On a Knife’s Edge...

Darko Lazar

A recently published article in Britain's ‘The Guardian' was titled "Is the third Palestinian intifada on the way - or has it already begun?" Countless global media outlets are all asking the same question: is the recent spike in violence across the occupied West Bank the start of the third intifada [uprising]?

However, the question in itself is misleading. It suggests that Palestinian resistance to the decades-long "Israeli" occupation is behind the recent increase in hostilities. The truth is that Palestinian resistance is as constant as the "Israeli" occupation. The level of reactionary violence is indeed dictated by the actions of the occupying power.

Vanessa Beeley, a volunteer with the ‘Global Campaign to Return to Palestine' NGO, tells me that, "[she] would not necessary call it the third intifada. The intifada has never ended, in that Palestinian resistance to "Israeli" brutality and oppression is an ongoing struggle, but we are now seeing an escalation in the "Israeli" colonialist terrorization of the Palestinian people, and we will see an uprising commensurate with that "Israeli" abuse and vicious murdering."

The events of the past few weeks, which have seen an increase in the frequency of "Israeli" attacks on Palestinians opposing the occupation, appear to be leading up to another genocidal massacre of the Palestinian populace.

According to anti-war activist and New York-based radio host, Don DeBar, "the successive rounds of "Israeli" military assaults on Gaza in particular, and Palestinians in general, have usually been preceded by the type of violence we are seeing now."
"Israel" has killed at least thirteen Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza since October 1st, and the majority of them have been teenagers. The rise in violence is attributed to the "Israeli" encroachment on the al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds, the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. The Israelis make no secret of the fact that they would like to construct a temple of their own on the al-Aqsa site.

To make matters even worse, the Palestinians can expect very little in the way of support from their local leadership in Ramallah. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who enjoys a cozy relationship with Tel Aviv, largely through "security cooperation" with the occupation forces, has recently taken to issuing public warnings that if the "Israelis" do not cool emotions, particularly at al-Aqsa, a third intifada will undoubtedly flare up. He has, however, certainly not been doing so at his own behest. 

"The Palestinian Security force that Abbas operates in the West Bank routinely harasses and arrests Palestinian activists who mobilize street protests against the Israeli occupation. In fact, the 10,000 member Palestinian Authority security force was physically trained by an American General named Keith Dayton who once bragged that the main impetus of the security apparatus organized under his tutelage was to crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank. Many Western governments give hundreds of millions in financial aid to Abbas's Palestinian Authority government because it functions as a de facto puppet of the "Israeli" regime and enforces Tel Aviv's brutal 'security' measures in the West Bank." says independent writer and journalist, Brandon Martinez.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in September, President Abbas appeared to be pleading with the "Israeli" Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. 

"My hands as President of the Palestinian National Authority have proven to be tied time and time again. Mr. Netanyahu, I can no longer bear the enormous responsibility of speaking for a voiceless people, for I am mute," Mr. Abbas stated.

A few hours later, Mr. Abbas attended a ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, where the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time in a symbolic move recognizing Palestinian aspirations for statehood. Not surprisingly, this did little to discourage the "Israelis" from detaining and shooting at more Palestinians thousands of miles away.
According to Beeley, "Any intifada that now escalates will be of the people and for the people of Palestine, and will be neither controlled nor inhibited by Abbas. We are past the point of no return; "Israel" has pushed the Palestinian people to the brink of destruction, and has left them no other choice but violent armed resistance."

Intent on stifling the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, Tel Aviv pushed through fresh legislation earlier this year, which calls for Palestinian protesters hurling stones at "Israeli" troops - who often respond with live rounds - to be imprisoned for up to twenty years. Aside from essentially labeling the stone throwers as "terrorists", the new legislation also classifies anyone expressing solidarity with the Palestinian resistance as a "terrorist". 

The so-called "price tag" attacks carried out by "Israeli" settlers have also spiked. One of the more prominent incidents involved an arson attack on a Palestinian family in late July of this year, resulting in the death of three people, including 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh, who was burned alive in the ensuing blaze.

Richard Sudan is a pro-Palestinian activist based in London. He was on a recent flotilla attempting to break the "Israeli" siege of the Gaza Strip. When I asked him for his take on the escalation of violence in occupied Palestine he quoted Malcolm X: "There can be no peace without freedom."

Richard went on to say that, "while Gaza is under constant siege, it is crucial for us to remember that the struggle for self-determination and for the realization of full human rights continues throughout the whole of Palestine, including the West Bank. "Israel" seems intent on squeezing the very lifeblood from the Palestinians, intent on controlling and stopping Palestinians from visiting holy cherished sites, as is their right, as well as stifling the economy."

Given the current reality on the ground, it would be a futile exercise to count the number of intifadas. The Palestinian struggle has long since surpassed a struggle for independence. It is a struggle for survival, which began with the "Israeli" occupation and will only conclude when the "Israelis" have left Palestine.

Source: al-Ahed News 

10-10-2015 | 11:15

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