Is the method of popular resistance sufficient to overcome the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem? Are further means necessary to change the status quo? Palestinian activist Tamara Tamimi reflects for Alsharq on these questions.
I have been recently invited by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation to participate in a fishbowl discussion at the World Social Forum in Tunis, Tunisia. The workshop was entitled “Revolution or Evolution? Strategies for Political Change in the MENA Region”, comprising participants from Palestine, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia and moderated by Ms. Shatha Abdul Samad and Mr. Christoph Dinkelaker. The three hour discussion tackled four main ideas: causes and aims of the popular uprisings, communication and mobilization strategies, hijacking the revolution by Islamist movements and outlooks for the future.
During the last panel which discussed and elaborated the outlooks for the future idea, Christoph asked me essentially whether Palestinian popular resistance will make a significant difference on the ground. It was certainly a challenging and deep question, given the complicated and varied aspects of the Palestinian context. My reply was quite simple and straightforward, I praised Palestinian popular resistance in its different forms, including the traditional demonstrations against the apartheid wall and settlement expansion and the more creative approaches in erecting tents and building Palestinian villages on confiscation-threatened lands by the occupation-authorities for purposes of settlement expansion. I also added, however, that these methods of resistance, albeit their efficiency in exposing the violations and atrocities of the occupation, are insufficient to induce significant change on the ground. This I took as the basis to move on to advocate for armed resistance against settlers and soldiers in the occupied Palestinian territory in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.
The facts remain that Israel simply does not want peace since it is rendering the two-state solution unviable and inapplicable. The policies of the occupation serve to alter the “status quo” by, to name a few, means of continuous settlement expansion, arrest and detainment of Palestinian civilians, withholding returning taxes to the Palestinian Authority and refusing to set terms of reference and abide by preconditions for future bilateral negotiations. Israel commenced in the establishment and expansion of settlements after the 6-day war of 1967, blatantly violating international law and particularly UNSCR 242; this came within the pretext of pursuing the realization of ‘Greater Israel’ and centered on securing as much control over the land occupied in 1967 as possible, including its water and other natural and infrastructural resources. Against this backdrop it is worth noting that the number of settlers doubled since the signing of the Oslo Accords, and have reached 512.761 settlers in 2010 in the West Bank and Jerusalem. According to the BBC, the settlements in the West Bank have been growing at a rate of 5–6% since 2001 (see figure).
Figure: Settlement expansion in the West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights from 1972-2006
On another note, currently there are 4,772 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, six of which are women and 522 are serving life sentences, while another 178 are held in administrative detention (a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold prisoners indefinitely on secret information without charging them or allowing them to stand trial) - a clear and direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights among other international standards. Additionally, 700 Palestinian children under the age of 18 from the occupied West Bank are prosecuted every year through Israeli military courts after being arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli army. The most common charge levied against children is throwing stones, a crime that is punishable under military law by up to 20 years in prison. Since 2000, more than 8,000 Palestinian children have been detained. It is worth noting that more than 700 thousand Palestinians were imprisoned during the time period 1967-2008 for a period exceeding one week.
The cases of continued settlement expansion and Palestinian prisoners demonstrate Israeli policies to prevent the realization of the two-state solution. It is evident that Israel is merely interested in altering the status quo in order to gain the upper hand in bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians, and is doing so essentially by “managing the conflict” instead of solving it in reaching an agreement that does not undermine Palestinian inalienable rights.
This will not change unless occupation becomes too costly, mainly by holding Israel accountable as an occupying power and forcing it to address its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and withdraw from lands occupied in 1967. This can be achieved by coupling both traditional and creative popular resistance methods with armed resistance against armed aggressive Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers in the occupied Palestinian territory. For example blocking bypass roads, establishing protection committees and executing armed operations against those who attack Palestinian farmers and citizens are some methods, to name a few, that can be utilized to render the occupation costly.
An important factor to ensure this would be to achieve mass mobilization of the Palestinian community into the true meaning of popular resistance, so that the number of youth building Palestinian villages on confiscation-threatened lands will reach 5,000 instead of being 500. Another important factor would be the enhancement of critical and creative thinking skills among Palestinian youth in order to surprise the occupation with unprecedented methods and approaches of popular resistance. A truly exemplary method would be, say, blocking Highway No. 1 (the main road that enters Jerusalem), or besieging an Israeli settlement near Nablus or Hebron.
The surprising matter remains that even though the Palestinian leadership have surrendered and given up 78% of historical Palestine, the Israeli government is still not interested in reaching a sustainable solution that would ensure a stable peace. To add to that, Israel and the whole world attack Palestinians when they use armed resistance to defend themselves and their land, even against settlers and soldiers in the occupied Palestinian territory, even though it is a right the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention guarantee to the Palestinian people.
Tamara Tamimi from Jerusalem is an activist in the youth movement of Fatah. The article expresses her own point of view and does not necessarily reflect the vision and approach of Young Fatah.
