermination, nor by saying that the Oslo option and negotiations caused a catastrophe and political extermination. What happened is that all strategies have reached a dead end, as evidenced by the fact that the situation of the cause on the ground of conflict is worse than it was before Oslo. It is not useful to place the blame solely on the negotiations, even though they bear a significant share of the responsibility, nor on the resistance alone, as resistance is a means and not an end, and treating it and negotiations as an end is one of the major mistakes.

It is true that the resistance made significant mistakes and did not achieve victory, but without it, the cause would not have remained alive, half of the people would not have remained on their homeland, and the cause would not have been carried by its children inside and outside. Without it, it would have remained a humanitarian issue concerning individuals, not a cause of a people with rights, foremost among them the right to self-determination. This is precisely what is intended today: to revert it to a humanitarian issue concerning individuals and an authority managing them under occupation, until the Zionist colonial project, which is still open, can complete its major objectives. This project has not yet achieved its goals: it has not gathered all or most of the Jews in the 'Promised Land,' nor has it displaced all or most of the Palestinians. However, it seeks to expel as many of them as possible so that its entity can be a pure Jewish state, practicing apartheid against those Palestinians who remain under its sovereignty, and there is no danger of it transforming into a bi-national state or a state for all its citizens.

After the deep and bold review, it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive vision that includes a new formulation of the national project, defining the political program, and from which a unified leadership and institutions will emerge, along with appropriate strategies.

Lessons Learned

The Foundation Principle: The unity of the cause, land, people, and historical narrative is the cornerstone.

Dimensions of the Cause: The cause is Palestinian in face, Arab in heart, and global in its dimensions and aspects. It is not permissible to obscure its Palestinian character, nor to exaggerate its 'Palestinization' to the extent that its Arab, liberation, and humanitarian dimensions are neglected.

Immediate Goals: Major goals do not negate the importance of defining direct, achievable goals, the accumulation of which leads to the larger objectives. This should not be based on the principle of 'something is better than nothing,' nor on the principle of 'everything or nothing.'

Forms of Struggle: They are not idols to be worshipped but means to achieve goals. Those that are adopted must blend rights with feasibility, and be proportionate to their ability to achieve the objectives.

Resistance and Negotiations: Resistance plants, and negotiations harvest; those who do not plant do not harvest.

National Unity: Unity based on common denominators, within a pluralistic, participatory, and democratic national framework, is neither impossible nor a luxury nor an unnecessary matter; rather, it is the law of victory for any national liberation movement.

The National Character of the Cause: Its fundamental nature is national, and it is capable of uniting the national liberal, national Islamic, national patriotic, and international national currents, without being an appendage to any of them.

Interconnection of Tasks: Achieving national liberation tasks requires a long time due to the nature of the conflict, the size of the enemy, and the imbalance of power. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the national from the democratic and social, nor can national liberation tasks be fulfilled while neglecting democratic building tasks.

Justice of the Cause and Non-Alignment: The cause is just and morally superior, gathering support from diverse parties. Therefore, it should not align with one axis against another, but rather serve as a basis for rallying support from different axes.

International transformations: The old unipolar world is collapsing, and a multipolar world is advancing, even if it is not always a straight path forward and at the desired speed. It is a continuous path that will lead to a better world than the old one. It is essential to ensure that Palestine is included in its new map, and this is not a given if the Palestinians do not act wisely.

Democracy: Democracy is a necessity, with elections at its forefront. However, what suits liberation movements facing existential challenges and dangers is consensus democracy based on the rules of front work, not the rule of 'the majority governs and the minority opposes,' which is suitable for independent sovereign states.