The Nakba narrative is also a discussion of the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and no force in the world can create an atmosphere of fear to suppress this issue from the public discourse.
The Nakba is not just about the Palestinians, though. The Middle East faces constant and often debilitating conflict and violence. As we see in Yemen, this trauma touches communities and reaches across the planet. From Gaza to Syria, from Yemen to Iraq, the examples are tragically countless and similar.
As recent developments suggest, evil is a tall order. Israel and its allies will stop at nothing to expand their territories. Palestinians also have nothing to lose if they resist Israel’s machinery of repression, property destruction and incitement to violence.
International law says Palestinians have the legal right to fight occupation and they can use force to achieve their independence. International law also says Israel’s system is designedly one of repression and has no right to self-defense.
It’s an echo of comments made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who says armed resistance is the only way to confront Israel.
In his words: “Tel Aviv’s unimaginable crimes show the innate reality of Israel, whose only cure is annihilation. Of course, until then, Palestinian armed resistance and its expansion to the West Bank is the only way to confront this savage regime…”
But as maintained by Ayatollah Khamenei, the annihilation of Israel does not mean the massacre of Jews: “Through referendum, all people living in the Holy Land could select their desired government…”
Ayatollah Khamenei’s historic remarks carry with them a number of important messages that would need a closer look:
- The only way to ensure justice for Palestinians is to hope for a change in the world order. The actions of civil societies, conscientious politicians and independent states have not yet changed that balance.
- As a consequence of discord in the Muslim world, Palestinians are suffering. Israel continues to kill Palestinians and steal their lands. The regime has destroyed a nation and the “human rights industry” is not doing anything about it.
- Last summer’s war on Gaza showed only through armed resistance will it be possible for Palestinians to secure their freedom.
Despite baseless allegations in the West, Iran has no intension to use military warfare to wipe out Israel. It has come up with a rational and humane plan in the form of national referendum that could help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But until such democracy prevails, armed resistance is the only choice for Palestinians to repel the aggressor and rid themselves of decades of occupation, loss and despair.
