Due to its geopolitical position and the approach adopted by Palestinian fighters, Gaza enjoys an advantage in comparison with the West Bank. This approach by the Palestinian fighters has the potential to be used as an example of battle in other areas, including the West Bank, and even an example of battle for Palestinians who are living under the rule of the Zionists in the occupied territories. The point that is obvious in the incidents of the past 70 or even 100 years (since the occupation of territories by the English) is that Palestinian leaders – be it in the West Bank or in Gaza – and of course the approximately 5 million Palestinians living in their motherland, have long-term experience in confronting the occupiers of al-Quds with “negotiations and political measures” on the one hand and “armed resistance” on the other. This issue can be evaluated and analyzed in two areas:
1. The Performance of Palestinian Residents
2. The Performance of the Supporters of Palestine
* The Performance of Palestinian Residents
The Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank have shown for years through the Intifada and through Armed Resistance (in Gaza) that they have the necessary preparation to create a powerful chain of Armed Resistance for militarily confronting the Zionist soldiers inside occupied Palestine – of course, through asymmetric and unconventional warfare. A case in point is the sporadic armed operations in the West Bank, even the martyrdom-seeking car bombings and the use of cold weapons, which we have witnessed many times. Similarly, it is as clear as day that Armed Resistance in Gaza over the past 20 years has been highly effective in thwarting the periodic incursions by the Zionist army.
Therefore, the Palestinians are completely prepared to confront the occupiers of al-Quds, both in terms of social unity (Intifada) and in terms of military harmony (armed battle). However, it is open to debate and analysis why the Islamic Resistance Movement in Gaza has achieved considerable success while the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has gone from being autonomous to being shaky, such that the Zionist regime regularly speaks of annexing it to the other occupied territories.
* The Performance of the Supporters of Palestine
The victory of the Islamic Revolution can be considered to be the root cause behind a great and serious transformation regarding the issue of Palestine. Everything started when the revolutionaries in Iran drove out the Zionist elements from Iran and established the Embassy of Palestine in Tehran. In recent years, Iran has elevated its efforts to the point that the Islamic Resistance Movement in Gaza can now stand on its own feet in that small strip of land and produce its own weapons. This idea for the domestic production of defense weaponry has been a successful endeavor in Gaza and Lebanon, and this idea was subsequently used in other territories throughout the world of Islam to confront the enemy incursions, particularly in Iraq and Syria, which doubled the success of this advance by the Islamic Republic.
Overall, Iran’s performance over the past four decades can be analyzed in two areas:
A) Performance inside Palestine
B) Performance around Palestine
From the first years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic has made numerous efforts to help the Palestinians. It started by helping to organize resistance groups throughout the region, particularly organizing Hezbollah in Lebanon and Islamic Jihad in Palestine. Soon afterwards, the Resistance achieved its first victories. Similarly, inside Palestine, the unification and building of networks between the original cores of Resistance in Gaza and even the West Bank was a serious priority for Iran. By forming new axes of resistance such as Hamas – which is, of course, a combination of Armed Resistance and Political Resistance – Iran was able to build a bright future for the large-scale project devised to liberate the occupied Palestinian lands. This convergence of Resistance groups gave rise to numerous powerful, unconventional military units to confront the occupiers. The result was clearly manifested in the 22-Day War and the 8-Day War. In practice, this reduced the Zionist regime’s dream of using military tactics to expand its territorial rule from the Nile to the Euphrates to a mere battle to maintain control over the borders of the occupied territories. This was the first step towards liberating Holy al-Quds.
The campaign to create turbulence in the region in order to consolidate the rule of the occupiers in Palestine may be considered to be the last-ditch effort of the Zionists and their supporters. They dispatched the ISIS, the Nusra Front and tens of other terrorist groups throughout the region to destroy overnight the 40 years of achievements gained by the Islamic Republic and the Quds Force of the IRGC in building a network of Resistance in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and to essentially neutralize the foreign threats facing the Zionists.
The performance of Iran and the camp of Resistance in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon has been such that if at one time approaching the occupied Golan Heights and Palestinian borders was a dream for the military units of the Resistance camp, today this has become a reality that may be seen. A large number of military units affiliated with Islamic Resistance in the region have been stationed all around the occupied territories.
The truth is that the siege of the occupied territories has grown tighter in recent years and Resistance Forces have reached the borders of dear Palestine. This means the Resistance camp has a higher hand for liberating Palestine. However, there is an urgent need in this regard, which is a missing link in the chain that has been built in recent years but which will take longer to complete.
Perhaps the most fundamental need for the Palestinians is arming them, creating axes that complete the Armed Resistance in the occupied lands and forming new militant groups among the several hundred thousand Palestinians living in Jordan. This is something that the Axis of Resistance is aware of. As a result, it has not and will not spare any efforts to achieve this.
In the mean time, the West Bank is of special importance, and many believe that this region is an important key to resolving the issue of Palestine and liberating Holy al-Quds. Since approximately 40 to 50 years ago, the West Bank has been involved in a political game and futile negotiations. Unfortunately, today it has reached a point where the Zionists – who once recognized the Palestinian Authority – are now speaking of annexing the territory to Israel, and this means the end of the project aimed at negotiations. This must be turned into the beginning of the process of Armed Resistance. The idea of arming the West Bank may be considered the most important operational plan by the Islamic Republic of Iran to create Armed Resistance in the West Bank, which was proposed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in recent years and is being seriously pursued. Of course, putting this idea into practice entails important hardships and obstacles. However, under current conditions and given the groundwork that has already been done to implement the plan, the West Bank may be considered to be ready to be armed. The leaders of the Fatah Movement and the Palestinian Authority have a vital responsibility in this regard in this small strip of land.
Of course, discussions about arming young people and creating axes of Armed Resistance in the West Bank are somewhat different from arming the Islamic Resistance Movement in Gaza. In Gaza, there was a need for missiles, rockets and heavy weaponry, but because the West Bank is connected to the occupied lands and Holy al-Quds, the initial flame can be started by arming it with light weapons such as small arms. This is similar to the Intifadas that used to be carried out using rocks and bottle bombs; but this time, young people will carry firearms instead of rocks.
Now that all political negotiations in recent decades have resulted ultimately in the treacherous idea of establishing two states, now that it has become clear that the Zionists will not accept current conditions either, there is only one way left, and that is Armed Resistance in all of Palestine. Without a doubt, if the Zionist regime and the rule of the occupiers is to end, the Palestinian youth will need weapons. A part of these weapons must be provided from inside Palestine, and the rest will be provided from the outside in order to trigger the project of causing insecurity in the occupied lands, particularly in Bayt al-Muqaddas.
When Imam Khamenei said “Everyone must support the Palestinian nation in this holy struggle,” perhaps in a sense, what he meant was that a military coalition should be forged from among liberated governments and nations and that everyone should contribute to arming the Palestinians in this holy struggle.
It is perfectly obvious that the formation of new cores of Resistance in occupied Palestine, particularly in the West Bank, the start of Armed Resistance by the Palestinians living in the occupied territories and the expansion of this to Bayt al-Muqaddas and Tel Aviv on the one hand, and the encouragement of public discontent and the flare-up of domestic conflicts of a racial, economic and political nature between residents of the settlements on the other hand, can bring Palestine closer to liberation than ever before. In other words, it can bring al-Quds to the verge of forming the final battle.
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