When Oppression Intensifies,

Resistance Becomes Necessary

The world is not governed by law, or at least not in practice. Nor is there any respect for the UN Charter, no matter how often it is invoked by hypocritical western regimes. People’s basic rights and dignity are trampled with impunity. Unfortunately, the world operates on the basis of might is right. The militarily powerful states and groups terrorize and oppress the weak and vulnerable. What is happening in Gaza and the rest of Palestine is clear proof of this dictum. The oppression of Palestinians has gone on for decades. In fact, it started even before the illegitimate zionist entity was planted on the land of the Palestinian people. The settler colonial entity has no right to exist.

The overwhelming majority of its population comprises intruders from Eastern and Western Europe as well as North America. Their illegal settlement in Palestine was facilitated by the British in the middle of the last century. Today, the settler entity is fully backed by the US, itself a settler colony of Europeans who perpetrated a genocide of the indigenous population. The zionists are busy indulging in the same policy in Palestine today.

Will they succeed? Their chances do not look promising although it is not for lack of trying. Since October 7, 2023, the zionists have murdered in cold blood some 18,000 Palestinian children and another 21,000 are missing, buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. They are almost certainly dead. The zionists are guilty of infanticide on an industrial scale. The Palestinians’ overall death toll has surpassed 40,000. A recent study by the British medical journal, The Lancet, estimates that the death toll in Gaza may be as high as 186,000. Incessant forcible displacement of the civilian population from one place to another, to be slaughtered like cattle in the new “safe zone”, using starvation as a weapon of war and the prevention of medicines to treat the thousands of injured are all meant to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from their own land. What choices are the Palestinians left with?

Should they flee in the face of such brutality so that the marauding zionists can take over even the tiny sliver of land of Gaza as they did with the rest of Palestine 1947-1948 and 1967? Should they stay put in their bombed-out homes so that they can be slaughtered in cold blood? Or, they should stand up and fight the occupiers? This is what the Palestinians have decided to do. Despite the odds, they are standing up to zionist brutality. Regardless of the vile propaganda hurled at them, the long-oppressed Palestinians have an inherent right to resist their occupiers. This right has been recognized in international law as well as affirmed by several United Nations General Assembly resolutions. International law also states that the occupier has no right to self-defense. Occupation itself is a crime. A murderer or thief cannot claim self-defense if the victim rises up to defend himself/herself against the perpetrator. Given this context, we must look at the Palestinian resistance that has risen up to face zionist savagery.

Hamas is in the forefront of this resistance. They derive their strength from Islam. They are not only not afraid of the heavily-armed Israeli soldiers but have also inspired the Palestinian people to show resilience and steadfastness. Zionist Israel’s US-supplied planes, missiles, tanks and heavy machine guns do not intimidate them. The Islamic resistance relies not on weapons but on. They are secure in the knowledge that victory will bring them liberation from the clutches of the zionist war criminals. Death means martyrdom, the highest reward Allah (SWT) offers to those who strive in His way. Either way, they win.

If war planes, missiles, artillery and guns were enough to win wars, the US would have won in Vietnam and Afghanistan, the French in Algeria and the zionists in Palestine. While the oppressors are capable of killing millions of innocent people—this is what they have done throughout history—it has not brought them victory. In every conflict, they have suffered a humiliating defeat. The zionists will face the same ignominious fate in Palestine. The heavily-armed Israeli soldiers are terrified of facing the intrepid Islamic fighters. This is what explains the zionists’ brutal attacks on civilians and their infrastructure—homes, hospitals, schools, universities, shelters and even water treatment plants. They carry out such attacks in frustration. Hitting soft targets is easy.

If even a tenth of such suffering had been inflicted on the zionists, they would have fled long ago. This is not conjecture. A new survey published on July 17 by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) shows that about 25 percent of Jewish Israelis would flee, if there was a practical way to do so. This is a new phenomenon for the colonial-settler entity. It has thrived on bringing Jews from all over the world to populate the land of Palestine. The illegal intruders in Palestine are beginning to find that life is not what was promised to them. There are risks involved. They did not come to occupied Palestine to face risks or even get killed. That is not fun. Better flee while there is an opportunity.

All this is the direct result of the resistance put up by Hamas and the people of Gaza. The murderous thugs of the Israeli army are exhausted. Their commanders openly admit that they cannot go on like this for much longer. Despite an endless supply of weapons from the US, their equipment, especially armor is badly depleted. The Israeli news portal Ynet reported recently that the Israeli military is suffering from a shortage of tanks, ammunition, and experienced officers. This is due to losses suffered in the war in Gaza. Without their tanks, Israeli soldiers feel extremely vulnerable. The zionist army has not only suffered massive casualties—deaths and injuries—many soldiers also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). How long can they last?

The oppressors’ tactic is to terrorize their victims by indulging in wholesale slaughter. If the victims decide to stand up and fight, it radically transforms the situation. This is what is happening in Gaza.

Link: https://crescent.icit-digital.org/articles/when-oppression-intensifies-resistance-becomes-necessary