Who is Mohammad Deif, the Resistance leader, bane of ‘Israel’?

May 16, 2024

Source: Al Mayadeen English

Who is Mohammad Deif, the military mastermind, bane of ‘Israel’?

By Mohammad Al-Jaber

Though there was no indication that he would become a military mastermind, Mohammad Deif grew up like many other Palestinians under the Israeli occupation in conditions that would radicalize him to become what he is today.

Mohmmad Deif is a name that is no stranger to headlines and media discussions at a time when he coordinated and dealt what is arguably the most devastating blow to the Israeli occupation since its inception, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, giving hope to the Arab and all the righteous people that “Israel” was not that invincible entity it has proclaimed to be. 

While picking holes in the Israeli occupation’s deterrence has been his profession for decades at this point, little is known about the Resistance leader who has put Hamas at the top of the list of threats to the very existence of the Israeli occupation through his strategic prowess and admirable patience that culminated in the Palestinian cause receiving more worldwide and regional support than it ever has.

Early life

Mohammad Masri, better known as Mohammad Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was born in 1965 in Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp, whose establishment was the result of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948. His family was forcibly displaced from the village of al-Qubayba along with the hundreds of thousands of others who were forced to seek refuge elsewhere in light of the Zionist mobster massacres that took place during the Nakba.

Though there was no indication that he would become the military mastermind he is today, Deif grew up like many other Palestinians who were displaced by the Israeli occupation – in a dire and destitute environment as his family was forced to make a home out of a tin shack in the refugee camp, a situation that would go on to radicalize numerous Palestinian Resistance leaders.

At just the age of two, Deif’s country was further ravaged by the Israeli occupation, as it occupied the Gaza Strip during the 1967 war and subsequently subjected all the refugees that had fled its brutality to direct military rule, detaining, arresting, and even executing anyone they thought was ever so slightly “suspicious”, as per their definition of suspicion, which would further radicalize the young Resistance-leader-to-be as he grew up surrounded by extrajudicial arrests and killings at the hands of an occupying force that knew no bounds.

This is evident in the fact that mere meters away lived some of the most notable Palestinian figures, including Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar and the former chief of Fatah in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, with whom Deif grew up being friends.

Deif grew up pursuing his education and helping his father, who was an upholsterer in an impoverished, newly-established refugee camp that was under military rule, which didn’t quite offer many fruitful career paths. However, that did not stop Deif from dreaming big and pursuing a degree in science at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry, and biology.

He also trod a path that no one expected to lead him to be the leader of one of the world’s most renowned Resistance factions, as he headed the University’s entertainment committee and performed in numerous comedies.

Early political career and imprisonment

At the time, he was not affiliated with any political organization, but it was only a matter of time before he joined the Fatah Resistance movement, one of the only two Resistance factions in Palestine at the time. Though it is unclear when exactly he joined Fatah, it is likely that he was influenced by his childhood friend, Mohammad Dahlan, to join the organization at a time when it still engaged in armed Resistance against the Israeli occupation on a wider scale.

He stayed as part of Fatah for numerous years, but little is known about his activity at the time up until he wound up joining Hamas during the first Intifada, which began in 1987 and saw paramount violence practiced by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians.

Israeli occupation forces arrested Deif in 1989, shortly after he joined Hamas. He was detained without trial on the charge that he was cooperating with Hamas’ military wing, which saw him spend 16 months in prison. He eventually earned his freedom after he refused to cooperate with the Israeli occupation forces or admit to any of the charges filed against him.

Deif was later arrested by the Palestinian Authority in May 2000, but he managed to garner his liberty once again with the start of the Second Intifada, which was a pivotal point in the development of Hamas’ capabilities, wherein the Resistance group carried out a string of operations that cost the Israeli occupation hundreds of casualties.

Little did the Israeli occupation know that his time in prison in the 90s would lead to the creation of what would later become the al-Qassam Brigades. 

Putting al-Qassam on the map

Deif agreed with martyrs Zakaria Chourbaji and Salah Shehade to form a group independent of Hamas to capture Israeli soldiers in order to trade them with Palestinian detainees and force concessions out of the Israeli occupation.

His release following his 1989 detention coincided with the emergence of the al-Qassam Brigades – named after Sheikh Ezzeddine al-Qassam, one of the most notable leaders of the Arab struggle for independence against the British and French mandatory rule in the Levant – as a prominent force in the Palestinian struggle for liberation after it made headlines over the slew of operations it carried out against Israeli occupation forces. 

In light of the prominence garnered by the Resistance faction, Deif, along with several al-Qassam commanders, traveled to the occupied West Bank, where he stayed for several years and supervised the founding of the al-Qassam’s West Bank branch before emerging as the leader of the al-Qassam Brigades in 2002.

As a leader, Deif masterminded numerous successful operations against Israeli occupation forces, including the capture of Israeli soldier Nachshon Wachsman, whose killing disturbed the ongoing Oslo Accord talks between the Israeli occupation and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The talks were heavily opposed by the Palestinian people and Resistance as “peace” talks with an occupying force could not be seen as a legitimate option for liberation and would only lead to further subjugation.

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In the wake of the 1996 assassination of Resistance icon Yahya Ayyash, a prominent military leader nicknamed The Engineer for his contributions to the advancement of the Resistance’s IED manufacturing capabilities, Deif planned a string of Resistance operations in retaliation for his killing, including the Jaffa Road bus bombings, which killed more than 50 Israelis in total.

Deif played a key role in the advancement of Hamas’ weaponry and tactics, including its seemingly never-ending stream of rockets and its vast tunnel network, which has left the Israeli occupation puzzled despite spending months on the ground in Gaza. This put him high up on the Israeli occupation’s wanted lists, and his ranking only rose with time as his contributions to the cause increased. 

Life in the shadows

It is not at all odd that little is known about the Resistance leader’s early life, for he did not aspire to be renowned, spending his time in the shadows to develop Hamas to be the force to be reckoned with as it is today. Even to this day, only two or three pictures of his have surfaced, as he seeks to keep as much of his life veiled as possible, for it is a matter of life or death due to the Israeli occupation’s pursuit of the leader.

Deif in Arabic means “guest”, which pretty much sums up how he has been living for decades, going back to his nomadic Levantine roots and shifting from one place to another swiftly without leaving a trace so as to evade Israeli occupation forces, which made him all the more popular as a hero surrounded by an unparalleled mystique.

He was so mysterious, in fact, that Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar, who interviewed numerous Hamas members, speculates that the Israeli Shin Bet intelligence agency “would not recognize him if they passed by him on the street.”

Deif has never appeared in the media, and the only known photo of him until a few months ago was one dating back to May 14, 2000, likely a mugshot taken when he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority. Israeli occupation forces published a new image a few months ago of who they claimed was Deif, but that remains unconfirmed. 

Up until December 2023 and to this very day, Deif only communicated with the remainder of the world via written statements, videos with him masked, or voice recordings, such as the one where he announced the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. His secrecy and conscientiousness have made it impossible for the Israeli occupation forces to track him thus far.

Attempted assassinations

It goes without saying that all these precautions are for a reason, as Deif, one of the most wanted men by the Israeli occupation, has been subjected to a slew of attempted assassinations, the latest being in 2023. In total, Deif has had nine assassination attempts carried out against him, only five of which have been declared.

The first was before he assumed the leadership of the al-Qassam Brigades in 2001, and the second, the most famous of all, was in 2002 when Israeli occupation forces launched a direct strike on his car, and video footage from the scene showed Deif covered in blood and being dragged away.

There were another two attempts in 2003 and 2006, when both times, Israeli occupation forces bombed a house hosting a meeting of Hamas’ top leaders.

He managed to keep his activities completely underground for eight years, working hard out of the sight of the Israeli occupation. Come 2014 and the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, Israeli occupation forces attempted to assassinate him by launching an airstrike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza, and he survived yet again before being designated as a “terrorist” by the United States a year later in 2015.

Spending another six years shrouded in the shadows without “Israel” being able to reach him, Israeli occupation forces attempted to assassinate the military leader twice in one week in 2021 during the Battle of Seif al-Quds, yet both attempts were unsuccessful.

2023 also saw what might have been two assassination attempts; “might have” due to the fact that the home of Deif’s father was the target of an Israeli airstrike in October, killing his brother and two other family members, but it is unclear whether this airstrike was aimed at assassinating Deif or was just an act of blind vengeance carried out by the Israeli occupation over Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which took place mere days ahead of the strike. 

The second 2023 assassination was earlier in the year, and it was revealed in an exclusive report obtained by Al Mayadeen. On May 23, news started circulating that The Times of Israel quoted a tweet posted by the head of the Shin Bet saying that the intelligence agency had wasted a “valuable catch” in the Gaza Strip. The news was found to not have been published in The Times of Israel, to begin with. It was published on numerous other websites before being pulled. 

The Palestinian security forces in Gaza detected suspicious movement that night in an area west of Gaza City, and it was communicated via radio that two civilians were traveling on foot near an important security point, sources in the Palestinian Resistance told Al Mayadeen of the night the news story was circulated.

Israeli occupation forces monitored the conversation taking place between the Palestinian security personnel. A unit of security forces arrived at the location, and the cryptic conversation between its personnel and the persons who were communicating via radio was closely monitored by the Israeli forces. 

After deliberations between the personnel and the unit, it was revealed that there were two individuals who had identification codes that indicated they were in the close circle of Hamas’ command. The two individuals in question were Mohammad Deif and another person. 

Some 90 seconds after the identification codes were exchanged, no less than 20 UAVs filled up the area’s airspace, though no strike took place because Israeli occupation forces could not manage to pinpoint the location of the commander of Hamas’ armed wing.

However, instead of landing the Israelis a “valuable catch”, it made their aspiration of assassinating Deif all the more difficult to attain, for it increased the Resistance leadership’s cautiousness, as since the incident took place, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has refrained from any in-person meeting with any Arab or foreign guest who visits the Gaza Strip, resorting instead to exchanging letters with them so as to avoid a scenario similar to martyr Ahmad Jaabari‘s assassination.

Aftermath

While the Israeli occupation failed over and over again over the course of more than two decades to assassinate one of the top leaders in the Axis of Resistance, the assassination attempts reportedly had devastating side effects on Deif’s health. It is claimed that the 2006 assassination attempt led Deif to spend several months in Egypt in pursuit of treatment for his skull following serious head injuries sustained from one of the strikes, forcing him to take tranquilizers daily to treat the chronic headaches this injury has caused.

Moreover, it is believed that he has, over the course of the failed assassination attempts, lost an eye and sustained severe injuries to more than one limb, forcing him to rely on a wheelchair for movement. None of these claims were substantiated by the Israeli occupation nor were they confirmed by the Hamas Resistance movement. The aforementioned uncorroborated December 2023 footage, however, showed Deif normally using both his arms and both his legs and walking around without much difficulty aside from a slight limp.

The man who moved the world

Despite emerging from destitute conditions and growing up through hardship and under a brutal occupying regime, Mohammad Deif, like a select few of the people who managed to become leaders in the Axis of Resistance, still made something out of himself and the Palestinian cause, keeping it a core cause for the whole world, or at least for the righteous. 

Deif’s impact on the world, let alone Palestine, is tremendous, as the massive operations carried out by Hamas under his command have brought the Palestinian cause to the limelight again and again over the years, giving it prominence on the international stage, especially Hamas’ two most recent battles, the Battle of Seif Al-Quds and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, both of which caused an uproar in the world as a whole, letting the chant for liberating Palestine echo in every corner of the world with no exceptions.

The reverberations of Deif’s contributions will be felt for centuries to come, and he, not only as a military commander but also as a Palestinian icon shrouded in mystique almost as a folk hero, will forever live in the minds of the Israelis, as his actions will ultimately, whether today or in decades, lead to the liberation of Palestine as he continues to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive Resistance movement that will ultimately, with aid from key regional players like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansar Allah, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, uproot the malign colonial entity of “Israel” from West Asia and reinstate the Arab identity of Palestine as a sovereign nation whose capital is unequivocally al-Quds.

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War on Gaza

Sayyed Nasrallah to Israelis: To return North, end war on Gaza

May 13, 2024

Source

Sayyed Nasrallah underlines that the continuation of the Lebanese Resistance’s operations and the Gaza front is “a settled matter not open for discussion.”

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, giving a speech on the eighth anniversary of the martyrdom of Commander Mustafa Badreddine. on Monday, May 13, 2024 (Al Mayadeen)

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah affirmed that the Lebanese front continues, in various forms and methods, its operations in support of the Resistance in the Gaza Strip and imposes its own rules of engagement.

In a speech delivered on the eighth anniversary of the martyrdom of Commander Mustafa Badreddine, Sayyed Nasrallah underlined that the continuation of the Lebanese Resistance’s operations and the Gaza front is “a settled matter not open for discussion.”

He stressed that the entire world “has accepted this fact,” adding that this is why the Americans conveyed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there is no solution for the Northern front without a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Resistance leader addressed the settlers in northern occupied Palestine, who are eager to return to their settlements, calling on them to pressure their government to end the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

‘Israel’ hits a brick

Sayyed Nasrallah explained that evaluating the results of the war requires assessing the battlefield and not relying on Israeli claims about victory, indicating that “there is a consensus on the failure in Israel.”

He also pointed out that even allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mock him when he says he is “one step away from victory,” emphasizing that the issue “is not limited only to Israeli failure to achieve objectives but to more strategic losses.”

The Resistance leader touched on Israeli opinion polls regarding confidence in “Israel” as a “state” and in its army, highlighting that at least 30% of settlers believe that “Israel” is uninhabitable.

The Hezbollah chief considered that the “real achievement” is the failure of “Israel”, backed by the West, to retrieve its captives or achieve victory, not to mention its inability to protect its ships from missiles launched from thousands of kilometers away.

Sayyed Nasrallah added that the “image of deterrence” within the Israeli occupation entity is declining, especially after Iran’s Operation True Promise.

In the same context, he mentioned that senior Israeli generals say that Netanyahu, through his insistence on war, “is leading us to the abyss,” noting that Israelis also speak of “daily attrition in Gaza, in the support fronts, and in the economy.”

He added that “Israel” fears withdrawing from Gaza because that would mean its defeat, which comprises a disaster for the entity, indicating that the Israeli leadership “has no vision for the day after the war.”

In light of this, Sayyed Nasrallah asserted that the Israeli occupation is “facing a dead end and is searching for any image of victory,” pointing out that “Netanyahu wants to invade Rafah to escape the image of defeat.”

As for the mediators’ proposal that Hamas agreed to, Sayyed Nasrallah said that it surprised Netanyahu because it meant his defeat and victory for Hamas (because it fulfilled Hamas’ demands).

Therefore, “the Israeli occupation has two options, either return to the mediators’ document, which means defeat for Israel, or pursue the [war of] attrition,” he maintained.

‘US deception should not trick anyone’

In a different yet related context, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah spoke about the continued US support for the Israeli occupation in its war on Gaza, stressing that “even if the United States stops an arms deal bound for Israel, it will re-allow it as this constitutes an American deception because what is happening is nothing more than a tactical dispute between the United States and Israel.”

“These theatrics that we are witnessing nowadays should not deceive anyone, as Washington stands with Israel [no matter what],” he stressed.

Furthermore, Sayyed Nasrallah maintained that what happened at the United Nations and the International Court platforms confirms the US’ continuous, unabating support for “Israel” and that the US position has not changed at all. 

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Sayyed Nasrallah also pointed out that one of the most significant results of the war is “Israel’s” acknowledgment that it did not achieve victory, highlighting that 70% of Israeli settlers are demanding the resignation of the Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

He also emphasized that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the resilience of the people, and the images of the blood of children and women in Gaza and southern Lebanon have shown the true colors of “Israel”.

Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that among the goals of the Palestinian Resistance and the Axis of Resistance declared since the beginning of Al-Aqsa Flood battles was to revive the Palestinian cause, remind the world of forgotten Palestine, and uphold the rights of its people inside the occupied territories and in the diaspora.

“The most important scene that reflects the victory of the Resistance is when the Israeli #UN delegate raised a picture of the leader Yahya al-Sinwar,” he maintained.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah: "The most important scene that reflects the victory of the Resistance is when the Israeli #UN delegate raised a picture of the leader Yahya al-Sinwar." https://t.co/5TABO82SXl

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that, since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood, the Palestinian cause is now the talk of the town worldwide, including at the United Nations, where most countries demand a ceasefire.

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah also touched on the protests taking place at universities in the United States and across Europe, confirming that these protests, bearing the name of Palestine, “are the fruit of October 7 and following events.”

#Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: "The protests in #American and #European universities in the name of #Palestine are the fruit of #October7 and following events." https://t.co/HcVg1NYG7L

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

He mentioned that some Arab rulers were about to sign the death certificate of the Palestinian cause through normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation, which was looming in the coming months.

He also noted that some Arab regimes and media outlets are now promoting the Israeli occupation entity as “the only democratic state” in the region.

US, EU hindering Syrian refugees return

On the internal Lebanese front, and specifically regarding the file of Syrian refugees, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General confirmed that there is a “consensus to address the issue,” explaining that the meeting of the Lebanese Parliament, next Wednesday, is “an opportunity to present practical proposals” to this end.

Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that everyone is in favor of the return of Syrian refugees to their country, with the exception of some non-governmental organizations, which means that “the main obstacle standing in the way of the return of Syrian refugees to their country is the US along with the EU.”

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled his visit to Syria where he met, years ago, with the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who encouraged the return of the refugees to al-Qusayr, stressing that “those who were preventing them from doing so were the EU-funded organizations.”

The Lebanese Resistance leader considered that “it is inevitable to communicate with the Syrian government to ensure the return of refugees,” stressing that a delegation must be formed to visit countries, such as the United States, in order to convince them of the need for their return.

He also called for “taking a Lebanese national stance to open the sea for the voluntary departure of Syrian refugees to Europe,” explaining that this is when the West and the EU “will rush to Lebanon and pay 20 billion dollars instead of one” to prevent so when such a decision is made.

“When we are our own masters and not slaves and we possess the elements of power, that is when we can impose our conditions on the enemy,” Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed.

He also emphasized that Syria is capable of getting back on its feet within a few years once the sanctions imposed on it are lifted.

Syria’s stance regarding Palestine firm, consistent

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that they wanted to force Syria, through the global war waged on it, into the American grip or into a civil war, stressing that it had “come out of the war and still maintains its [original] position, despite the siege and the difficult conditions” imposed on it.

#Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: "#Syria, through the global war waged on it, was intended to fall into the #American grip or into a civil war, but it has surpassed the war and still maintains its [original] position." https://t.co/o7X3T2rMtd

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2024

The Lebanese Resistance leader also indicated that Damascus’ stance regarding the Palestinian cause is firm and consistent, affirming that the goal behind Hezbollah’s engagement in the war in Syria was to keep the country within the Axis of Resistance.

Regarding the occasion, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah confirmed that Martyr Sayyed Mustafa Badreddine deserved a medal for every walk of his life as a freedom fighter and a combatant, as a wounded individual, as a captive, as a commander, as an achiever, and as a martyr.

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Martyr Badreddine “is present across all battlefields, as is the case with all martyrs, especially the leaders,” explaining that the Resistance that is fighting today is “a cumulative result of the past and present leaders and fighters and those who will join in, any time in the future.”

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War on Gaza

Will Zionism Self-Destruct?

 APRIL 22, 2024

ALASTAIR CROOKE

Israel’s strategy from past decades will continue with its hope of achieving some Chimeric transformative “de-radicalisation” of Palestinians that will make ‘Israel safe’.

(This paper is the basis of a talk to be given at the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Event on Economic and Social Development, HSE University, Moscow, April 2024)

In the summer following Israel’s 2006 (unsuccessful) war on Hizbullah, Dick Cheney sat in his office loudly bemoaning Hizbullah’s continuing strength; and worse still, that it seemed to him that Iran had been the primary beneficiary from the U.S. 2003 Iraq war.

Cheney’s guest – the then Saudi Intelligence Chief, Prince Bandar – vigorously concurred (as chronicled by John Hannah, who participated in the meeting) and, to general surprise, Prince Bandar proclaimed that Iran yet could be cut to size: Syria was the ‘weak’ link between Iran and Hizbullah that could be collapsed via an Islamist insurgency, Bandar proposed. Cheney’s initial scepticism turned to elation as Bandar said that U.S. involvement would be unnecessary: He, Prince Bandar, would orchestrate and manage the project. ‘Leave it to me’, he said.

Bandar separately told John Hannah: “The King knows that other than the collapse of the Islamic Republic itself, nothing would weaken Iran more than losing Syria”.

Thus began a new phase of attrition on Iran. The regional balance of power was to be decisively shifted towards Sunni Islam – and the region’s monarchies.

That old balance from the Shah’s time in which Persia enjoyed regional primacy was to be ended: conclusively, the U.S., Israel and the Saudi King hoped.

Iran – already badly bruised by the ‘imposed’ Iran-Iraq war – resolved never again to be so vulnerable. Iran aimed to find a path to strategic deterrence in the context of a region dominated by the overwhelming air dominance enjoyed by its adversaries.

What occurred this Saturday 14 April – some 18 years later – therefore was of utmost importance.

Despite the bruhaha and distraction following Iran’s attack, Israel and the U.S. know the truth: Iran’s missiles were able to penetrate directly into Israel’s two most sensitive and highly defended air bases and sites. Behind the whooping western rhetoric lies Israeli shock and fear. Their bases are no longer ‘untouchable’.

Israel also knows – but cannot admit – that the so-called ‘assault’ was no assault but an Iranian message to assert the new strategic equation: That any Israeli attack on Iran or its personnel will result in retribution from Iran into Israel.

This act of setting the new ‘balance of power equation’ unites the diverse Fronts against the U.S.’ “connivance with Israeli actions in the Middle East, that are at the core of Washington’s policy – and in many ways the root-cause of new tragedies” – in the words of Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov.

The equation represents a key ‘Front’ – together with Russia’s war against NATO in Ukraine – for persuading the West that its exceptionalist and redemptive myth has proved to be a fatal conceit; that it must be discarded; and that deep cultural change in the West needs to happen.

The roots to this wider cultural conflict are deep – but finally have been made explicit.

Prince Bandar’s post-2006 playing of the Sunni ‘card’ was a flop (in no small part thanks to Russia’s intervention in Syria). And Iran, has come in from the cold and is firmly anchored as a primary regional power. It is the strategic partner to Russia and China. And Gulf States today have switched focus instead to money, ‘business’ and Tech, rather than Salafist jurisprudence.

Syria, then targeted by the West and ostracised, has not only survived all that the West could ‘throw at it’ but has been warmly embraced by the Arab League and rehabilitated. And Syria is now slowly finding its way to being itself again.

Yet even during the Syrian crisis, unforeseen dynamics to Prince Bandar’s playing of Islamist identity versus Arab socialist secular identity were playing out:

I wrote then in 2012:

“Over recent years we have heard the Israelis emphasise their demand for recognition of a specifically Jewish nation-state, rather than for an Israeli State, per se”;

– a state that would enshrine Jewish political, legal, and military exceptional rights.

“[At that time] … Muslim nations [were] seeking the ‘undoing’ of the last remnants of the colonial era. Will we see the struggle increasingly epitomised as a primordial struggle between Jewish and Islamic religious symbols – between al-Aqsa and the Temple Mount?”

To be plain, what was apparent even then – in 2012 – was “that both Israel and its surrounding terrain are marching in step toward language which takes them far away from the underlying, largely secular concepts by which this conflict traditionally has been conceptualised. What [would] be the consequence – as the conflict, by its own logic, becomes a clash of religious poles?”

If, twelve years ago, the protagonists were explicitly moving away from the underlying secular concepts by which the West conceptualised the conflict, we, by contrast, are still trying to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of secular, rationalist concepts – even as Israel quite evidently is seized by an increasingly Apocalyptic frenzy.

And by extension, we are stuck in trying to address the conflict through our habitual utilitarian, rationalist policy tool-set. And we wonder why it is not working. It is not working because all parties have moved beyond mechanical rationalism to a different plane.

The Conflict Becomes Eschatalogical

Last year’s election in Israel saw a revolutionary change: The Mizrahim walked into the Prime Minister’s office. These Jews coming from the Arab and North African sphere – now possibly the majority – and, with their political allies on the right, embraced a radical agenda: To complete the founding of Israel on the Land of Israel (i.e. no Palestinian State); to build the Third Temple (in place of Al-Aqsa); and to institute Halachic Law (in place of secular law).

None of this is what might be termed ‘secular’ or liberal. It was intended as the revolutionary overthrow of the Ashkenazi élite. It was Begin who tied the Mizrahi firstly to the Irgun and then to Likud. The Mizrahim now in power have a vision of themselves as the true representatives of Judaism, with the Old Testament as their blueprint. And condescend to the European Ashkenazi liberals.

If we think we can put Biblical myths and injunctions behind us in our secular age – where much of contemporary western thinking makes a point of ignoring such dimensions, dismissing them as either confused, or irrelevant – we would be mistaken.

As one commentator writes:

“At every turn, political figures in Israel now soak their proclamations in Biblical reference and allegory. The foremost of which [is] Netanyahu … You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible, and we do remember – and we are fighting…“Here [Netanyahu] not only invokes the prophecy of Isaiah, but frames the conflict as that of “light” versus “darkness” and good versus evil, painting the Palestinians as the Children of Darkness to be vanquished by the Chosen Ones: The Lord ordered King Saul to destroy the enemy and all his people: “Now go and defeat Amalek and destroy all that he has; and give him no mercy; but put to death both husband and wife; from youth to infant; from ox to sheep; from camel to donkey” (15:3)”.

We might term this ‘hot eschatology’ – a mode that is running wild amongst the young Israeli military cadres, to the point that the Israeli high command is losing control on the ground (lacking any mid-layer NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) class).

On the other hand –

The uprising launched from Gaza is not called Al-Aqsa Flood for nothing. Al-Aqsa is both a symbol of a storied Islamic civlisation, and it is also the bulwark against the building of the Third Temple, for which preparations are underway. The point here is that Al-Aqsa represents Islam in aggregate — neither Shi’i, nor Sunni, nor ideological Islam.

Then, at another level, we have, as it were, ‘dispassionate eschatology’: When Yahyah Sinwar writes of ‘Victory or Martyrdom’ for his people in Gaza; when Hizbullah speaks of sacrifice; and when the Iranian Supreme Leader speaks of Hussain bin Ali (the grandson of the Prophet) and some 70 companions in 680 CE, standing before inexorable slaughter against an 1,000 strong army, in the name of Justice, these sentiments simply are beyond the reach of western Utilitarian comprehension.

We cannot easily rationalise the latter ‘way of being’ in western modes of thought. However, as Hubert Védrine, France’s former Foreign Minister, observes – though titularly secular – the West nonetheless is “consumed by the spirit of proselytism”. That Saint Paul’s “go and evangelize all nations” has become “go and spread human rights to all the world”… And that this proselytism is extremely deep in [western DNA]: “Even the very least religious, totally atheists, they still have this in mind, [even though] they don’t know where it comes from”.

We might term this secular eschatology, as it were. It is certainly consequential.

A Military Revolution: We’re Ready Now

Iran, through all the West’s attrition, has pursued its astute strategy of ‘strategic patience’ – keeping conflicts away from its borders. A strategy that focused heavily on diplomacy and trade; and soft power to engage positively with near and far neighbors alike.

Behind this quietist front of stage, however, lay the evolution to ‘active deterrence’ which required long military preparation and the nurturing of allies.

Our understanding of the world became antiquated

Just occasionally, very occasionally, a military revolution can upend the prevailing strategic paradigm. This was Qasem Suleimani’s key insight. This is what ‘active deterrence’ implies. The switch to a strategy that could upend prevailing paradigms.

Both Israel and the U.S. have armies that are conventionally far more powerful than their adversaries which are mostly composed of small non-state rebels or revolutionaries. The latter are treated more as mutineers within the traditionalist colonial framing, and for whom a whiff of firepower generally is considered sufficient.

The West, however, has not fully assimilated the military revolutions now underway. There has been a radical shift in the balance of power between low-tech improvisation and expensive complex (and less robust) weapons platforms.

The Additional Ingredients

What makes Iran’s new military approach truly transformative have been two additional factors: One was the appearance of an outstanding military strategist (now assassinated); and secondly, his ability to mix and apply these new tools in a wholly novel matrix. The fusion of these two factors – together with low-tech drones and cruise missiles – completed the revolution.

The philosophy driving this military strategy is clear: the West is over-invested in air dominance and in its carpet fire power. It prioritises ‘shock and awe’ thrusts, but quickly exhausts itself early in the encounter. This rarely can be sustained for long. The Resistance aim is to exhaust the enemy.

The second key principle driving this new military approach concerns the careful calibration of the intensity of conflict, upping and lowering the flames as appropriate; and, at the same time, keeping escalatory dominance within the Resistance’s control.

In Lebanon, in 2006, Hizbullah remained deep underground whilst the Israeli air assault swept across overhead. The physical surface damage was huge, yet their forces were unaffected and emerged from deep tunnels – only afterwards. Then came the 33 days of Hizbullah’s missile barrage – until Israel called it quits.

So, is there any strategic point to an Israeli military response to Iran?

Israelis widely believe that without deterrence – without the world fearing them – they cannot survive. October 7 set this existential fear burning through Israeli society. Hezbollah’s very presence only exacerbates it – and now Iran has rained missiles down into Israel directly.

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The opening of the Iranian front, in a certain way, initially may have benefited Netanyahu: the IDF defeat in the Gaza war; the hostage release impasse; the continuing displacement of Israelis from the north; and even the murder of the World Kitchen aid workers – all are temporarily forgotten. The West has grouped at Israel’s – and Netanyahu’s – side again. Arab states are again co-operating. And attention has moved from Gaza to Iran.

So far, so good (from Netanyahu’s perspective, no doubt). Netanyahu has been angling to draw the U.S. into war with Israel against Iran for two decades (albeit with successive U.S. Presidents declining the dangerous prospect).

But to cut Iran down to size would require U.S. military assistance.

Netanyahu senses Biden’s weakness and has the tools and knowhow by which he can manipulate U.S. politics: Indeed, worked in this way, Netanyahu might force Biden to continue to arm Israel, and even to embrace his widening of the war to Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Conclusion

Israel’s strategy from past decades will continue with its hope of achieving some Chimeric transformative “de-radicalisation” of Palestinians that will make ‘Israel safe’.

A former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. argues that Israel can have no peace without such ‘transformative de-radicalisation’. “If we do it right”, Ron Dermer insists, “it will make Israel stronger – and the U.S. too”. It is in this context that the War Cabinet’s insistence on retaliation against Iran should be understood.

Rational argument advocating moderation is read as inviting defeat.

All of which is to say that Israelis are psychologically very far from being able to reconsider the content to the Zionist project of Jewish special rights. For now, they are on a completely different path, trusting to a Biblical reading that many Israelis have come to view as mandatory injunctions under Halachic Law.

Hubert Védrine asks us the supplementary question: “Can we imagine a West that manages to preserve the societies it has birthed – and yet “is not proselytizing, not-interventionist? In other words, a West that can accept alterity, that can live with others – and accept them for who they are”.

Védrine says this “is not a problem of the diplomatic machines: it’s a question of profound soul-searching, a deep cultural change that needs to happen in western society”.

A ‘trial of strength’ between Israel and the Resistance Fronts ranged against it likely cannot be avoided.

The die has been deliberately cast this way.

Netanyahu is gambling big with Israel’s – and America’s – future. And he may lose.

If there is a regional war, and Israel suffers defeat, then what?

When exhaustion (and defeat) finally settles in, and the parties ‘scrabble in the drawer’ for new solutions to their strategic distress, the truly transformative solution would be for an Israeli leader to think the ‘unthinkable’ – to think of one state between the River and the Sea.

And, for Israel – tasting the bitter herbs of ‘things fallen apart’ – to talk directly with Iran.

(Republished from Strategic Culture Foundation by permission of author or representative)

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Smotrich Slams Israeli Protests: They Only Harden Yahya Sinwar Position

March 31, 2024

Israeli protesters demonstrate in Tel Aviv against occupation governmnet’s handling of war (March 30, 2024).

Focus on Zionists – Live News – Middle East – News – Top – Zionist entity

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slammed the growing protests calling for a hostage deal and elections as “irresponsible pressures.”

“The demand for flexible positions on our part in the negotiations — as has been proven over and over again — only makes [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar harden his positions even more, and makes the return of the hostages even more distant,” Smotrich wrote on X.

“I call on the prime minister to stand firm in the face of irresponsible pressures that endanger the State of Israel and harm the goals of the war,” Smotrich said, as quoted by Israeli media.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Finance Minister (photo from archive).

Smotrich’s comments came ahead of four days of action by families of Israelis held captive in Gaza, and anti-government protesters. The initiative was announced yesterday, with the relatives of some of the captives saying that it had become clear that the policy of using military pressure to secure their release was not effective.

Thousands Protest Netanyahu’s Handling of War

On Saturday, anti-government protests sprung up in both Tel Aviv and Al-Quds (Jerusalem), as Israelis feel that PM Benjamin Netanyahu is the main obstacle to signing a deal with Hamas and releasing the captives held in Gaza.

Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked the city’s ring road while demanding early elections as well as calling for the release of Israeli captives.

In Al-Quds, hundreds of protesters picketed Netanyahu’s private residence, blaming his far-right government for failing to secure the release of the around 130 captives believed to still be in Gaza — 33 of whom are presumed dead.

⚡️Choas in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/sp42Qz4iuS

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 30, 2024

Relatives of some of the hostages were also present at the demonstrations.

Israeli media reported that 16 Israelis were arrested.

Source: Israeli media (edited by Al-Manar English Website)  

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Regional war Netanyahu’s safety net, Amir-Abdollahian says: Exclusive

 February 27, 2024

Source: Al Mayadeen

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, speaks to journalists during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

In an interview with Al Mayadeen, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian gives insight on regional and international issues, ranging from the Gaza genocide to the nuclear agreement.

The performance of the United Nations is unfortunate, and Iran cannot leave space for recognition of the Israeli entity, because it does not acknowledge its legitimacy and considers it an occupation power over Palestinian lands, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Al Mayadeen on the sidelines of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Throughout the interview, the Iranian Foreign Minister discussed topics such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, particularly in light of what is happening in Gaza, the events unfolding in the Strip and the Middle East region, and Iran’s current foreign policy and nuclear program.

UN being used by those in power

Upon being asked in what light Iran viewed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva taking all that is going on in Gaza into consideration, Amir-Abdollahian referred to his speech during the 55th UNHRC meeting, wherein he said the UN’s performance and behavior regarding what was happening in Gaza and the West Bank was “unfortunately unacceptable.”

“The Security Council did not fulfill its duty as the United States continuously, unilaterally, and arrogantly exploited its veto power. Every prospect and proposal of a ceasefire resolution in Gaza has been rejected by the American veto, exhibiting a contradictive behavior to the banners of primary human rights. Even at the UNHCR, we still have not seen any adequate mobilization in this regard,” he said.

“During the first month of the war and the start of the genocide in Gaza, I visited Geneva and met with prominent officials at the United Nations, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and frankly told them that the commotion made, in the same council, when claims circulated the death of an Iranian woman, would not be forgotten.

“[Does the UNHCR] not want to create a special committee that relays the facts and investigations into war crimes, genocide, and human rights violations being committed in Gaza? So far, we have not witnessed a singular decisive measure taken by any of the organizations that fall under the UN.

“Of course, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has taken some fairly good and appropriate measures, such as visiting the borders of Rafah, loudly demanding the opening of the Rafah Crossing, and the prohibition of the killings of more children, women, and people deprived of food and medicine. However, he could not efficiently and corporeally help the people of Gaza using the UN’s mechanisms. Meanwhile, at the UNHRC, we clearly see that everything succumbs to the will and control of those in power, the lying pretenders of human rights advocacy,” he stressed.

South Africa ICJ lawsuit

“There are two simultaneous lawsuits raised against the Israeli apartheid and criminal occupation. The first one is a South African lawsuit filed against Israel and is currently being adjudicated. We hope the judges announce their charges in the upcoming days for them to be transformed into principles and foundations for all UN organizations, including the UNHRC,” Amir-Abdollahian said when asked about whether South Africa’s lawsuit at the ICJ could have a different outcome from the ICJ deliberations, taking into account that there is no veto power within the ICJ.

The second lawsuit, he clarified, “Was raised by the UN requesting judicial guidance regarding the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, based on a decision made a few weeks ago. The ICJ’s guidance, in this case, could become a precedent that presents a solution to the Palestinian cause.”

While the foreign minister maintained Iran’s support for South Africa’s case as one of justice and bravery, recalling how Tehran championed it at the political and legal levels while providing extensive media coverage for the case, he said Iran had one caveat regarding the case

“One criticism we have is that, as the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have to work under the paradigms that do not leave space for recognition of the Israeli entity, because we do not acknowledge its legitimacy and consider it an occupation power over Palestinian lands.

“The occupation is not sustainable, and it will dissolve after all, just like its precedent in Algeria, despite its extension for several decades, it was defeated by the resilience of the Algerian people and their Resistance,” he stressed.

Expanding circle of fire?

Commenting on the Israeli attacks on Baalbek, northeastern Lebanon, which is a precedent since the 2006 July War, and whether it would make for an escalation that could ignite an all-out war that extends beyond the Lebanese front in the south, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “thinks the solution to his extremist government’s and his own salvation is war.”

“The Zionist entity itself is sustained by war and insecurity in the region. However, today, what is the situation we are experiencing? Israel was unable to achieve any of its goals from the war in Gaza,” he said.

The Iranian top diplomat explained that the Israeli occupation “could not defeat Hamas, or demilitarize it. It failed to locate and retrieve its captives, and many of its other goals, including capturing Yahya al-Sinwar, despite the mass bombing and the full-on genocide it perpetrated on the Gaza Strip, and the massive funding the US has supplied it with.”

“Our intel and satellite images we obtained, also show that weaponry and military gear suppliance operations from the US bases and ships to Tel Aviv have been active round-the-clock,” Amir-Abdollahian revealed. “This is what we discussed with several regional leaders, whose countries comprise US military bases, and told them the lands of Islamic nations must not be transformed to grounds that allow the extension of weapons to the Israeli entity, which allows it to kill more Palestinians.”

“What is Netanyahu looking for now, and why did he attack east Lebanon? Notably, not a single Israeli attack passed without a consequential response, and the region and Hezbollah have both responded strongly and appropriately to all Israeli aggression,” he said, leaving it up to the Resistance to escalate how it sees fit.

Threat of regional war?

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In a follow-up question regarding his commentary on the presence of foreign powers in the region, the Iranian Foreign Minister was asked about Iran’s opinion on the increased Western presence in the region in light of the growing number of US and other Western naval entities and whether this could signify an escalation that could affect and reach Iran, Amir-Abdollahian simply answered: “No.”

“Our evaluations indicate that Netanyahu wants to expand the war and wants to implicate the United States in conflicts and wars, now more than ever, at a rate that surpasses the holistic support the US and its allies have been supplying the Israeli entity with… But the main point is that the US and other Western nations are seemingly encountered with specific conditions,” he said.

“There are several points to consider regarding the latest updates and lineups toward Palestine. The first is that the US backs “Israel’s” war and genocide. Americans are facing special conditions in light of the upcoming elections which spike the need for the Israeli lobby’s support. We realize that they do not possess the will to end the war, but they have simultaneously expressed, through letters and statements, their aversion to an expanded war.

“They are very well aware of the dangers that could follow if the war is expanded. On the other hand, they are part of the expansion operation through their joint aggression with Britain in Yemen. The Americans discuss the de-escalation of the war, not stopping it. In my opinion, that signifies their malicious behavior embodied by giving Netanyahu the green light. Today, in Europe, everyone is discussing the need to end the war. But Britain, in this case, is jumping a double rope. It seeks to proceed with its regional foreign policies alongside the US. 

“Islamic and Arab nations also advocate for the end of the war. But in all cases, we must not forget “Israel’s” forceful displacement policies of Gazans to the Sinai desert, and people of the West Bank to dispersed parts of the Jordanian lands.

“This is certainly what Netanyahu is striving for, and we vivaciously declare that if it weren’t for the Palestinian Resistance and the resilience of the Palestinian masses, the reality of the regions aligned with the occupied Palestinian territories would have been completely different,” he stressed.

Displacement into Sinai

“Around two weeks ago, I visited the region and met with several Resistance leaders and the Resistance leadership. According to the reports they provided, the Resistance is at its best. Regarding its morale, despite all the hardships and the challenges, it remains spirited, be it in Lebanon or Palestine,” Amir-Abdollahian said of the regional tour he made in early February.

“The Resistance affirmed that they possessed the material and human capabilities necessary to maintain all acts of resistance in the lengthiest war yet,” he added.

“The spirits of the people of Gaza and the West Bank deserve to be commended. They have indeed inter-moved in Gaza, but based on our accurate information, more than 600,000 Palestinians remain in the north, in afflicted and destroyed areas, and refuse to leave, despite all the difficult conditions,” he said.

Asked about whether the displacement of the Palestinian people to Rafah was feasible, he said the Israeli plans “will not be materialized and will not be able to direct people to Egypt and enforce their displacement.”

“We frankly announced that the US cannot proceed with its hypocritical discourse that urges de-escalations on one hand, and then imposes measures that intensify the war and allow Israel to carry out its crimes by providing it with the necessary intelligence and logistics,” he added.

“Indicators show that the West, regional countries, Islamic nations, the Palestinian leadership, and the Resistance, all agree that if the US ceased all military aid to Israel, then Netanyahu would not be able to carry on with the war, not even for an hour. What happened over the past five months in Gaza is depicted in scenes that portray the pride of its Resistance, its women, and its men.”

Red Sea confrontations

The Iranian Foreign Minister revealed that he talked with his British counterparts about the joint US-UK aggression on Yemen, calling it a “strategic mistake” and underlining that Yemen has “proven that they do not trifle with any party regarding the security of their lands. They have been able to sound this message and clearly relayed that ships carrying military cargo to Israel will be stopped,”

“Remarkably, they kept their vows to the fullest. If you take a satellite look at the Red Sea, you will find hundreds of ships on that route. We realize that shipping and insurance costs have soared, but trade ships that do not carry any supplies to the Israeli occupation cross the Red Sea safely,” he clarified, commending the Yemeni leadership for its steadfastness and for adhering to its principles.

“The National Salvation Government has addressed that maritime and the Red Sea security is of its highest interests. In Iran, we also sail this route for international trade, and the entire world would benefit if it were safe, but the root of the issue lies in Gaza, not the Red Sea. 

“If the genocide in Gaza ended, then the situation in the Red Sea would return to normal. We appreciate Yemen’s brave support of Palestine, and Yemenis continue taking that road to champion Gaza, without jeopardizing the safety of certain shipments and maritime security. 

“In constant reminders, the general maritime security has not been jeopardized, but ships headed toward the occupation are,” he said, once again stressing that Yemen is not targeting any ships that are not affiliated with the Israeli occupation.

Iranian ‘regional proxies’?

“We do not have any proxies in the region,” the Iranian Foreign Minister underlined. “Hezbollah and the Resistance in Palestine work as they see fit, based on their own interests. Yemen follows the same framework as well. In Iraq and Syria, groups to fight ISIS were formed and still operate for their countries’ interests and considerations.”

“It would be best if the United States focused on finding a political solution instead of throwing accusations and fabricating false scenarios,” he said of the Western accusations that Iran is using regional Resistance movements, whether in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, or elsewhere, as regional proxies and tools to further its interests. “Five months of war proved that warfare is not the solution, thereby emphasizing the need for political resolutions realistically and from a Palestinian-centric lens.”

“I told David Cameron that following 80 years of occupation, it is about time for Palestinians to determine their own fate and the future of their nation. It is good that countries meet and propose suggestions to resolve the Palestinian issue, but what is better and more appropriate is the focus on Palestinian solutions that stem from the unity of Palestinian groups and factions, regardless of their political direction.

“I realized, through my meetings with all Palestinian Resistance leaders, that they have been holding meetings for weeks to suggest recommendations and ideas related to different topics, and we believe that now is their chance to democratically propose their ideas on negotiation tables. In turn, all related countries should consider purely Palestinian notions to aid the people of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. 

No difference between Biden, Trump

The Iranian Foreign Minister, asked for a comment on the US election slated for the year-end, underlined that Tehran does not see a significant difference between both US President Joe Biden and candidate Donald Trump.

“Over the past 45 years, the US saw several democratic and republican presidents. What is of significance to us is their behavior. If they treated Iran with mutual respect and forego their errors and hostility, then we would return the respect,” he said.

“If they continue employing this hostility, then our response would be direct and appropriate, whatever the party and political direction they might belong to and have,” Amir-Abdollahian stressed.

Iranian nuclear file

“Under President Ebrahim Raisi’s government, we held serious talks with nuclear negotiators, but unfortunately, at a certain point, the war in Ukraine cast its shadows on them,” he said.

“Letters are still being exchanged between Tehran and Washington regarding several topics. The American side sometimes hints at its desire for all participating parties to revert to their previous obligations as per the nuclear agreement. On our part, we frankly expressed our readiness to welcome recommendations that would allow reversion to previous commitments, but also annul the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran,” he clarified.

“The Iranian government affirmed from the start that it does not consider the nuclear agreement as an approach to resolving the country’s issues, but Iran has proven that it is one of the countries most committed to its international pledges,” he once again said of Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has maintained for years is solely peaceful.

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War on Gaza

‘Israel’ unable to eliminate Hamas, will have to withdraw: Reports

December 22, 2023

Source: Israeli Media

A screengrab from a video published by the Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media depicting the aftermath of a hit with an ATGM on an unarmored Israeli jeep in Gaza in December 2023 (Military Media)

By Al Mayadeen English

An Israeli journalist says the Israeli occupation forces will not be able to eliminate Hamas and are likely to have to withdraw before their objectives are completed.

The Israeli occupation forces may have to leave the Gaza Strip before their chief military goal, the complete elimination of the Hamas Resistance movement is achieved, the Israeli Ynet website said.

Israeli journalist and political and military affairs analyst Ronen Bergman wrote that he spoke with a senior government official on the condition of anonymity, with the latter going on a rant about the Israeli occupation’s invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The official said he feels nauseous and disgusted after every talk he has with several officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, namely due to the instructions he receives regarding the ongoing invasion, whose goals the official said were the “destruction of the infrastructure, capabilities, and rule of Hamas”, as well as the release of all the captives.

The invasion, the official said, was launched in a bid to pressure Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya al-Sinwar, to reach a prisoner swap deal and release the captives.

Reportedly, despite the many setbacks and failures, Israeli officials insist that the ground invasion should continue “both to achieve the first goal, the dismantling of the [Resistance] organizations, and also the second: to put enough pressure on al-Sinwar for him to capitulate and agree to a deal that Israel can accept.”

The Israeli journalist argued that this is reminiscent of the situation before the 2006 war on Lebanon, wherein they had claimed in the days before the aggression that they had enough firepower to completely disable and destroy Hezbollah’s capabilities to attack Israeli targets. 

The Israelis claimed that Hezbollah only had a few Katyushas and could not get to the Israeli occupation forces. In reality, he said, it turned out that there were Katyushas and much, much more.

“It is not about hindsight or a conclusion that one could only reach after the fact,” he said, saying the media warned ahead of the invasion of Gaza against misleading the Israelis about the ease of conducting the land aggression.

He stressed that whoever planned for the Israeli occupation to maintain a presence in Gaza lacked intellect and general information about such events that had taken place previously either with the Israeli occupation or elsewhere around the world.

According to Bergman, the world will not allow the Israeli occupation to stay in Gaza; the international pressure, he said, accompanied by the number of soldiers killed in action “from a faltering army” at the hands of the Resistance fighters who managed to regroup “will oblige the Israeli forces to withdraw much, much earlier.”

The military affairs expert did not at all shy away from saying that the Israeli occupation forces were likely to end their first round of armed combat without achieving the first goal of their aggression on Gaza.

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He said the IOF would likely withdraw without completely destroying the Palestinian Resistance’s rocket capabilities and significantly damaging its tunnel network.

Bergman noted that it had been clear since the beginning that the Israeli occupation forces would not be able to return their captives through the force of arms.

The Israeli occupation was senselessly bombing Gaza for nine days before Netanyahu’s cabinet, and under immense public pressure, added the matter of bringing back the captives to the goals of the aggression. 

Israeli officials have been for months saying that a ground operation would help in the effort of taking back the captives. However, “the experience from weeks of fighting proves that the ground maneuver serving as an accelerator for the release of the captives […] was not quite accurate.”

He also touched on how many Israeli captives, upon their return, censured the Israeli government for how the indiscriminate bombardment endangered their lives.

The analyst claimed that al-Sinwar was expected to “fold” during the fighting in Khan Yunis, “when the sword was on his neck”, and agree to terms he previously rejected. However, the complete opposite happened with the Israeli occupation forces exhausting their invasion when they were still far from the area.

“Israel folded, abandoned the original outline, and is ready for a completely different deal, perhaps like the one it rightfully refused [previously],” he added, about a prisoner exchange deal propped up by Hamas earlier.

In the conclusion, Bergman underlined that while the Israeli occupation managed to hurt the Hamas Resistance movement, it is still very far from eliminating it.

Some, he says, believe that the Israeli occupation may suddenly be interested in reaching a deal because its aggression might have to stop within two weeks due to pressure from the United States.

“Even the hawkish linemen in the security establishment should not oppose the deal; quite the contrary: a deal would be an optimistic end act to the war, much more pleasant than if the Americans simply told Israel to stop and withdraw,” he maintained.

Upon asking the senior Israeli official what the game plan was now, he said that the terrible blow dealt by the Resistance on October 7 created a feeling of a need for revenge to the magnitude of what happened. 

The shock generated by the Resistance and the terrible need for revenge among the Israeli officials made them feel like they did not need to plan ahead and that this was something they were inoculated against.

The Israeli occupation, the official said, only has two choices at this point, and while he did not go into what they are exactly, he said they were “cruel” and “devilish”

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Operation Al Aqsa Flood

Who is Yahya al-Sinwar, the artist behind Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?

11 Dec 2023

Source: Sammy Ismail

Yahya Al-Sinwar, the Hamas movement’s leader in Gaza. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

By Al Mayadeen English

This article traces the history of Yahya Al-Sinwar from his early days as a revolutionary youth to his two-decade-long sentence in Israeli prisons climbing up the ranks of Hamas to organize the groundbreaking Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.

“Life imitates art,” the late Irish literary artist Oscar Wilde iconically writes in a piece published back in the 19th century. “The self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and Art offers it the beautiful forms through which it may realize that energy,” he writes. Wilde makes an interesting thesis in the philosophy of art: the aesthetic appeal of art-making can also be found in lived experience. Life through the conscious efforts of humans can be presented in beautiful forms characteristic of the fine arts: replacing the seeming dullness of life with awe. 

Literary devices, for example, like foreshadowing (hinting at the dramatic ending early on while the plot is still unfolding), and irony of fate (the pleasing contrast between the anticipated and the eventual outcome) are some of these beautiful forms through which life can be made awe-inspiring. 

Introduction

Aesthetics is justifiably considered an unseemly theoretical framework for approaching the recent political events and figures in Palestine. However, when deciding to write on Yahya Al-Sinwar, I chose to opt for Aesthetics to bring into focus the admirable and awe-inspiring character of Al-Sinwar against the backdrop of the vilification campaign he has been subjected to by Israeli and Western media.

Read more: Al-Sinwar using psychological warfare against Israeli society: Haaretz

Al-Sinwar, like many Palestinian artists who have doubled as revolutionaries, admirably triumphs the liberation of his people in a beautiful framing. As opposed to the others, however, Al-Sinwar is a very practical and materialistically consequential artist. His masterpiece was not a poem or a painting but a revolution in real-time. I think of Yahya Al-Sinwar as an artist and Al-Aqsa Flood is his masterpiece. 

Yahya Al-Sinwar Foreshadowing Al-Aqsa Flood 

October 7th will be forever marked as a watershed moment in the history of the colonial state in which young fighters circumvented the high-tech Israeli security measures: breaking the zionist siege enforced on Gaza and revolting against their occuppiers. 

According to estimates by the French news website Media Part, in the span of only 6 hours, Resistance fighters managed to inflict cataclysmic destruction on the colonial state, neutralizing 1000, leaving more than 2,000 injured, and taking hundreds captive. 

“This abominable attack was decided upon by Yahya Al-Sinwar,” the IOF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said shortly after the operation. 

Al-Sinwar, whose name literally translates to the fisherman or the crafter of fishing hooks in Arabic, was seen to be at the crest of the Al-Aqsa Flood when it came crashing down on the Zionist colonial state. 

A report written by Reuters earlier this month recalls a speech made by al-Sinwar back in 2022 uncannily foreshadowing the events of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in his choice of wording.

In a speech addressing the Israeli security establishment on December 14 last year, during a popular ceremony in Gaza celebrating the 35th anniversary of Hamas’ establishment, al-Sinwar specifically threatened the Israelis with an impending “flood”. 

“We will come to you, God willing, in a roaring flood. We will come to you with endless rockets, we will come to you in an unceasing flood of fighters, we will come to you with millions of our people, like an incessant tide,” Yahya al-Sinwar said in a televised speech in front of a crowd in Gaza.

Reuters notes that by the time of the speech, al-Sinwar along with Mohammed al-Deif, the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, had already hatched secret plans for October 7.

Looking back at it in retrospect, Al-Sinwar’s statements, which were interpreted as empty threats and exaggeration, turned out to be a warning of the imminent operation. The Israeli establishment misinterpreted it as a hyperbole when it was foreshadowing. 

Yahya al-Sinwar: Revolution & Armed Resistance

Early Days as a Young Revolutionary

Al-Sinwar is originally from the coastal city of Askalan whose indigenous Palestinian population made a livelihood out of the fishing industry before being dispossessed by Zionist militias.

He was born in the Khan Younis camp in Gaza to refugee parents who had been forcibly displaced in the Nakba of 1948. Yahya was heavily involved in political activism since his early years. As an undergraduate, he led the Islamic Bloc at the Islamic University of Gaza where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Studies. 

In 1982, al-Sinwar, at the age of 19, was arrested for the first time for being involved in revolutionary anti-Zionist activism. He would serve a few months in Israeli prisons where he would grow even more dedicated to the Palestinian revolution. 

After serving a few months in Israeli prisons, al-Sinwar left prison more dedicated and better connected after meeting other Palestinian revolutionaries in prison. 

In 1985, he was arrested again. During his second sentence in Israeli prisons, he met Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the founder and leader of Hamas, which would be established a few years later. His affinity with Yassin would grant him an aura of honor and would pave the way for his ascension within the ranks of Hamas. 

Upon his release later in 1985, al-Sinwar would work extensively in political organizing: upscaling his activism into organized armed action. That year Al-Sinwar would co-found the Al-Majd organization. The armed group, which would later coalesce into Hamas, was dedicated to ridding Gaza of traitors. Al-Sinwar, at the helm of the Al-Majd group, would fish out local collaborators and spies, and execute them. 

Al-Sinwar’s security work back then was part of the accumulated efforts in the unfolding strategy of consolidating Gaza as the stronghold of resistance, the Archimedes point of Palestinian liberation. 

In 1988, aged 25, Al-Sinwar was arrested for the third time and sentenced to life in prison for foiling Israeli espionage and subversive measures in Gaza. 

Al-Sinwar’s 23-year sentence in Israeli prisons

Forcefully separated from the praxis of the liberation movement, Yahya Al-Sinwar spent the prime days of his adulthood in Israeli prisons.

From afar, he witnessed the quick unfolding of history, the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the slow consolidation of US hegemony, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2000, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Oslo Accords which neutralized the PLO in 1993, and the subsequent proliferation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank; all of which must have infuriated him with restlessness to resume his praxis of revolution. 

Correspondingly, he also witnessed the liberation of South Lebanon in 2000, the liberation of Gaza in 2005, the victory of the Lebanese resistance against Israeli aggression in 2006, the consolidation of the regional Resistance Axis’ alliance, the First Intifada, and the Second Intifada which must have invigorated him with fervor to resume his praxis of revolution.

Additionally, the game-changing Hamas election victory in Gaza in 2006 must have had him teeming with the satisfaction of a victor seeing the fulfillment of a strategic end he had long worked for; the intermediate victory of consolidating Gaza as the stronghold of resistance. 

From Liberated Prisoner to Liberator of Prisoners

In 2011, al-Sinwar was liberated with a batch of 1,027 others in a prisoner exchange deal between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation.   

During his homecoming celebrations in Gaza City, Al-Sinwar expressed his wishes that the Resistance would liberate all remaining prisoners in Israeli jails. 

After joining Hamas, he rose quickly within the ranks, replacing Ismail Haniyeh as the Political Chief of Gaza in 2017. 

Yahya al-Sinwar, one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, today spearheads the revolutionary efforts to liberate his kinswomen and kinsmen.

Yahya al-Sinwar who was himself liberated along with 1,027 other Palestinians in exchange for one abducted Israeli soldier in 2017, today is in charge of dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers held captive in Gaza.

Six years after leaving Israeli prisons, which were governed by Netanyahu’s 2017 government then, Yahya Al-Sinwar today exercises leverage against Netanyahu and his war cabinet to liberate all Palestenian prisoners.

After wishing for the Resistance to liberate all Palestinian prisoners remaining in Israeli jails, six years later, al-Sinwar draws the plan and enforces the conditions for the liberation of every last Palestinian imprisoned by the Israeli occupation.

In 2018, al-Sinwar led the Great March of Return in an attempt to peacefully break the siege on Gaza and was met with brute Israeli force massacring peaceful protesters. Three years later, al-Sinwar led Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and successfully broke the siege. 

Read more: Hamas ready for ‘immediate’ all-for-all prisoner swap with ‘Israel’

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Operation Al Aqsa Flood

Hamas ready for ‘immediate’ all-for-all prisoner swap with ‘Israel’

28 Oct 2023

Source: Agencies

Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar speaks during a meeting in Gaza City, on April 30, 2022 (AFP)

By Al Mayadeen English

Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar says the movement is prepared to initiate a prompt prisoner exchange arrangement that encompasses the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of all captives.

Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar stated, on Saturday, that the Resistance movement is prepared for an “immediate” exchange of prisoners with “Israel”, however, he stressed that it should be under the formula of all for all. 

“We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian Resistance,” al-Sinwar said in a statement.

This comes shortly after the military spokesperson for Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, disclosed that the Israeli occupation entity has delayed negotiations regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners, noting that over 50 captives have been killed so far due to Israeli strikes.

“If the [Israeli] enemy wants to resolve the prisoners’ issue once and for all, we are ready. And if they want to go into the process of dealing with the file separately, we are also ready.”

"If the [Israeli] enemy wants to resolve the prisoners' issue once and for all, we are ready. And if they want to go into the process of dealing with the file separately, we are also ready."

– Al-Qassam Brigades Spokesperson, Abu Obeida#Gaza #GazaUnderAttack https://t.co/M9Kj6Da1DK

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 28, 2023

Announcing terms of a possible agreement, Abu Obeida said the Resistance is willing to hand over all captives it is holding, but in exchange for the immediate release of all Palestinians in Israeli occupation prisons. He also declared that the Resistance is ready to carry out the agreement in one go or in several stages.

Since the start of the bombardment in the Gaza Strip, “Israel” has arrested a significant number of Palestinians, effectively doubling the number of Palestinians in its prisons. Before  October 7, there were approximately 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Palestinian officials now report that the number of prisoners has exceeded 10,000. During the past three weeks, “Israel” arrested around 4,000 Gaza laborers working in “Israel” and is holding them in military bases. Additionally, 1,070 other Palestinians were arrested in overnight army raids in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds.

Shortly after Abu Obeida’s speech, Israeli media reported that representatives of the families of Israeli captives in Gaza requested, following their meeting with Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a prisoner exchange deal involving all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all captives held by the Resistance. 

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In response to growing concerns about the fate of the captives during “Israel’s expansion of ground operation in Gaza,” Netanyahu agreed to meet with representatives of the families who were seeking information on the government’s approach. While Netanyahu did not commit to a specific exchange deal, he claimed to the families that authorities would make every effort to bring the hostages home.

Earlier, relatives of some of the 229 Israeli captives in Gaza staged a protest and urgently appealed on Saturday for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, and other members of the war cabinet.

This request comes as “Israel” carried out deliberate strikes that disrupted communication networks in Gaza, while occupation forces declared an “expansion” of ground incursions into the Strip.

Israeli media reported that protesters demanding the release of captives and the dismissal of Netanyahu blocked a road near the Ministry of Security in “Tel Aviv”.

The families expressed concern for the safety of their family members as the Israeli war machine launched an unprecedented bombing of the Strip last night, which they described as “the most terrible of all nights.”

Simultaneously, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum issued a statement on Saturday, describing a long and sleepless night filled with Israeli bombardments and a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. They expressed deep uncertainty about the fate of the captives held in Gaza, who were also subjected to heavy bombings. 

It is worth noting that the Palestinian Health Ministry announced on Saturday that the number of martyrs in Gaza due to the Israeli aggression has risen to 7,703 so far, including 3,595 children. In a statement, the Ministry added that the Israeli occupation committed 53 massacres just yesterday and 825 against families in total since October 7.

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Operation Al Aqsa Flood

Rocket production in Gaza: A history of innovation and perseverance

June 22, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen English

By Ali Halawi

“Operation Avenging the Free” has marked another episode in the progression of the Resistance’s military capabilities, this article will examine the historical context and the evolution of Palestinian rocket capabilities and specific innovations which have titled the balance of power in favor of Gaza.

The far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on a five-day aggression on the Gaza Strip on May 9 as it utilized its security apparatus to complete an assassination campaign against leaders of the Palestinian Resistance.

This came in an attempt to save face amid recurring and increasing security breaches in the West Bank and occupied Al-Quds, which has raised questions regarding the ability of successive Israeli governments to limit the progression of Resistance in the spatially separated occupied Palestinian territories. In response, the Resistance’s Joint Operations Room (JOR) — which coordinates the military and security activities of the Resistance groups — announced “Operation Avenging the Free” in retaliation to the murder of three leaders. 

This operation saw the Al-Quds Brigades take a leading role in pivotal missions that were supplemented by the active role of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and Al Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades, as well as intelligence and infrastructural coordination from the Qassam Brigades, along with contributions from other groups within the JOR.

In this battle, the Palestinian Resistance showed exemplary production capabilities, evident in the rejuvenation of its locally-produced rocket arsenal, while maintaining the capacity to expand and refine its weapon choices, which both the armed Brigades and Israeli media spoke of. The JOR, specifically the armed brigades of the PIJ, had last engaged in a battle in August 2022 which witnessed the firing of 1000+ rockets, not to mention the extended confrontations of May 2021 in which barrages of rockets hit targets all over occupied Palestine. In that battle, the Resistance halted all air navigation over the occupied territories after the launching of the Ayash-250 rocket. Thus, the besieged Gaza Strip succeeded in showcasing its innovative production and engineering capacities, since the process of restocking ammunition has become dependent on recycling and repurposing materials to serve the Palestinian people’s fight for freedom.

الإعلام الحربي لـ #سرايا_القدس ينشر مشاهد لرمايات الهاون في اتجاه مواقع العدو وحشوده على طول الحافة الشرقية لقطاع #غزة ضمن معركة #ثأر_الأحرار، رداً على اغتيال قادة سرايا القدس.#فلسطين#غزة_تقاوم #غزة_العزة pic.twitter.com/yyszRf7kOP

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) May 13, 2023

A brief history of the struggle

An appreciation of the military expertise that the Resistance accumulated in Gaza cannot be fully grasped before looking into the material history of its progression, specifically in the field of rocket manufacturing and engineering. 

Footage dated in 2005 from a field trip with leaders of the Al-Quds Brigade showed off part of the group’s training and their rocket launching capabilities. When compared to the barrages of rockets launched in every successive battle since 2014, the PIJ’s capabilities seem amateurish at best, as the chief tactics utilized to achieve tangible objectives at the time were “Martyrdom Operations” where fighters of the Brigades would risk their lives in pre-planned attacks on positions of the occupying forces.

In the early 2000s, video footage emerged of fighters exiting a banged-up panel van as they placed rockets on makeshift launchpads to be fired in an unknown direction. The early stages of rocket production showed, quite clearly, how underdeveloped the weapons were, as the spiraling trails of smoke showed the inefficient trajectory of the rockets cutting through the air.

Guidance fins on early rockets were placed parallel to the rocket head itself, which cut the payload’s range substantially— fins are supposed to guide the projectile into a roll, which allows it to cut through the air more easily — slight improvements such as changing the position of the fins, and calibrating the weight of the rockets culminated in 2014 when the Resistance was able to showcase its military capabilities and deter the aggression on Gaza. Successive Israeli governments attempted to thwart the inevitable rise of the Resistance, as fighters in Gaza looked to improve their military means by building on the progress achieved by martyrs, the accumulated expertise of other liberation movements, and the perseverance of Palestinian youth born into the besieged Strip. 

Historically, Israelis sought to eliminate leaders, engineers, highly-skilled fighters, and production and launching facilities. However, rocket launching capabilities have seen consistent progression, as the last day of “Operation Avenging the Free” highlighted the effectiveness of the Al-Quds Brigades’ rocket launching tactics. The Brigades told Al Mayadeen English that they alone launched around 1,500 rockets and shells that targeted Israeli cities, the Gaza envelope, and the depth of the Zionist entity, in addition to military sites, airstrips, and artillery emplacements. The enemy admitted to the fact that Resistance rockets struck several sites and cities in occupied Palestine. 

Siege on Gaza

After the liberation of Gaza in 2005, the Resistance achieved a wider margin of freedom in weapon production and the organization of its operations, which was previously of utmost difficulty due to the direct occupation of the strip and the presence of Israeli forces. 

In an attempt to limit the progression of Resistance in the Strip, the occupation sought to implement severe unilateral sanctions that manifested themselves in the complete besiegement and blockade of all routes of entry to Gaza. The policy was a comprehensive plan to first, create a state of collective suffering within the Strip aimed at pushing Palestinians to let go of their pursuit of freedom — a tactic which has been deployed by Imperialists and colonialists powers en masse in the global south —  and an attempt to halt the military activities of the armed wings. 

Evidently, this policy did not achieve its goals, as the Resistance made great leaps forward, developing military instruments and strategies that ensured further victories for the Palestinian people, breaking through the facade of the “invincibility” of the Israeli army which succumbed to the demands of the Resistance — be it in Lebanon or Palestine — on various occasions. 

An Israeli “security” frenzy after the Resistance forced its troops out of Gaza in 2005 and 2006 was supplemented by severe sanctions on the strip in 2007 and a naval blockade in 2009 which prohibited the entry of any vessel into Gaza’s waters, be it allied with the Resistance or neutral. 

In 2010 Netanyahu’s government announced the criteria utilized in enacting this policy, which has been described by critics as arbitrary, listing materials that could be used for military purposes as prohibited from entering the Strip, including what was described to be dual-use equipment which could be employed in civilian and military use such as sanitation equipment and cement. 

“Israel”, an occupying force and the world’s last colonial project, justified its collective punishment of Palestinians under the guise of preventing the Resistance from achieving a military advantage. However, after 16 years of sanctions on Gaza ”Israel” has only restricted civilian life in the Strip and imposed suffering on its people, yet still failing to maintain a military advantage; in fact, the IOF continues to suffer massive blows on the field as the Resistance continues to expand its arsenal, regardless of the siege.

Local Production 

Israeli fixation over the complete deprivation of the Palestinian people of their means to sustenance and resistance has led to the innovation of groundbreaking military tactics and weapons development.

Traditionally, armed forces usually depend on either producing their weapons through complex military facilities or importing technologies and arms from states who have already pinned down that process. In Gaza the possibility of both is quite impossible, especially after “Israel” strengthened its intelligence and military alliances in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean to entrench its security apparatus within the Arab world’s waters post-2013.

Gazan fighters have now been accustomed to uncustomary practices, evident in their consistent pursuit to fortify their defensive capabilities. In the early 2000s, a period that coincided with the direct occupation of the Strip, engineers of the Qassam Brigades went to unfathomable extents to source explosive materials. Word of mouth in Gaza says that chemical engineers of the Brigades extracted nitrates from dove defecate by boiling down kilograms of it to produce small amounts of raw materials used in rocket manufacturing. These circumstances did not hinder the diligent work of resistance fighters and leaders, who made a remarkable shift in their tactics to co-opt rocket technology into local production facilities.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a key ally for Palestinian Resistance and has previously supplied Resistance fighters with Fajr 3 and Fajr 5 rockets. Although Iranian-supplied weapons were of great aid to the Resistance in its temporal battles with “Israel”, the real benefit lies within studying the process, geometries, and design that constitutes these rockets. The knowledge shared between different poles of the Axis of Resistance has led to an overall reality where the JOR achieved independence in terms of the production of its military capabilities. Currently, it could be argued that the overwhelming majority of rockets launched toward settlements and occupied territories are produced in Gaza itself, in the workshops of the different groups of the JOR.

Increased precision

Through sharing knowledge and expertise, the Al-Quds Brigade was able to decrease its dependence on imported/smuggled weapon systems that gave it strategic advantages on the battlefield.

It slowly shifted the balance of power by developing and manufacturing several lines of rockets and other explosive projectiles. On the second day of confrontations, the Al-Quds Brigades published a video revealing the features of the Boraq 85 rocket, which boasts a range of 85 km that is capable of effectively targeting “Tel Aviv” and settlements in similar proximity from firing positions in the Strip. The rocket holds a warhead of 40 kg and was put into use in 2019. 

Although Boraq’s warhead is much smaller than that of the Fajr rockets, it can be considered an alternative, as it targets enemy positions in similar ranges and precision. In addition, its production is much more feasible, as it is produced from locally-available materials and technologies.

Even though the Fajr line of rockets allowed Gazans to expand the scope of confrontation with Israelis at a crucial period, the locally-produced Boraq rockets, in their different iterations, highlighted the Resistance’s diminishing dependency on imported weapon systems.

The Resistance has also developed the Badr line of rockets, which harnesses larger explosive warheads that have been estimated at around 200 kg, in addition to the warhead’s tendency to fragment into a multitude of shrapnels, according to Israeli media.

The Ayyash 250 rocket, which was first launched in the battle of the Seif Al-Quds back in May 2021 also showcased the Resistance’s abilities to develop weapons that cover the entirety of occupied Palestinian territory. 

Yehya Al-Sinwar, Hamas’s current leader in the Gaza Strip stated after Seif Al-Quds, “The Resistance has now covered an area that stretches from Naqoura, north of Palestine to ‘Eilat’ in the south.” These breakthroughs bear witness to the continuous progress seen in the Strip’s engineering capabilities. The diligent work of the Resistance members in Gaza has produced a steady development of multiple lines of rockets, from inaccurate objects traveling targeting nearby envelope settlements to well-made accurate weapons that have inflicted substantial damage upon their targets. 

The work of Resistance fighters has been undoubtedly affected by the sanctions imposed on Gaza. However, the Israeli policy pushed the Resistance into a precarious position, and as it traversed through these peculiar material conditions its general principles of operation were molded and solidified.

The Al-Quds Brigades told Al Mayadeen English, “We work under severe circumstances that only Allah knows about. Rebuilding and resupplying our military arsenal, specifically our rocket fire, requires substantial efforts that center around recycling, sourcing, and transporting equipment. Regardless of the difficulty of working conditions, the besiegement of Gaza, and continuous aggression, we have been able, as we have shown in every round of confrontation, to restore our military capabilities and replace the rockets launched as we defend our people.”

رسالة #سرايا_القدس.. "لن ينفعكم مقلاعكم"#الميادين #ثأر_الأحرار #غزه_تقاوم #غزة_العزة #غزة_ثأر_الأحرار pic.twitter.com/w8xp5xdK0E

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) May 12, 2023

Jenin the rising star of the occupied West Bank

“The work of the Palestinian Resistance and Al-Quds Brigades is completely unattached to individuals or leaders, as its functions are based on an integrated system that works towards pre-set strategic goals that center around Palestine’s complete liberation. The leaders who were martyred founded the principles which allow us to say that the Resistance is determined and resolute, and its search for freedom cannot be stopped. The Israeli occupation should await the promised day when masses from the resistance and all the free people from every corner of the world will enter occupied Palestine.”

The work of the Al-Quds Brigades and its blueprint for military progression under severe circumstances has now been implemented in the occupied West Bank, with Jenin and its refugee camp taking a leading role in today’s Palestinian Resistance. On June 19, the first signs of an effective defensive strategy began to emerge. This was exemplified by the locally-produced highly explosive devices that dealt a heavy blow to intruding “Israeli Border Police” personnel and armored vehicles. These weapons were introduced for the first time in the West Bank, showcasing the fruitful outcomes of the secretive work carried out by the Axis of Resistance in general, and the Al-Quds Brigades specifically.

While the geography, governance, and social fabric of the Gaza Strip differ greatly from those of the West Bank, the larger picture remains unchanged: the constant advancement of Resistance capabilities amid Israeli security failures.

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Iran’s Amirabdollahian on Lebanon Border with Palestine: Hezbollah Proved ‘Israel’ Doesn’t Understand but Rhetoric of Power

April 28, 2023

Iranian foreign minister Hussein Amirabdollahian on Lebanon border eying Occupied Palestine

The Iranian foreign minister Hussein Amirabdollahian visited the Lebanese southern town of Maroun Al-Ras, overlooking the border area with the occupied Palestinian territories.

The two members of the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc, Hasan Fadlallah and Hasan Ezeddine, in addition to a host of municipal and social figures welcomed the Iranian top diplomat.

Planting an olive tree in Iran’s Park in the town, Amirabdollahian reiterated the Iranian support to the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.

“We are here in the border town of Maroun Al-Ras to announce again and loudly that we support the Resistance in Lebanon against the Zionist occupation,” Amirabdollahian said.

“The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has proved that the Zionist entity does not understand but the rhetoric of power.”

The Middle East has started a stage of collaboration, the Iranian foreign minister said, adding that the future of the regional states is bright.

All the developments in the region will lead to the isolation and collapse of the Zionist entity, Amirabdollahian affirmed.

Iranian foreign minister Hussein Amirabdollahian

In turn, MP Hasan Fadlallah thanked the Iranian minister for his country’s renewed power offers to Lebanon, calling on the Lebanon authorities to respond positively to the Iranian initiatives.

Member of Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah

Sayyed Nasrallah Receives Amir-Abdollahian: Regional Developments Discussed

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Lebanese party’s Media Relations Office announced on Friday.

Sayyed Nasrallah and the visiting Iranian FM discussed latest developments in the region including the Saud-Iranian deal and its regional repercussions, a statement by the Media Relations Office read.

The two also tackled latest events in Lebanon and occupied Palestine, the statement added, noting that Iranian Ambassador in Beirut Mujtaba Amani was present at the meeting.

Hezbollah S.G. Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah in a meeting with Iranian FM Hussein Amirabdollahian (Friday, April 28, 2023).

Amirabdollahian Meets Nakhallah

Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement of Palestine Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh says that the Israeli regime is on the path of decline and destruction.

Al-Nakhaleh made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beirut on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest regional developments, the recent Zionists’ attacks, and the resistance of the Palestinians against the Israeli regime forces.

Referring to the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation against the Zionist regime, Amir-Abdollahian emphasized the necessity of unification of Palestinian groups as well as the unity of Muslim governments and nations in supporting the Palestinian nation and taking effective and deterrent measures against the aggressive actions of the Zionists against the Palestinians and Islamic holy places.

Al-Nakhaleh, for his part, hailed the political support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Palestine in regional and international forums, adding that the Palestinian Resistance groups are in their best position now.

Amirabdollahian also held a phone call with Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Al-Sinwar, reiterating the Iranian support to the Palestinian people and Resistance.

For his part, Al-Sinwar hailed the Iranian support, underlining the importance of the regional reconciliations reached by the Iranian diplomacy.

The top Iranian diplomat arrived in Beirut on Wednesday. He held several meetings with Lebanese caretaker PM Najib Mikati, Speaker Nabih Berri and FM Abdallah Bou Habib.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

Liberman: Netanyahu “Coward” in front of Nasrallah, “Lion” in front of Likud

 March 24, 2023

Avigdor Liberman (L) and Benjamin Netayhau (R), in a photo from 2016.

Israeli opposition lawmaker Avigdor Liberman lashed out at Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Israeli PM was acting like a coward in front of Hezbollah and Hamas, while acting like a lion in front of his friends in Likud.

In remarks on Thursday, Liberman said: “Netanyahu, who acts like a coward in front of (Hezbollah S.G. Sayyed Hasan) Nasrallah, and (Hamas Chief Yahya) Sinwar, and undermines Israel’s deterrence, is now acting like a lion in front of his friends in the Likud. It is a shame that it is not the other way round.”

The former Finance Minister asserted that the “current conflict in the Israeli society is not between the left and the right wings, but rather between those who serve in the army, work and pay taxes, and those who and seek after power, along with their allies.”

Meanwhile, Liberman addressed Defense Minister Gallant’s decision to postpone his public address in which he was expected to call to freeze the legislation due to concerns for Israel’s national security, calling it “political suicide.”

Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu confirmed his government’s determination to move forward with the judicial overhaul.

“We will not allow any internal dispute between us to threaten the future and security of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Source: Al-Manar English Website and Israeli media

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• Yair Netanyahu: US Funding ‘Israel’ Protests
• ‘Israeli’ Army on Verge of Curbing Ops Due to Absence of Reservists – Chief of Staff
• Three Zionist Soldiers Injured in Violent Fight Near Lebanon Border
• War Minister to Warn Netanyahu He Won’t Back Overhaul ‘Legislation’ In Current Form

الضيف للفاشيين: لن تفلحوا في ما أعجزَ آباءكم | «حماس» في ذكراها الـ35: رسائل تحدٍّ وتصعيد

الخميس 15 كانون الأول 2022

جرت جولات تفاوض غير مباشر مع الاحتلال قُبيل الانتخابات الإسرائيلية الأخيرة لإنجاز صفقة التبادل (أ ف ب)

رجب المدهون

غزة | في الذكرى الخامسة والثلاثين لانطلاقتها، وفي وقت يبدو الفلسطينيون مُقبلين على مرحلة حُبلى بالتحدّيات والاستحقاقات، جاءت رسائل حركة «حماس»، في الشكل والمضمون، على قدْر ما يتطلّبه الموقف. إذ حملت الكلمة المُسجَّلة لقائدها العسكري، محمد الضيف، التي تُعدّ الأولى له منذ سنوات، مواقف تحدٍّ للفاشية الصاعدة في دولة الاحتلال، بمُخاطَبته القادة الإسرائيليين بأنهم «أعجزُ وأجبنُ من أن ينجحوا في ما فشل فيه آباؤهم»، وأن «نهايتهم ستكون هي غنيمتنا». أمّا كلمة قائد الحركة في غزة، يحيى السنوار، فقد أكّدت المؤكّد لناحية وجود قرار لدى المقاومة بدعم حالة الاشتباك والمواجهة في الضفة الغربية، فيما أنذرت العدو بقُرب انتهاء المهلة الممنوحة له لإنهاء ملفّ الأسرى، تحت طائلة «دفْنه نهائياً، وإيجاد طريقة أخرى من أجل تحرير الأسرى». وبينما أظْهر العرض العسكري الذي نظّمته «كتائب القسام» بالمناسبة، والذي تَرافق مع تسيير سرْب – لا واحدة كما في المرّات السابقة – من الطائرات المسيّرة فوق الحشد الجماهيري، بتطوّر قدرات الكتائب في هذا المجال خصوصاً، فقد جلّى استعراضُ أحد مُقاتليها بندقية الضابط الإسرائيلي الأسير لديها، هدار غولدن، شيئاً مـ«مّا يمتلكه مُجاهدونا من رصيد في هذا الملفّ المهمّ»، وأنبأ بأن عملية الأسر عام 2014 تمّت بأريحية أتاحت للمقاتلين التركيز على متعلّقات الأسير، بالتالي بأن فرصة نجاة الأخير وبقائه على قيد الحياة كانت عالية بالفعل

وسط حشد جماهيري كبير في قطاع غزة، أوصلت حركة «حماس» رسائلها، في ذكرى انطلاقتها الخامسة والثلاثين، إلى كلّ «مَن يعنيهم الأمر»، عبر ألْسنة ثلاثة: قائدها في غزة يحيى السنوار، وقائد جناحها العسكري محمد الضيف، وأحد مُقاتليها الذي أماط اللثام لأوّل مرّة عن بندقية الضابط الإسرائيلي الأسير لديهم، هدار غولدن. وفي أولى تلك الرسائل، قال السنوار إنه «بحسب ما أكّدته لنا استخبارات كتائب القسام – الجناح العسكري لحماس -، أدركْنا أنّنا سنكون خلال عام 2023 أمام استحقاقات كبرى، حيث قدّرت استخباراتنا أن اليمين الصهيوني سيكسر كلّ الخطوط الحمراء». ومن هنا، فقد دعا إلى أن «نهبّ هَبّة رجل واحد دفاعاً عن الأقصى، وأن تكون الأمّة الحيّة جاهزة للزحف بطوفان هادر لاقتلاع الاحتلال من الأرض الفلسطينية»، مشيراً إلى «(أنّنا) أعطيْنا الفرصة لاشتعال المقاومة في الضفة لأنها قلْب المقاومة، ولنُعطيَ أهلنا في القطاع مزيداً من الوقت لالتقاط الأنفاس».

وفي ما يتعلّق بملفّ الأسرى، كشف أن جولات تفاوض غير مباشر جرت مع الاحتلال قُبيل الانتخابات الإسرائيلية الأخيرة لإنجاز صفقة التبادل، إلّا أنها توقّفت بعد الانتخابات، متّهماً الاحتلال بالمراوغة، محذّراً من أنه «في حال لم يتمّ تحريك الملفّ مجدّداً ضمن مهلة محدّدة، فسنعمل على دفنه، وسنجد طريقة أخرى من أجل تحرير الأسرى». ولفت إلى أنه في خلال تلك الجولات، قدّمت «حماس» مطالبها، المتمثّلة في الإفراج عن معتقَلي «صفقة شاليط» والأسيرات والأطفال والمرضى، وعلى رأسهم الأسير القائد ناصر أبو حميد والأسير القائد وليد دقة والجثامين المحتجَزة، مقابل تسليم أسيرَين إسرائيليَّين اثنين، وصندوقَين أسودَين يضمّان إمّا جثمانَي الأسيرَين الآخرَين أو دليل حياتهما. وحذّر السنوار الحكومة الإسرائيلية المقبلة من مغبّة انتهاكها للمقدّسات والأرض الفلسطينية، مؤكدًا أن «المقاومة والشعب الفلسطيني سيُفشلان مخطّطاتها». وجزم أن «حماس على وفاق كامل مع كلّ مَن يحمل البندقية»، مُذكّراً بأنها «لم تختلف مع فتح حين كانت الأخيرة تحمل راية الكفاح المسلّح، ولكن اختلافها معها كان بسبب مسار التسوية والتنسيق»، مجدّداً رفْض حركته «الالتزام بقرارات الشرعية والرباعية الدولية باعتبارها قرارات لا تنصف الشعب الفلسطيني وقضيّته».

أوّل ظهور للضيف منذ سنوات
وفي أوّل كلمة مسجّلة له منذ ثماني سنوات، دعا قائد أركان الجناح العسكري لحركة «حماس» إلى «توحّد جميع الرايات، والتئام كلّ الجبهات والساحات من أجل تحرير فلسطين»، مُنذِراً الإسرائيليين بـ«قُرب نهاية كيانهم وكنْسهم عن الأرض الفلسطينية». وتَوجّه الضيف إلى الفلسطينيين بالقول: «يا أهلنا، يا شعبنا، طوبى لكم شرف السبْق في كلّ مَواطن الجهاد، فأنتم السابقون السابقون، قدّمتُم للمقاومة فلذات الأكباد، سلام عليكم يا أهل الشهداء والجرحى والمصابين والأسرى والمبعدَين، وعهداً أن نُواصل طريق الشهداء حتى نلقى الله مُقبِلين غير مدبِرين». أمّا لقادة الاحتلال، فقال: «أيّها الغرباء عن أرضنا، لقد عجز آباؤكم المؤسِّسون وهُم في قمّة جبروتهم وانتمائهم إلى فكرة الصهيونية الخبيثة عن استئصال شعبنا أو طمْس هويّتنا، فأنتم اليوم أعجزُ وأجبنُ من أن تنجحوا في ما فشل فيه آباؤكم»، مضيفاً: «ستكون نهايتكم وزوال كيانكم وكنسكم عن أرضنا هي غنيمتنا ووعد ربّنا الذي لن يتأخّر عنكم».

جدّدت «حماس» تأكيدها أن «المقاومة المسلّحة هي خيارها الاستراتيجي لردع الاحتلال»

من جهتها، وجّهت «الهيئة العليا لأسرى حركة حماس» رسالة، عبر المهرجان، إلى قيادة الحركة، وعلى رأسها الضيف، من أجل «التدخّل المباشر بما يضمن تحرير أسرى المقاومة في أسرعِ وقت»، مؤكّدة أن «ثقة الأسرى هي باتّخاذ المقاومة وقيادتها القرار لإنجاز (…) واجب ينبغي أن تسعى لتحقيقه بكلّ ما أوتيَت من قوّة وإمكانات». واعتبرت أنه «لا بدّ من تغيير سياسة التعاطي مع ملفّ حريتنا تغييراً جذرياً، بحيث تمتلك المقاومة زمام المبادرة مجدّداً، ولا سيما أنها أكدت في أكثر من مناسبة وعدَها بإنجاز صفقة مشرّفة». في المقابل، وقبل نهاية المهرجان، كشفت «كتائب القسام» مفاجأة من العيار الثقيل؛ إذ حَمل أحد مُقاتليها من «وحدة الظلّ»، المسؤولة عن تأمين الجنود الأسرى، بندقية الضابط الأسير، قائلاً: «تاريخ 01/08/2014 شهد على خيبة جيش العدو الصهيوني عندما فُقد الاتّصال بالضابط هدار جولدن، إلّا أنه كان موصولاً بالأبطال المظفّرين الغانمين». وأوضحت الكتائب أن البندقية التي تحمل الرقم 42852351 اغتنمها مجاهدو «القسام» أثناء عملية الأسر، لتكون هذه إشارة إلى «ما يمتلكه مُجاهدونا من رصيد في هذا الملفّ المهمّ». من ناحية أخرى، وفي رسالة حول تطوّر قدرات الجناح العسكري لـ«حماس» في مجال الطيران المسيّر، سيّرت «كتائب القسام»، تزامناً مع استعراضها نُخبة من مُقاتليها، سرباً من خمس طائرات مسيّرة من طراز «شهاب» فوق الحشد الجماهيري.

مواقف سياسية
وفي ختام المهرجان، جدّدت «حماس» تأكيدها أن «المقاومة المسلّحة هي خيارها الاستراتيجي لردع الاحتلال والعمل على إزالته من فلسطين»، مشدّدةً على أن «القدس والمسجد الأقصى المبارك هما قلْب الصراع مع الاحتلال، ولا شرعية ولا سيادة فيهما له، ولن تفلح كلّ محاولاته في التهويد وتغيير المعالم». كما أكدت أن «قضية الأسرى ستبقى على رأس أولوياتها، وأنها ستعمل على تحريرهم»، مشيدةً بـ«صمودهم وثباتهم في مواجهة إجرام السجّان الإسرائيلي». واعتبرت أن «بناء شراكة وطنية حقيقية وجادّة، قائمة على برنامج نضالي موحّد، هو السبيل لمواجهة الاحتلال وحكومته الفاشية، ولن يتأتّى ذلك إلّا بالمُضيّ في تنفيذ إعلان الجزائر وما سبقه من وثائق سياسية وتفاهمات، تفضي إلى استعادة الوحدة وترتيب البيت الفلسطيني، على أسس وطنية وديموقراطية على قاعدة مواجهة الاحتلال وتحقيق تطلّعات شعبنا في التحرير والعودة»، كما جاء في نصّ بيانها. وكرّرت أن «حق عودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى أرضهم التي هُجّروا منها قسراً، هو حقّ مقدّس غير قابل للتنازل»، مجدّدةً رفضها كلّ مشاريع التوطين، داعيةً كلّ الدول والمؤسّسات إلى «توفير الحماية والحياة الحرّة الكريمة لهم، وإلى تعزيز صمودهم إلى حين عودتهم».

من ملف : المقاومة لـ«إسرائيل الجديدة»: هزيمتكم أقرب

مقالات ذات صلة

• «جيش نصف الشعب»: عن «مِنعة» إسرائيلية تتخلخل
• المقاومة لـ«إسرائيل الجديدة»: هزيمتكم أقرب
• أشرسُ حملة اعتقالات منذ الانقسام: السلطة لا تحتمل «الحمساويين»
• قائد «القسام» للعدوّ: «ستكون نهايتكم وزوال كيانكم هي غنيمتنا»

Palestine| Hamas’ Elusive Military Chief Mohammad Deif Addresses Crowds in Gaza

December 14, 2022

Illustrative photo showing shadow of Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif.

Hamas celebrated on Wednesday the 35^th anniversary of its founding with its elusive military chief calling on all Palestinian factions to unite against Israeli occupation.

Dubbed ‘Lions’ Den’, the military parade was performed by fighters of Hamas’ Al-Qassam military wing and attended by mass crowds in the Gaza city.

Massive crowds take part in a rally in downtown Gaza commemorating the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, today. pic.twitter.com/k8uPbREv82

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 14, 2022

The name of the parade was a salute to Nablus-based resistance group, Lions Den, which has heroically emerged against Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and mainly in Nablus.

During the ceremony, a message by Hamas’ military commander Mohammad Deif was revealed.

Deif, who has been on the Zionist entity’s most-wanted list for over 25 years, called on Palestinian resistance factions to unite.

“All the factions must unite for one great goal, the liberation of Palestine,” he said in a recorded message.

“You won’t manage to oppress our people or eliminate our identity from our land,” Deif addressed the Israeli occupation in his message.

Israeli security services tried to kill Deif at least seven times over the years. The first such attempt took place in 2001, a second in 2002, costing him his eye, and a third a year later. Another strike was conducted in 2006 in which he was reportedly seriously injured, losing both of his legs and one arm.

For his part, Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar called on Palestinian Authority to stop the so-called security coordination with the Israeli occupation.

Sinwar saluted Palestinian factions in West Bank, hailing all forms of resistance including Nablus’ Lions’ Den group.

He warned that the Palestinian resistance as well as the entire Axis of Resistance will face several challenges in 2023 amid the rise of the Israeli political right.

Sinwar also called on Palestinians to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque, threatening the Israeli occupation that resistance rockets “will incessantly pound the occupied territories” in any future confrontation.

Meanwhile during the parade, Hamas displayed the rifle of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who was arrested by the Palestinian resistance during the 2014 summer Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Media coverage: "Marking the 35th anniversary of its foundation, Hamas publishes images of the rifle of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, arrested by the Palestinian resistance during the 2014 summer Israeli aggression on Gaza". pic.twitter.com/075wijTt9I

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 14, 2022

Later on, a video showed Al-Qassam Brigades drones flying over the parade.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

‘Regime change’ in Hamas and a return to Syria

The removal of Khaled Meshaal from power was necessary for normalization with Damascus to occur

September 26 2022

Photo Credit: The Cradle

By The Cradle’s Palestine Correspondent

In mid-September, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas issued a statement indicating that it had restored relations with Syria after ten years of estrangement, effectively ending its self-imposed exile from Damascus.

After the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, at the height of the so-called Arab Spring, Hamas – in line with its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) – turned its back on its once-staunch Syrian ally and threw its support behind the mostly-Islamist “revolution.”

As governments collapsed in key Arab states, the Ikhwan felt the time was ripe for their organization to ascend to a leadership role from Gaza to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria.

Yet the decision by Hamas’ leadership to leave Damascus was met with strong opposition from influential circles within the movement, especially in its military arm, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Despite Hamas’ official position toward Syria, internal opposition to the break in relations remained for years, most notably from Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Al-Zahar, and a number of Al-Qassam Brigades leaders such as Muhammad al-Deif, Marwan Issa, Ahmad al-Jabari and Yahya al-Sinwar.

Today, that balance has shifted notably. Sinwar is currently Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip, and his alliance is in strong ascendence within the movement.

From Amman to Damascus to Doha

But back in 2011, the person with the final say over the decision to abandon its Syrian ally was the then-head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Khaled Meshaal.

Meshaal was the director of the Hamas office in Amman in 1999 when the Jordanian government decided to expel him. He travelled between the airports of a number of Arab capitals, which refused to receive him, under the pretext that there were agreements with a superpower requiring his extradition.

Only Damascus agreed to receive him. Despite the tension that historically prevailed in the Syrian state’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, Meshaal was given freedom to work and built a personal relationship with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. In the years that followed, Hamas was granted facilities and resources that it did not enjoy in any other Arab capital.

Syria opened its doors to train hundreds of resistance fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades and to manufacture quality weapons, such as missiles and reconnaissance drones.

One Syrian source told The Cradle that the privileges enjoyed by Hamas leaders and members in Syria were not available even to Syrian citizens. In addition to the high cost of Meshaal’s residence and security in Damascus, the state provided him and his associates with dozens of luxury homes in the capital’s most affluent neighborhoods.

Syria was also at the forefront of countries that facilitated the arrival of high-quality weapons into the besieged Gaza Strip. A source in the resistance tells The Cradle that the first Kornet missile to reach Gaza between 2009 and 2011 came from Syria with the approval of President Assad, and was received by then-Chief of Staff of Al-Qassam Brigades Ahmed al-Jabari.

Also crucial to the Palestinian resistance was the arrival of Iranian and Russian missiles that entered Gaza via Syrian arms depots.

Meshaal chooses Doha

It is important to recognize that while the decision to leave Damascus was not by any means unanimously agreed upon within Hamas, as political bureau chief, it was ultimately Meshaal’s call.

A Hamas source informed The Cradle that in September 2011, six months after the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Meshaal received an invitation from the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, to visit Doha. Recall that Qatar was one of the first states to fund and arm the Islamist opposition in the brutal Syrian war.

According to al-Thani’s estimates, the “Syrian revolution” was likely to end in the overthrow of the Assad government. He is reported to have advised Meshaal to abandon the sinking ship, so to speak, because if the rebellion is successful, “those who stayed with him [Assad] will drown, as happened with the late President Yasser Arafat, when Saddam Hussein was defeated in Gulf War,” the source described.

In an attempt to win over Hamas from Iran’s patronage, al-Thani offered to financially support the movement and to provide a geographical space for operations in the Qatari capital and in Turkish territory.

Meshaal is said to have informed his host that such a decision could not be taken unilaterally, and that he needed to refer to Hamas’ Political Bureau and Shura Council for buy-in.

Internal dissent 

On his way back to Damascus, Meshaal made pit stops in a number of regional countries to inform Hamas’ leadership of the Qatari offer. Suffice it to say, the deal was rejected by the majority of members of the Political Bureau and the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The Hamas source says: “The second man in Al-Qassam, Ahmad Al-Jabari, rejected the treachery against the Syrian leadership, along with Mahmoud al-Zahar, Ali Baraka, Imad al-Alami, Mustafa al-Ladawi, and Osama Hamdan.

On the other hand, Meshaal had the support of Musa Abu Marzouk, Ahmed Yousef, Muhammad Ghazal, Ghazi Hamad and Ahmed Bahr, in addition to a number of the movement’s sheikhs such as Younis al-Astal, Saleh Al-Raqab, and Ahmed Nimr Hamdan, while the head of the Hamas government in Gaza at the time, Ismail Haniyeh, did not have a decisive position.

Meshaal’s opponents were of the opinion that as Hamas is a resistance movement, it would be ill-advised to sever ties with the region’s Axis of Resistance – Iran, Hezbollah and Syria – and that leaving this alliance left little options other than to join the “Axis of Normalization” [with Israel].

Meshaal then received a call from Kamal Naji, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in which he was informed that the Syrians “are aware of all the details of your visit to Qatar, and of the discussion taking place in the Hamas leadership.”

According to the source, Naji advised Meshaal that Hamas “will not find a warm embrace like Syria, and that despite its historical disagreement with the Muslim Brotherhood, Damascus will not ask Hamas to take any declared position on the Syrian crisis.”

The source in Hamas told The Cradle: “The Qataris felt that Meshaal was unable to take such a fateful stance.” At this point, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (considered to be the spiritual guide of the Ikhwan) intervened to pressure both Haniyeh and Abu Marzouk, who had not yet made up their minds.

Fateful meetings

Meshaal was later invited to visit Turkey, where he met leaders of Syrian armed groups, accompanied by the Qatari Minister of Intelligence and officers from Turkish intelligence.

They convinced him that “a few steps separate the opposition from the Republican Palace in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, and that the days of the Assad regime are numbered.”

The meeting of Hamas’ political bureau in Sudan was the turning point. In that gathering, to the surprise of some participants, both Haniyeh and Abu Marzouk weighed in to side with Meshaal, and it was decided to “discreetly” withdraw from Damascus.

After the decision was taken, the Qataris worked to further enhance Meshaal’s position within Hamas, through an extraordinary visit by the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to the Gaza Strip – the first for an Arab head of state. During this visit, al-Thani provided generous support with more than $450 million provided for reconstruction and the implementation of development projects.

Hamas’ fateful decision to abandon Damascus, however, was not met with the same enthusiasm by the movement’s military wing, who believed the move made little strategic sense.

Back to Damascus

In the following years, major regional changes contributed to the downfall of Khaled Meshaal and his removal from his position leading Hamas’ Political Bureau.

The Syrian state remained steadfast in the face of collective NATO-Gulf efforts to unseat Assad; Russian military intervention altered the battlefield balance of power; the Syrian political and armed opposition began to disintegrate and suffer heavy losses; the Ikhwan’s rule in Egypt and its control over Libya and Tunisia began to collapse; and a stand-off with Qatar caused Saudi Arabia and the UAE to alter their position on Syria.

With these stunning regional setbacks, it quickly became apparent that neither Qatari nor Turkish support offered any real strategic value for Hamas’ resistance model – nor could they hope to fill the void left by the reduction in Iranian and Syrian military support.

Moreover, Al-Qassam Brigades found itself facing severe financial difficulties, unable to secure the salaries of its members, let alone sustain any meaningful armed resistance against Israel’s continuous assaults and occupation.

At the time, Hamas’ revenues were derived mainly from taxes imposed on Gaza’s residents, while Qatari support, under US supervision, was limited to providing the expenses of the Hamas leadership in Qatar, and providing seasonal financial grants to government employees in Gaza.

Meshaal’s fall from power  

Cumulatively, these events and the stagnation of the Palestinian resistance convinced Hamas’ leadership of the need to reshuffle its regional cards. The freed prisoner, Yahya al-Sinwar, was the initial spark to revamp a fresh new agenda, following his sweeping victory as the new Hamas leader in Gaza.

Sinwar, one of the historical leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades, decided to reset relations with Iran and Hezbollah, and work toward the movement’s eventual return to Damascus.

Meshaal, realizing that regional changes were no longer in his favor, tried to flatter the Syrian state more than once in media statements. But a firm decision had already been taken across the Axis of Resistance that Meshaal was no longer a welcome or trustworthy figure.

This was especially the case after it became clear to the Syrian security services that Meshaal was involved, along with dozens of Hamas members, in supporting armed groups, exposing secret sites of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese resistance Hezbollah, smuggling weapons to armed opposition in the strategically-located Yarmouk refugee camp and eastern Ghouta region, and providing them with expertise in digging secret tunnels.

Meshaal’s isolation became crystal clear at the end of December 2021, when Hezbollah refused to receive him during a Beirut visit, even though he was officially the external relations officer for Hamas.

According to the Hamas source, Meshaal tried to disrupt the consensus of the leadership of the Political Bureau and the Shura Council on restoring relations with Syria, when he “leaked, at the end of last June, the decision taken in the Political Bureau meeting to return to Damascus.”

Hamas, post-Meshaal

Meshaal’s leak caused media chaos, followed by attempts to pressure Hamas to reverse course. A statement issued by eight of the most important Muslim Brotherhood scholars, advised Hamas to reconsider its decision because of the “great evils it carries for the Ummah.”

Meshaal meanwhile, remained busy trying to restore relations with Jordan, in parallel with Iran, Lebanon and Syria. However, with the recent announcement by Hamas that it would return to Syria, “the efforts made by Meshaal and the Qataris behind him have gone unheeded,” says the movement’s source.

The normalization of relations between Hamas and Syria is significant, not only for the military dividend it could reap for the Palestinian resistance, but also because it can pave the way for Turkey and Qatar to re-establish their Syria ties, although Doha would do so very reluctantly.

With the decision to sideline the Meshaal camp within Hamas, it would seem that Hamas – and not Syria – has ultimately been the subject of regime change in this regional geopolitical battle for influence.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Hamas’ return ticket to Damascus won’t come cheap

The Palestinian resistance movement’s complicated relationship with Syria is headed for a reset, but it won’t be on their terms.

July 06 2022

Photo Credit: The Cradle

Despite excited media reports of a Hamas-Syria rapprochement, nothing is finalized: the Palestinian resistance movement has much more to prove still.

By The Cradle’s Palestine Correspondent

On 21 June, two unnamed Hamas sources told Reuters that the Palestinian resistance movement had decided to restore ties with Damascus following a decade-long rift after Hamas expressed support for the Syrian opposition.

The news caused a row, and it seems that this may have been the purpose behind its leak.

Shortly after the report, dozens of websites, satellite channels and media commentators in Turkey, Qatar, and the UK who are sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood – the political Islamist group to which Hamas belongs ideologically – distanced themselves from Hamas, which has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.

However, comments made by the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has added credence to these claims.

In a speech before the National Islamic Conference in Beirut, on 25 June, Haniyeh said, “The time has come after ten years to make historic reconciliations in the Islamic nation.”

“What is happening in the region today is very dangerous as Israel is paving the way through military and security alliances to fight Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas,” he added.

So how accurate are the reports about “high-profile” secret meetings between Hamas and the Syrians? Is there a relationship between Haniyeh’s visit to Beirut and the timing of these revelations?

The heavy legacy of Khaled Meshaal

When Hamas left Syria over a decade ago, the office of Khaled Meshaal, who was the head of the movement’s Political Bureau at the time, justified the decision as stemming from “moral premises.”

They contended that the Hamas movement stands with the people in deciding who will rule them, saying “even if the ruler supports our right, we will not support his falsehood.” This reverberated within the movement, and the majority of its popular base supported “Syrian revolution” in the face of “the regime that is slaughtering its people.”

That was back in 2011, when the so-called Arab Spring helped sweep the Muslim Brotherhood (MB or Ikhwan) and its affiliates into power in Egypt and Tunisia, and paved the way for the MB-aligned Syrian armed opposition to take control of the outskirts of Damascus. .

But only four years later (2015), the picture was completely reversed: Egypt’s Mohammed Morsi was ousted in a Gulf-backed military coup; Tunisian President Kais Saied turned against the Brotherhood’s Ennahda party and removed it completely from the political scene. And Damascus gradually regained control over the vital parts of Syria.

In the wider region, the regime of Omar Al-Bashir fell in Sudan, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in Libya, Yemen, Jordan and Kuwait was severely diminished.

New leadership, a new direction

It was inevitable that these significant region-wide changes would also transform Hamas’ leadership to reflect the new political scene. In 2017, Ismail Haniyeh was appointed head of the Political Bureau, while that same year, Yahya Al-Sinwar, who was released from Israeli prisons in 2011, became the leader of the movement in Gaza.

Seen as a hawk, Sinwar relies on the absolute support of the movement’s military arm, the Al-Qassam Brigades, and as such, introduced a new political approach to Hamas’ regional relations.

Although Sinwar’s first move was to reorganize relations with Cairo after a four-year estrangement, by far his most important change was to revive Hamas’ relations with the Axis of Resistance, making it the movement’s top foreign policy priority.

Within a few years, the Hamas leader in Gaza had re-established full relations with Iran and Hezbollah, but its return to Damascus still remains the biggest obstacle.

In order to thaw the ice with Syria, Iran mediated first, followed by Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and more recently, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). This deadlock was not broken until after the Hamas operation “Sword of Jerusalem” in May 2021.

Testing the waters

In that same month, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad responded to a greeting from Al Qassam Brigades, conveyed by the Secretary General of PIJ Ziad Al-Nakhaleh, with a corresponding greeting. After that, contacts began to increase between Syrian officials and Hamas leaders.

Syrian sources informed The Cradle that a year ago it was decided to “reduce security measures against a number of Hamas members in Syria, release a number of detainees, and reveal the fate of other missing persons.”

But that didn’t achieve normalcy between Syria and Hamas either. There are those within the latter, it appears, who continue to sabotage progress made with Damascus.

To understand the dynamics of this particular relationship – present and its future – it is necessary to review its stages throughout the years.

From Amman to Damascus

Hamas began paving the way for its relationship with Syria in the early 1990s through visits made by its official Musa Abu Marzouk. In 1992, Mustafa Al-Ledawi was appointed as the head of an unofficial office for the Hamas in Damascus.

The great leap occurred with the visit of the founder of Hamas, the late Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, to Damascus in 1998. This official visit, and the warm reception accorded Yassin, constituted a huge breakthrough in relations, after which the late President Hafez Al-Assad authorized Hamas’ official presence in Syria, providing it with political and security facilities and logistical and material support.

Despite previous bad blood between Damascus and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, notably in regard to the Hama massacre in 1982, there were several prudent reasons for the Syrian government and Hamas to collaborate.

One reason can be traced to the rivalry between Hafez Assad and the late Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, who sided with the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War (1990–91) after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on 2 August, 1990.

On 21 November, 1999, a plane carrying Hamas’ then-political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal landed at Damascus airport, after being expelled from Jordan and refused a reception by many Arab capitals.

Since then, a number of political bureau members relocated to Damascus, and Hamas’ activities in Syria intensified. Between 2000 and 2010, the relationship further strengthened over several events, including the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the 2005 withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon, the 2006 July war between Israel and Hezbollah, and most importantly, the Israeli aggression against Gaza in 2008.

Syrian support

Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar, who was interviewed by The Cradle in Gaza, talks about an important detail that the media did not mention at the time. When Hamas formed its first government in Gaza in 2007, in which Zahar was foreign minister, “Syria was the only Arab country that recognized the diplomatic red passport issued from Gaza.”

Zahar says: “The Syrian leadership gave us everything. On my first visit to Damascus, we were able to solve the problem of hundreds of Palestinian refugees stuck on the Syrian-Iraqi borders, and Syria adopted the Palestinian calling code (+970), and expressed its willingness to provide support to the elected Palestinian government. For that, it faced an Arab, international, and American war.”

Today, Zahar is the designated official tasked by Sinwar to revive the relationship with Damascus. This was confirmed by sources in Hamas, who said that he traveled to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage, and may head from there to Damascus.

These details are meaningful: it means Egypt is spared the censure of allowing Zahar to travel to Syria, and would avoid an awkward situation for Cairo in front of the US, Israelis and Gulf Arabs.

From Damascus to Doha and Ankara

The Syrian crisis that erupted in March 2011 put Hamas in a unique bind of its own making. Fellow Palestinian Islamists in PIJ, for example, did not take a radical position on the “revolution” from 2011 to 2017, and were content with maintaining their offices in Damascus, although its political and military leadership relocated to Beirut due to deteriorating security conditions.

On the other hand, Hamas issued its first statement regarding the Syrian crisis on 2 April, 2011, in which it affirmed its support for the Syrian people and leadership, and considered that “Syria’s internal affairs concern the brothers in Syria… We hope to overcome the current circumstances in order to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people, and preserve Syria’s stability and its internal cohesion, and strengthening its role in the line of confrontation and opposition.”

This wishy-washy statement did not hide the hostile stance of the movement’s members and elites, who all adopted the anti-Syrian narrative. On 5 November, 2011, the Syrian security forces stormed the offices of Hamas, confiscated its assets, and shuttered them.

In early 2012, Meshaal traveled to Doha, Qatar, before holding a scheduled meeting with Bashar Al-Assad. Hamas declared that the meeting “will not be useful.”

Hamas and the opposition

On 8 December, 2012, the movement burned bridges with Damascus when Meshaal and Haniyeh raised the flag of the “Syrian revolution” during a celebration marking the movement’s launch in the Gaza Strip in front of tens of thousands of their supporters.

In a parade held during the celebration, a number of members of the Al-Qassam Brigades wore the opposition flag on their backs.

The Syrian government’s reaction was no less restrained. Assad accused Hamas of actively participating in the war against the Syrian state by supporting Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusra, and by providing instructions to opposition factions on ways to dig tunnels and fortify them to withstand aerial bombardment.

Other opposition militant groups such as Bait Al-Maqdis, Faylaq Al-Rahman and Army of Huda announced that they were affiliated with Hamas.

Once an Ikhwani, always an Ikhwani

In 2016, Assad said in an interview with Syrian newspaper Al-Watan: “We supported Hamas not because they are Muslim Brotherhood, but rather we supported them on the grounds that they are resistance. In the end, it was proven that the Ikhwani (member of Muslim Brotherhood) is Ikhwani wherever he puts himself, and from the inside remains a terrorist and hypocrite.”

All this may seem a thing of the past, but it still affects the formation of a new relationship between the two parties, especially after the return of turncoat Meshaal and his team a year ago to important leadership positions in Hamas.

Although the majority of the movement’s leadership has changed, the old legacy of Meshaal still weighs heavily on everyone, especially in Damascus. There are many in Syria who still warn the “wound is open;” that Hamas has not yet closed it, but rather wants a “free return.”

Understanding Hamas’ structure

Before explaining Hamas’ recent decision to restore ties with Syria, it is necessary to know how the movement is run to ensure representation and accountability. Hamas has a Shura Council of 15 members, chosen in elections in which cadres of certain organizational ranks participate.

These cadres choose their representatives in the local advisory councils from different regions (West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, territories occupied in 1948, and prisons). As for members of Hamas’ base, they elect their representatives in the General Consultative Council, which in turn elects the Political Bureau.

Despite this ‘healthy democracy,’ the position on Syria produced two contradictory currents:

The first current is led by Meshaal, who was head of the Political Bureau until 2017. It includes Ahmed Youssef, a former adviser to Haniyeh, and Nayef Rajoub, one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas in the West Bank.

The second current has no specific leader, but Zahar was the public face before Sinwar joined him.

Between these two viewpoints, Ismail Haniyeh and Musa Abu Marzouk maintain a state of ‘pragmatism’ by taking a middle position between the Qatar-Turkey axis and the Axis of Resistance.

Although the decision to leave Syria was taken with the full approval of the members of the Shura Council and members of the Political Bureau, the entire burden of the decision was placed on Meshaal. The man, who was a personal friend of Assad and Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, became blacklisted by the Axis of Resistance.

Meshaal’s influence

All prior efforts to restore relations between Hamas and Syria were a “waste of time” as long as Meshaal was at the helm of the movement. This was not only the opinion of the Syrians, but of many Iranians as well.

In 2015, for example, when there were media reports about efforts to restore Hamas-Syrian relations, the Iranian Tabnak website (supervised by General Mohsen Rezaei, a leader in the Revolutionary Guards and currently one of the advisors to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei) launched a scathing attack against Meshaal.

At that time, Meshaal had refused to visit Tehran if he was not received at the highest levels – that is – to meet specifically with Khamenei. The Tabnak website wrote: “Meshaal and the Hamas leaders lined up two years ago on the side of the international terrorists in Syria… They are now setting conditions for the restoration of relations between Hamas and Iran as if Iran did not have any conditions.”

Since that time, Meshaal and his team have remained staunchly reluctant to even talk about restoring relations with Damascus. In addition to their loyalty (to some extent) to Turkey and Qatar, they were aware that reviving relations would weaken their organizational position within Hamas, and contribute to increasing the influence of their rivals.

On the other hand, these rivals remained weak until 2017, as Meshaal managed to marginalize Mahmoud Al-Zahar who did not receive any influential positions.

Re-joining the Resistance Axis

The formation of the new Political Bureau meant there were now a large number of officials who were not involved in any public positions on the Syrian crisis – such as Sinwar, Saleh Al-Arouri, and Osama Hamdan, who maintained a balanced relationship with all parties.

Zahar told The Cradle that Sinwar was “convinced” of his theses about the shape of the “last battle with Israel.” He added: “I spoke with Abu Ibrahim (Sinwar) for a long time about restoring the bond with the components of the nation that have hostility to Israel, specifically Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, and this is the pillar of Hamas’ foreign policy in the future.”

Nevertheless, Zahar believes that Damascus “will refuse to deal with the movement’s leadership, which took the lead during the war.” But it is likely that the Syrians will accept to deal with him personally, which he will seek during his forthcoming visit.

What’s Next?

Well-informed sources in Hamas revealed to The Cradle that the movement’s Political Bureau met this month and made the decision to return to Syria, despite Meshaal’s objection.

The resolution has two aims: first, to build a resistance front in the “ring countries” surrounding Palestine; and second, to establish a maritime line of communication between Gaza and the port of Latakia, in Syria.

The sources also revealed that Jamil Mezher, who was recently elected deputy secretary general of the PFLP, conveyed a message from Sinwar to the Syrian leadership calling for the restoration of relations between the two parties.

After his visit to Damascus, Mezher met with Haniyeh in Beirut to discuss the results. Haniyeh also met Nasrallah, as well as Ziad Al-Nakhaleh in an expanded meeting of the leaderships of Hamas and the PIJ in the Lebanese capital. All these events took place in one week.

According to Hamas sources, Haniyeh informed Nasrallah that the movement has unanimously taken an official decision to restore relations with Damascus. The two sides also discussed the demarcation of the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.

The sources confirm that “Hamas is ready to simultaneously target gas-stealing platforms from the Gaza sea, in the event that Hezbollah targets an exploration and extraction vessel in the Karish field.”

Hamas sources, as well as an informed Syrian source, however, deny holding any recent new meetings between the two parties. The Syrian source reveals that meetings sponsored by Islamic Jihad were held last year.

What does Syria stand to gain?

On the other hand, Damascus has its reasons for postponing the return of this relationship. Of course, internal reasons can be overlooked if Bashar Al-Assad himself makes the decision.

But it is the current regional situation and the re-formation of alliances that worries the Syrian leadership the most.

It is true that Assad the son, like his father, has learned the ropes in dealing with the MB, but now he has no need for a new headache caused by the return of Hamas. There is no great benefit from this return except in one case: the normalization of Syrian relations with Turkey, Qatar, or both.

On Syria’s terms

Only in this scenario, can bridges be re-built with Hamas. But the conditions for this are currently immature, as this normalization will be at the expense of Syria’s relationship with its ally Russia, whether in the issue of gas supplies to Europe or stopping the military operation that Ankara is threatening against Kurdish terrorists in northern Syria.

Syria, which has already improved its relations with the UAE, and is currently working to improve its relations with Saudi Arabia and Jordan, will not include a “losing card” in its stack of cards now.

It will also not compete with Egypt over a file – the relationship with Hamas – which Cairo considers its monopoly in the region.

Also, Damascus is not in the midst of a clash of any kind with the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement, which took advantage of the exit of Hamas to consolidate their position in the Syrian capital and improve their relationship with Assad.

However, when news broke about the possible resumption of Hamas-Syrian relations, this time Damascus did not launch an attack on the movement and did not comment negatively on the news of the rapprochement and the restoration of the relations – as it did previously.

There is no doubt that the battle of the “Sword of Jerusalem” and the presence of a new leadership in Hamas’ Political Bureau has thawed the ice significantly. But the answer to when full rapprochement will be achieved is a decision likely to be made between Assad and Nasrallah.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

Israel’s flag march: Will it trigger the inevitable war in Palestine?

Israel is desperate to re-establish the ‘deterrence equation’ it lost last May, while the Palestinian resistance intends to do everything necessary to maintain and advance it.

May 28 2022

Photo Credit: The Cradle

By Abdelrahman Nassar

After enduring heavy Israeli provocations during the holy month of Ramadan, Palestinians will be tested again this Sunday with the Flag March – an annual Jewish celebration of the 1967 capture of Palestine’s Old City in East Jerusalem.

Tensions are rife in Jerusalem. This year and next, Ramadan falls on the same month as Jewish religious holidays, each offering a pretext for Israeli extremists to taunt, injure, and kill Palestinians in occupied lands.

So if Sunday’s march doesn’t provoke a conflagration, there is still 2023 to contend with.

Israel can no longer control outcomes

For years, Israel has been surveilling Palestinian movements in an effort to predict the eruption of a new uprising (Intifada), but has been unable to determine when it will take place.

Last March, for example, a report by the Israeli Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) identified several incidents that could lead to a large-scale confrontation in Palestine – and the likely locations for it. And, indeed, the expected happened.

But what the Shin Bet report did not say was that Israel itself is pushing for this confrontation so that it can choose the time and place in order to try to control the outcome.

The evidence abounds: Israel allows hundreds, even thousands, of extremist settlers a free hand to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to perform Jewish Passover rites at the Muslim site. This year, they were not allowed to conduct animal sacrifices inside courtyard of the Mosque, but that may happen next year.

The Israeli army accompanies and protects Jewish settlers during their attacks on Palestinian cities, towns, and villages of the occupied West Bank. The examples are countless; the difficulty is in predicting the results of the ensuing clashes.

Tel Aviv seeks an escalation of tensions, but without a Palestinian reaction. While Israel presents itself as a secular state, its barely veiled ambition is to Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the Temple of David over its ruins.

Israel’s strategy is to emulate the Ibrahimi Mosque model in Hebron: to incrementally divide Al-Aqsa by allocating times for Jews to perform religious rites within the courtyards of the mosque – then expand those rights. This is significantly equal to the construction of a Temple.

Palestinians thwarted Israel’s efforts during both this and last year’s Ramadan. Last month, their resistance factions were careful – particularly in the Gaza Strip – not to engage in a bloody confrontation, but allowed Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1948 areas to rise up instead.

The Flag March provocation

Israel’s right-wing government and parties know full well that canceling the Flag March – or even diverting its path away from Al-Aqsa – constitutes a submission to the Palestinian resistance factions.

Palestinians are now demanding the marchers be prevented from entering the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and Bab al-Amud. This is a dangerous request for a state like Israel that relies mainly on the principle of deterrence and the excessive use of force to subjugate its opponents.

The two reported routes that Israeli extremists will take through Jerusalem’s Old City before converging at the Al-Aqsa Mosque

About a week ago, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli security establishment was preparing for the Flag March with “high alertness for the possibility of escalation,” pointing out that “all the bodies, the Shin Bet, the army and the police, recommended that the march take place as planned.”

In short, the very security establishment that ostensibly seeks to quash opportunities for a Palestinian intifada, are recommending that Jewish marchers traipse through the historically sensitive Bab al-Amud.

The Israeli security establishment has warned that any change in the route “will be interpreted as Israeli weakness,” and has recommended a “fierce response” to any Palestinian action.

Although Israel claims it is ready for further clashes with Gaza, it tried to avoid this outcome during Ramadan. It seems, however, that Tel Aviv’s calculations have changed after a series of developments, which include Hamas Gaza Leader Yahya Sinwar’s threat – in a speech at the end of Ramadan – that the resistance will wage a war to defend its victories in the May 2021 Sayf Al Quds battle over the sanctity of Jerusalem.

The perceived higher threat level has made Israeli police, in several subsequent provocative activities organized by Jewish settlers, reduce their numbers in Al-Aqsa and ban them from raising Israeli flags.

Internal political collapse

Domestically, Israel is in trouble. The government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is in imminent danger of collapse. That possibility appears to increase if he shows inaction or failure in dealing with security issues, whether in the occupied West Bank or in the Gaza Strip.

Bennett’s government is under pressure from parties even further to his right, who represent a large number of Israeli votes that he does not want to lose. And hawkish former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, eager to return to the post he occupied for 15 years, is nipping at Bennett’s heels.

Amid the internal political crisis, Israel’s security establishment fears losing much of its deterrent power against Palestinian resistance factions, newly armed with enhanced missile technology, drone capabilities, and unprecedented field coordination. Indeed, the Israelis have come to feel that the factions are controlling the internal scene.

Is war imminent?

There are a number of indicators that a confrontation is more likely to unfold in the next few days than at any time this year.

First, on 9 May, the Israeli army launched its largest ever military exercise, Chariots of Fire, which involves nearly all units of the Israeli army, and simulates the outbreak of war on several fronts with Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.

Second, since the start of the maneuver, increased flights of reconnaissance planes – AWACS and others – have been observed over Gaza. Sources in the resistance factions interpret this as an attempt by the Israeli army to accumulate a new target bank to be used in any upcoming confrontation.

Third, Palestinian factions have raised their alert levels since the start of Israel’s military maneuvers. According to sources in Gaza, there are strict measures on the movements of the senior resistance military leaders and precautionary measures in the movement of monitoring units, as well as the cancellation of training courses.

Fourth, from a wholly Israeli point of view, the army believes it has not taken any action against Gaza since 2008. In its mind, in both 2014 and 2021, it was the resistance that decided to ‘launch a confrontation’ after Israel’s many provocations against Palestinians, including attacks, assassinations, and sieges.

But the Sayf al Quds (Sword of Jerusalem) war in May 2021, was the most dangerous Israel has encountered in recent decades. Small-scale Israeli aggressions in Jerusalem provoked all the occupied territories and unified Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem and 1948 Palestinians – depriving the Israeli security establishment of their ability to compartmentalize and control each of these four ‘units.’

For this fifth reason, there is an urgent Israeli need to re-establish the psychology of deterrence and to rearrange the Palestinian scene into a manageable and predictable state.

Sixth, the resistance estimates that Israel may take advantage of current tensions to carry out assassinations of their most influential leaders, especially Yahya Sinwar, Ziad al-Nakhaleh, Muhammad al-Deif and Marwan Issa. These leaders have contributed heavily to the increase in Israel’s threat perception by keeping their ranks battle-ready and by unifying the Gaza, Jerusalem and West Bank arenas of confrontation.

In anticipation of renewed targeted killings, Hamas Political Bureau Leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a warning in an 18 May letter to regional mediating states that any assassination policy adopted by Tel Aviv would lead to a major war. The resistance believes that Israel will use the cover of ongoing military maneuvers to direct a severe blow to their command and control centers in order to contain a harsh Palestinian reaction.

On the seventh point, noting that the Gaza resistance has not escalated its rhetoric – setting a date for firing rockets, for example – Israel decided to proceed with the Flag March, providing that another security assessment is conducted on the night prior.

As a Palestinian security source told The Cradle: “Something unusual should have happened to change the course of the march, because the threats until this moment are low-level.”

Then, in yet another unfolding development, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, in his 25 May speech commemorating the liberation of southern Lebanon, announced – on behalf of the entire Axis of Resistance – that the attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock “will lead to the detonation of the region.”

In the following hours, the plan for the Israeli Flag March was temporarily halted and attempts were made to reduce the heat. According to Israel Hayom newspaper, directly after Nasrallah’s speech, Israel made contact with Egypt, the United Nations, and Qatar to prevent further escalation.

Palestinian resistance factions, however, are in a state of absolute preparedness. They know not to be placated by deceptive Israeli statements, because they continue to observe active Israeli preparations on the ground. A resistance security source says Tel Aviv is frantic, and that there is an “urgent Israeli strategic interest to undermine the state of mutual deterrence between the resistance and the occupation.” Nothing will move Israel from this obsession to establish perceived strength.

The most clear expression of this was voiced by Yossi Yehoshua in Yedioth Ahronoth when he wrote that “all [Israeli] security chiefs warn that changing the course of the Flag March at the last minute will be interpreted as weakness.”

It’s getting hot in here

It is important to understand that the Israeli army pronounced Gaza “deterred” in May 2021, just before battles broke out across occupied Palestine. The Israeli army believed that Gaza would not react because it feared another Israeli military operation. Israel’s military establishment has, once again, made that same assessment this year.

But this is not necessarily true. The last hours leading up to Sunday’s Flag March may carry a new statement by the Chief of Staff of Al-Qassam Brigades Muhammad al-Deif, in which he renews intent to establish red lines around Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

Gaza resistance sources confirmed to The Cradle that although they tried to preserve the ‘deterrence equation’ without entering into a new confrontation during Ramadan, there is a strict decision to prevent Israel from reversing the advantages gained from last May’s Sayf al Quds war. Such a reversal, one source adds, “will mean an acceleration in the Judaization of the Holy City.”

Hours from now, 16,000 Jewish settlers will rally for the Flag March, waving Israel flags in besieged Palestinian areas, to signal their absolute sovereignty over the city, its neighborhoods, and its holy sites.

Until Sunday, many international and regional mediations will take place behind the scenes in an attempt to reach a solution. However, even if the event in Jerusalem passes without escalation, there are no indications that the operations in the Palestinian cities or the clashes in the West Bank will stop.

In the West Bank, the scene is developing quickly. The Jenin Brigade model has been replicated in other cities, such as Nablus and Tulkarm. Entering these cities, with their vast areas and overcrowded, heavily armed camps, will make staying on the brink of confrontation a permanent situation.

This scene, with all its details, suggests that periods of calm have become a thing of the past. Israel is well aware of this. The resistance factions believe that a battle is inevitable – if not now, then very soon, but they will not allow it to be on “the date set by the Israelis.”

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

al-Aqsa Mosqueflag marchGazaHamasIsmail Haniyeh

New Details Unveiled about Last Year’s Operation Al-Quds Sword

May 28, 2022 

By Staff

The leader and member of al-Qassam Brigades’ Supreme Military Council Mohammad al-Sinwar unveiled new details on last year’s Operation al-Quds Sword, in addition to elaborating on the most important decisions that were made by the Palestinian resistance factions.

Sinwar noted that the last strike the Palestinian resistance suspended at the end of the May 2021 war against Gaza was set to include 362 rockets to be launched towards 14 cities and settlements including Haifa, Tel Aviv, Dimona, Eilat, and Bir Sabe’.

In a TV interview conducted by al-Jazeera Network, the Hamas military wing’s leader said: “When we warn the enemy, indeed every letter and every word have a credit and a field action. We know what pains and what pressures the enemy, and our equations have turned to be very important in which the enemy takes very well into consideration.

Sinwar further uncovered that the Palestinian resistance was trying to kidnap ‘Israeli’ soldiers ahead of Operation al-Quds Sword to force the occupation regime to a swap deal, noting that the resistance dealt the enemy the heaviest blow by striking Tel Aviv and belittling the ‘Israeli’ prestige, and cemented the new equation that “bombing Tel Aviv is a piece of cake.”

The senior Palestinian resistance figure also admitted that a joint operations chamber with the entire axis of resistance was always active all over the days of the war.

Additionally, the joint security chamber highly contributed to important intelligence during the course of the battle, Sinwar made clear.

In response to a question about the Qassam Brigades’ readiness amid the latest ‘Israeli’ provocations, the Hamas official stressed that “The power that we’ve built and are still building, the experiences and lessons we’ve learned, bring us every day a step closer to the long-awaited day of liberating Palestine and returning to it.

Sinwar then addressed all the free people of the world by saying: “The Aqsa Mosque is waiting for you, so do wait for the signal.”

• Hezbollah War Media Department Circulates Video with English and Hebrew Subtitles: Any Violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque Will Lead to Regional Explosion
• Palestinian Teen Martyred by ‘Israeli’ Fire in Bethlehem

اقتراب الطلقة الأولى في حرب إقليميّة

الثلاثاء 24 أيار 2022

 ناصر قنديل

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يعرف الذين يعطون الأحداث حقها أن المبالغات العراقية واللبنانية في قدرة الانتخابات في لبنان والعراق على تشكيل منعطف مصيريّ ومفصليّ لا تعبر عن حقيقة الواقع، وأن الأحداث الجارية في العالم والمنطقة ترسم مسارات يغفل عنها الغارقون في التفاصيل والشكليات، لن يكون لبنان والعراق بمعزل عنها. فالحرب الجارية في أوكرانيا جذبت العالم كله نحو مرحلة جديدة حدد الرئيس الروسي فلاديمير بوتين عنوانها، إنهاء القطبية الأميركية الأحادية المهيمنة على العالم، وبات واضحاً أن هذا العنوان يعيد رسم التوازنات والمعادلات في منطقتنا، حيث الأميركي يعيد ترتيب أوراقه على قياس المواجهة العالمية الكبرى، التي تدق أبوابه بيدين عملاقتين روسية وصينية، ما يضعف مكانة المنطقة في حساباته من جهة، ويخلق وزناً مضافاً لصالح توازناتها الإقليمية المعاكسة لمصالح حلفاء واشنطن، ما يدفع بعضهم لترتيب أوضاعهم عبر التسويات مع القوى الصاعدة في الإقليم وفي طليعتها إيران، كما تفعل السعودية، ويدفع بعضهم الآخر الى الشعور بالذعر الذي بشروا به بعد الانسحاب الأميركي من أفغانستان، ويتصرفون بوحيه اليوم، بصورة تعبر عن عدم التوازن، والوقوع في ارتكاب الحماقات كما هو حال كيان الاحتلال.

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تضيف تداعيات حرب أوكرانيا على المنطقة، الى الذعر الإسرائيلي من الانكفاء الأميركي، تصاعداً في التباينات الروسية الإسرائيلية، وتصاعداً في الأداء الروسي الضاغط على واشنطن في الكثير من الساحات، بحلفائها الأشد قرباً، ومنهم كيان الاحتلال، ما جعل ملف التصعيد الذي يحكم مسار العلاقة بين موسكو وتل أبيب مرشحاً للمزيد، أوضح بعض المتوقع منه ما قاله الملك الأردني بعد زيارته لواشنطن وهو يحمل ملف القلق من تطورات دراماتيكية في سورية، ليكشف لاحقاً عن معطيات ومؤشرات على قرار روسي بالانسحاب من جنوب سورية، وانتشار قوات إيرانيّة وحلفاء لإيران، مكان القوات الروسية المنسحبة، وخشيته من تداعيات خطيرة تنجم عن هذه الخطوة، ليس من بينها فقط قلق الملك الأردني من تحول حدود الأردن الشمالية إلى منطقة تنتشر فيها القوات الإيرانيّة، بل أكثر ما يقلق هو خطر انفجار مواجهة عن مسافة صفر بين إيران وكيان الاحتلال.

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سبق تداعيات الحرب في أوكرانيا على المنطقة، تصاعد المواجهة بين محور المقاومة وكيان الاحتلال، عبرت عنه مواقف قادة محور المقاومة، سواء لجهة الرد على أي اعتداء بصورة فورية وقوية، كما قال الأمين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله، أو لجهة ما أعلنه رئيس حركة حماس في قطاع غزة يحيي السنوار، حول نية إنهاء حصار غزة بالقوة إذا تعذّر على الوساطات الأممية والإقليمية تحقيق ذلك، وجاءت هذه المواقف على خلفية مسار تصاعديّ في المقاومة الشعبية والمسلحة التي يخوضها الفلسطينيون بوجه جيش الاحتلال. وجاءت زيارة الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد الى طهران علامة فارقة على مستوى من التعاون والتنسيق كثرت التخمينات حول ارتباطه بتحضيرات معينة ليست بعيدة عن ما لحقه من إعلان الملك الأردني حول انسحاب روسيّ من جنوب سورية، وانتشار قوات لإيران وقوى المقاومة بدلاً منها، وليست بعيدة عن معادلات محور المقاومة في مواجهة كيان الاحتلال، ومكانة سورية والجولان فيها.

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يأتي اغتيال العقيد في فيلق القدس من الحرس الثوري الإيراني حسن صياد خداياري، وما تبعه من تصعيد في المواقف الإيرانيّة بوجه جيش الاحتلال ومخابراته، بعد مؤشرات تدلّ على قيام المخابرات الإسرائيلية بتنفيذ الاغتيال، وتعهد إيراني على أعلى المستويات بالرد على الاستهداف بقوة.

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كل شيء يقول إن الطلقة الأولى في حرب إقليميّة تقترب، فإن لم تكن انطلاقاً من هذه الحادثة فما هو سواها؟

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‘Israel’ Preparing Teams to Assassinate Hamas Leaders Abroad

May 9, 2022

By Staff, Agencies

The Zionist occupation regime has reportedly told foreign allies that it is readying teams to carry out the targeted killing of leaders of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement group who live abroad.

Unnamed intelligence sources told Britain’s The Times newspaper in an article published Monday that a “clear message” needed to be sent to Hamas.

While the resistance group has not taken responsibility for most of the operations carried out since March 22 that have left 19 ‘Israeli’ occupiers killed, Hamas leader in Gaza Yehya Sinwar has repeatedly called for Palestinians to retaliate in the form of operations targeting the ‘Israeli’ occupiers. Hamas then has publicly praised the perpetrators, encouraging more operations.

The report said that any potential targeted killings are more likely to take place in other countries in the region where Hamas leaders live, with Lebanon and Qatar given as examples.

The report said targets could include Saleh al-Arouri, a deputy leader of Hamas who splits his time between Qatar, Turkey and Lebanon and is in charge of West Bank operations.

The newspaper also named Zaher Jabarin, a senior figure in Hamas.

The report said that Hamas is thought to have been warned of the potential resumption of targeted killings, by the intelligence agencies of a number of countries in Europe and the Middle East.

Stabbing operation in Elad settlement leaves three Israelis dead

Hamas announced that ‘Operation Elad’ came in retaliation for the attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem

May 06 2022

Israeli forces secure the area of a stabbing operation in the settlement of Elad on 5 May 2022. Israeli medics say at least three people were killed. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

ByNews Desk

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas claimed responsibility for “Operation Elad,” a stabbing attack which occurred against Israeli settlers in the Elad settlement of eastern Tel Aviv on 4 May.

The operation left at least three dead and five wounded during a celebration of Israel’s so-called Independence Day.

According to the Hamas statement, Operation Elad came in retaliation to the escalation of violence and provocations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinian attackers have so far evaded capture by Israeli forces, and the two suspects are believed to come from Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinians reportedly used an axe to strike their victims, according to Israeli media.

https://twitter.com/LebUpdate/status/1522288124969340935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1522288124969340935%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecradle.co%2FArticle%2Fnews%2F9995

Israeli occupation forces are searching about the attackers who carried out the shooting and stabbing operation in Elad in central occupied Palestind. pic.twitter.com/13CxjzQ7E8

— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) May 5, 2022

According to Hebrew Channel 12, the Israeli army opened an investigation to see if this operation was carried out in retaliation for the recent provocative raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Hamas statement provided an answer to this query.

حماس في بيان صحفي: عملية "إلعاد" قرب ما يسمّى "تل أبيب" نتيجة لتصعيد الاحتلال إرهابه ضدّ شعبنا ومقدساته الإسلامية والمسيحية pic.twitter.com/GzcqHxoFRs

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) May 5, 2022

Israeli settlers stormed the Islamic holy site on 4 May with protection from Israeli forces. The doors of one of the prayer halls were busted down and Palestinians violently chased from the premises.

The Israeli forces only resorted to arresting a few Israeli settlers due to their raising Israeli flags on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, likely due to fear of retaliation by Palestinian resistance for such acts.

The stabbing operation in Elad may have some symbolic significance.

Palestinians consider Israel’s so-called Independence Day as the Nakba, or “tragedy” in Arabic, as Israel’s establishment came on the back of massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through brutal massacres, forced expulsions, and other methods of striking fear into the hearts of the existing Palestinian population, causing many to flee out of fear of being killed or forced out.

The Elad settlement was built over the ruins of a village called Al-Muzairaa, whose population fled in 1948 during the Nakba.

Hamas warned Israel that it is ‘playing with fire’ through increased provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinian resistance organization based on Gaza recently claimed responsibility for the shooting operation at the Ariel settlement on 29 April which left an Israeli soldier dead.

On 30 April, Hamas senior official Yahya Sinwar warned that crossing red lines in Al-Aqsa would lead to a regional war.

In the event of an escalation into a major war over Al-Aqsa, Sinwar called on all Palestinians in the 1948 occupied lands to resist the Israeli occupation through any means at their disposal, and called on Palestinian refugees in other countries to storm the borders and enter occupied Palestine.

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