Palestine and the generations of a hundred years, the sources of success and failure

Some of the new generation poses to the veterans the question: Your generation has failed, so where did you fall short and make mistakes?

The quick and easy answer, based on the current official Arab situation, acknowledges the failure of the prevailing generation, and those who undertook the process of change in the last hundred years. As for where the negligence occurred, and where are the sources of error, or mistakes, there are many interpretations of it. But the answer remains in the world of assumptions, as long as it is not possible to turn back time, to prove that the alternative presented by criticism would have achieved victory, escape from failure, and would not be recorded for destructive mistakes. We are here, not as in the laboratory, an experiment that can be repeated, to prove the validity of the alternative offered by criticism.

The Arab nation, if we set the time for the last hundred years, has been plagued by Western colonial domination, which occupied its cities with direct military forces, and divided it into the existing Arab countries. The Zionist entity was planted in the heart of it, and it provided it with weapons and the means of strength to have an overwhelming military superiority over them all.

Thus, the generations of the twenties, thirties and forties were unable to liberate, unite and advance it, or prevent the establishment of the Zionist entity. They did what they had of the potential and capabilities. However, they handed it over to the next generation in the fifties to raise, most of them, the flags of independence, but without real independence. The most “unity” that he reached was the Arab League, which was not a university except in its name and flags.

The generations of the fifties, sixties and seventies that followed tried to transform independence into real independence, and the Arab League into a real university while daring to achieve a unity between Egypt and Syria, which lasted less than three years. They sought to besiege the Zionist entity, even partially, and to break the armed siege imposed on them.

But the Zionist entity waged wars, expanded and placed the Arab capitals under the buzz of its planes and the threat of the movement of its tanks tracks. Efforts were made by some, as much as possible, to launch a Palestinian resistance that mitigates the effects of the 1967 setback, perhaps forcing the Zionist entity to retreat. However, the opposite happened, which imposed Arab and Palestinian retreats, the most dangerous of which was the "Egyptian-Israeli Treaty" (1979) and the Oslo Agreement (1993). Of course, there is no justification for any retreat, or justification for it.

This picture, along with many of the facts that support it, allows for a hasty judgment of failure on the generations of the fifties until the end of the twentieth century, or allows him to be asked in suggestive terms: Do you consider that you have failed until today? Where did you fall short, and where did you go wrong?

However, if the answer is invoked to the international, regional and Arab balance of power with a careful reading, it does not go to issuing an absolute judgment in which there is some injustice, but rather a lot of injustice? Hence, let the question be as follows: Was it possible for previous generations, or any generation of them, not to face the failure that occurred, or to achieve a resounding victory, as did several liberation movements plagued by colonial domination?

The new question faces the first question to shake it from its corners. How do? Because reading modern Arab history during the past hundred years requires scrutiny of the balance of power that was imposed, and its exceptional specificity on our country was different from all the cases in the colonies.

This peculiarity is represented in dividing the Arab countries into 22 countries, by force of arms, and by adopting a global hegemony strategy that pressures and prevents real independence or solidarity. Then it was represented by planting a racist settlement entity that they provided with all the means of strength, and allowed it and the Zionist movement to become hugely influential globally.

For this reason, the previous Arab and Palestinian generations faced unfavorable balances of military, political, economic, technical and scientific forces that did not allow them to overcome them, even partially.

The struggle of those previous generations was like swimming against a strong current: as you advanced an inch, the current pushed you back two or three arms.

Nevertheless, it can be said that with regard to the Palestinian cause, the failure was much less than what was prepared for it, or compared to the Zionist project. The Zionist project aimed to uproot all Palestinians from Palestine, and to replace them with the Zionist Jewish settlers. A goal that was not fully achieved because of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic resistance it faced.

For this reason, the history of previous generations to this day cannot be described as an absolute failure, but rather as a partial failure, while keeping the flame of resistance burning without interruption, and with opening up prospects for progress and replaying the ball with the beginning of every imbalance in the global, regional, Arab and Palestinian balance of power.

The balance of power in the previous stages was almost applied. Therefore, the fair criterion in the evaluation is not the failure to achieve victory over the enemy, but rather the extent to which the enemy was prevented from achieving his goal completely. Rather, keeping the conflict open despite the setbacks, setbacks, defeats and setbacks that have occurred; Rather, permanent steadfastness and permanent refusal to surrender must be enshrined as two criteria when assessing as well.

If the goal of the Zionist project was to repeat what the settlers did in Australia or the United States, it faced fierce resistance that prevented this from being achieved. Today, the Palestinian people are 7 million at home, and 7 million abroad are eager to return, and they do not accept it instead. They liberated the Gaza Strip and turned it into a fortress of resistance, missiles, tunnels, fighters and a steadfast and patient people. In this way, they proved their ability to rise up and resist throughout the Palestinian land.

Then add what has been directed, and will be directed, from missiles and forces of resistance and confrontation from southern Lebanon to Tehran, and the rope on the tractor from the one who has not entered into any account.

In the end, it is true that the majority of Palestine is still occupied. This is what was imposed by the balance of force majeure, and there was no way to prevent or thwart it, despite the tremendous efforts made by our generation and the generation of fathers and grandfathers that cost many martyrs, wounded and sacrifices in resisting, obstructing and preventing the achievement of all the goals of the enemy. Rather, keeping it standing on a hot plate, draining it year after year, and here they are, generations of fathers and grandfathers, have left with honor. And our generation is about to leave honorably, leaving the conflict in a better position to the rising generation than it was.

The liberation of all of Palestine became possible, God willing. Tomorrow, the naked eye may see it without binoculars.(Mounir Shafiq)