Last week’s encounter in the Palestinian town of Tell, in which 4 Palestinians and 2 Israelis were killed, shatters the foolish lie of wayward youth and spontaneous, isolated incidents. The Palestinians were not terrorists. This is a plan: attack Palestinian areas deeper and deeper inside the West Bank, to force them to leave.
Rights groups and Palestinian officials report homes burned, civilians injured and arrests following deadly clashes near Nablus
The rebellion did not start where standard military analysts expected it to—it ignited in a small farming town among people who decided that fighting back was the only response left to quiet, gradual annihilation.
Palestinian group rejects accusations it committed atrocities and lays out motivation for attack two years ago in 42-page document
Calling Hamas “terrorist” is an attempt to delegitimize the struggle of a people seeking freedom, justice, and self-determination. The truth is that Israel, as the occupying power, systematically violates international law, practices apartheid, and commits war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Before the birth of modern Israel, Zionist groups – newly arrived in Palestine – engaged in armed struggle against the British military, whom they labelled as “occupiers.” But now that the tables have turned (and the UN has enshrined the right of armed struggle as a vehicle of indigenous liberation) the Israeli occupation refuses to recognize the Palestinian resistance as legitimate.
Israeli military lives lost, while tragic, are sacrifices made willingly by the occupier who is fully aware that the resistance is ongoing.
Palestinians’ struggle for self-determination is a difficult, costly march; yet history teaches there is simply no other choice. Silence is surrender. To be silent is to betray all those who have come before and all those yet to follow.