Tell me with whose sword you strike and I will tell you who you are!
Some Palestinian brothers reproached us after we published 'Days from the Launch of the Third Intifada,' our article addressing the events in occupied Palestine, naming what is happening a Third Intifada... Following the reproach came criticism that we were reckless in our assessment... We remained silent and did not respond, giving time and events to prove what we wrote and confirm our scrutiny of reality...
Now, after seven weeks since the outbreak of the Third Intifada in occupied Palestine, and the entry of its activities into a special qualitative phase in addition to the distinctive quality with which it began, I do not think anyone who wields the sword of resistance and believes in the Palestinian people's right to victory and expelling the occupation can close their eyes to reality and call it otherwise. To avoid misunderstanding, this is neither a challenge nor a competition but a realistic strategic reflection in a very critical phase requiring everyone to leave the tactical shell and ascend the confrontation platform with clarity of vision, political stance, and strategic direction.
Specifically in this context, it is not only our right but also our duty to ask those still determined not to call it an intifada: What is our national interest in downplaying the importance and significance of such an event happening now? And what is your personal and factional interest in that? Why do you remain determined to bleat? Why does the official Palestinian media still try as much as possible to ignore the intifada? Who issued the decree requesting no official participation in the funerals of intifada martyrs? I do not pose these questions to you, esteemed leaders of the PLO factions and the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Palestine, for you to answer, as I, like the majority of my people in occupied Palestine and the diaspora, understand your reality and the fact that not all of you wield the sword of the Palestinian people for multiple reasons, but I pose the question to your base hoping it awakens from its deep slumber and shouts in your faces... Enough...
Criticism did not stop there. Some brothers criticized us for using an intifada logo designed by the executive office member of the community, the technical officer, and second-generation official in the Palestinian community – Germany, brother Youssef Taha. The logo contains the word 'Intifada' in Latin and Arabic letters, with the second 'Alif' in 'Intifada' designed as the map of historic Palestine. (Logo attached for clarification). Despite their small number, the critics crossed a red line of Palestinian national constants, reflecting the nesting of the Oslo surrender culture in their minds and the complete loss of their compass. According to them, using the historic Palestine map embarrasses 'their German and European friends' because it implies we do not accept the state of Israel and that we are working to 'liberate all of Palestine!' In other words, they say this logo means rejecting the two-state solution!
Usually, personal criticisms directed at us do not concern us, and we consider them a stance we try to read calmly to extract lessons, but silence over the chatter of political amateurs, especially when it desecrates national taboos, becomes an unforgivable sin. Therefore, I try to be positive about this nonsense and this Oslo culture briefly:
1. The historic Palestine map is an expression of the national identity and belonging of the entire Palestinian people wherever they are. Renouncing this belonging and identity is not the right of anyone among the Palestinian leaders, let alone those critics who are political amateurs!
2. The two-state solution cannot mean that we give up the right of return for Palestinian refugees, nor does it mean that our brothers in 1948 occupied Palestine give up their Arab Palestinian identity and their roots deeply embedded in the land and map of Palestine despite Zionist attempts for over seventy years to sever their national roots and isolate them from their people, identity, nation, and history.
3. The historic Palestine map has been and remains the emblem of the PLO in all its literature and leadership presence. For those who have forgotten this emblem, we remind them of the keffiyeh of the iconic leader Abu Ammar, who proudly wore it on his head until the hands of traitors reached him.
4. The Palestine map expresses the PLO's stance since 1974 when it adopted the phased program culminating in the establishment of a secular democratic Palestinian state where all followers of heavenly religions live equally.
5. A friend, whether foreign or Arab, who tries to convince us to give up our national identity and our national constants for the sake of the flawed two-state solution is a fox in sheep's clothing whose sole concern is supporting the Zionist colonial project in historic Palestine and consolidating its usurpation of our land and desecration of our Palestinian Arab identity. We need honorable friends who raise the banner of true peace by realizing the full rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination on their land, the return of their refugees, compensation for their material, psychological, social, and developmental losses since the rape of their homeland and their displacement from their land.
In conclusion, we say to these brothers that when we analyze a political reality, we base this analysis on deep scrutiny of the event and all its aspects, working to read reality calmly and scientifically, fully aware and convinced that we do not strike blindly when we deduce a certain matter from the political reality. We do not claim perfection, but our past analyses prove our scientific and realistic approach through scrutiny, comprehension, and deduction. Our use of some terms and slogans is not for whimsy but results from a firm conviction and a clear, deliberate strategy.
