Palestinian Resistance Rises

The Resistance Rises Toward Revolution, Return and Liberation

Samidoun, Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network writes: “As the morning dawns on 7 October 2023, the resistance is rising throughout occupied Palestine, smashing the siege on Gaza with a comprehensive offensive confronting the occupier by land and air, taking control of Palestinian land, seizing occupation settlers and soldiers and launching thousands of missiles as Palestinian resistance forces fight to advance towards the liberation of Palestine.”

The resistance in Gaza reports taking dozens of hostages including Brigadier General Nimrod Aloni.

The operation, called Al-Aqsa Flood, was launched on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war in which Egypt reclaimed the occupied Sinai from Zionist occupation, “and is set to alter the direction of the struggle in occupied Palestine, moving from resistance toward revolution and liberation,” the organization writes. It explains that the resistance operation “comes in response to the ongoing stream of crimes against the Palestinian people, the daily murder of Palestinians on the streets of the West Bank of occupied Palestine, the siege on Gaza, the theft of land for settlements, the denial of refugees’ right to return, imposing exile for over 75 years, the torture and attacks on the Palestinian prisoners, the ongoing invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the 75 years of Zionist occupation and over 100 years of imperialist domination and colonialism throughout occupied Palestine. It also comes to bring about the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, as part and parcel of the Palestinian people and land.”

Samidoun continues: ” [I]t is a decisive rebuke to the entire path of Oslo and normalization imposed upon the Palestinian and Arab people for the past 50 years, indicating a new path forward with a clear goal: liberation, and nothing less. It builds upon the liberation of south Lebanon from occupation by the Lebanese resistance, led by Hezbollah, in 2000, and the defeat of the Zionist invasion of Lebanon in 2006, as well as the successive heroic battles waged by the Palestinian resistance throughout occupied Palestine and especially from its base area of resistance land in Gaza. […] Samidoun joins the Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, in calling the masses of our Palestinian people, supporters of the resistance in exile and diaspora, allies from the liberation forces and movements, and solidarity committees with the Palestinian people everywhere, to express their support for the heroic Palestinian resistance, raise the flag of Palestine and the banners of resistance, and organize popular, political and media demonstrations and events to expose the Zionist crimes against our people in occupied Palestine […] the resistance has announced that it has taken a significant number of prisoners from among the occupation soldiers and settlers in order to liberate the 5,250 Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons, including the 1,350 jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, 39 women and 170 children.”

The Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement called on its organizations and supporters, “the masses of our Palestinian people, supporters of the resistance in exile and diaspora, allies from the liberation forces and movements, and solidarity committees with the Palestinian people everywhere, to express their support for the heroic Palestinian resistance, raise the flag of Palestine and the banners of resistance, and organize popular, political and media demonstrations and events to expose the Zionist crimes against our people in occupied Palestine, and to support the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades [the military wing of Hamas], Brother Mohammed al-Deif.

“… The heroic Palestinian resistance has opened a chapter of battles of dignity and pride at the dawn of October 7, 2023, and it is now responding to decades of continuous and repeated Zionist, American and European aggression against the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation.”

Hamas said more than 7,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, declaring it had started “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” The Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement also said its fighters have joined the operation as Hamas called on Palestinians everywhere to fight and on resistance groups in Lebanon to join the fighting against Israel.

Israel responded with massive air strikes deep inside the coastal enclave, killing scores and wounding hundreds of people and vowing unprecedented retaliation.”Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We are in a war and we will win it.”

Gaza health officials said at least 232 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1,697 injured, and carried into crumbling and overcrowded hospitals with severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment. According to Israeli media, at least 200 Israelis have been killed and over 1,100 injured following the large-scale operation.

The Israel regime has cut electricity to the Gaza Strip as it intensifies its attacks against the besieged Palestinian territory. The regime’s energy minister said he ordered the state-run electricity company to halt power supply to the Gaza Strip on Saturday. “I have signed an order instructing [Israel] Electric Company to stop the electricity supply to Gaza,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Power outages have long been an everyday occurrence in Gaza and households only had electricity for several hours a day on a rotational basis on the days before recent power cuts started. Gaza’s power authority says 80 per cent of the electricity supplies to Gaza from the national grid have been cut off following Israel’s announcement.

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, UN Human Rights Commission in its recent report (September 2023) concluded “that Israel has violated and continues to violate the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination by its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. The legal consequence of the violation of right to self-determination, which is an obligation erga omnes [toward all], is the responsibility of the State of Israel. The current occupation, which has lasted 56 years to date, is unlawful under international law. The result of the unlawful acts entails legal consequences for Israel to bring an end to the ‘internationally wrongful act.'(40) All States and the UN are also under an obligation to act urgently to bring the unlawful acts to an end.”

Fans of the Glasgow, Scotland soccer team the Celtics stand with Palestine, October 7, 2023.