Before briefly considering the Palestinian leadership in all its aspects, in light of the Al-Aqsa  incursion and its reverberations and consequences to date, I want to  emphasize some of the headlines and events that have become clear since October 7th until now (early February 2024) Our human losses in the Gaza Strip are increasing on a daily basis and have exceeded 30,000 martyrs, 70,000 wounded, more than 10,000 missing under the rubble, an unknown number of kidnapped people, and the number of detainees has doubled to about nine thousand. At the construction level, the entire infrastructure has been demolished, including all educational facilities, hospitals, and water, electricity, and purification plants, and three-quarters of the homes are no longer fit for habitation. All the people in the Strip have been displaced one or more times from one place to another and lost all their belongings. There are more than two million displaced people, and if the world returns to sanity, these people will live in tents for years with the resultant tragedies

    So what about enemy losses? More than 1,400 people were killed, including 312 soldiers, while the resistance captured more than 200 Israeli civilians and soldiers, both young and old, of both sexes. After the invasion of the Gaza Strip, they lost 250 soldiers and 5,000 wounded. They claim their wounded are fewer, and the resistance claim their losses are greater, and that they lost hundreds of vehicles and armored vehicles…but America compensates them successively with equipment and increases it. They did not lose a single building, and not one civilian was killed after they invaded the Gaza Strip, and of course the infrastructure was not damaged in any way. They also did not feel the consequences of the economic siege in their daily life, even though the economy was deteriorating as a result of the recruitment and disruption experienced by almost everyone and their going to war

    Arabs and Muslims, as countries, institutions or individuals, did not participate in any significant support other than a lot of supplication, crying, denunciation, statements, and of course demonstrations to which the rulers did not respond, and later they sent relief, most of which ended up piled up in Egypt. Why is it like this? Frankly; The Arab countries do not want any success for political Islamic groups or armed resistance, especially those that they consider to be linked to the Muslim Brotherhood movement!! They do not want political Islam to achieve any victory that other Muslims in the Arab countries can emulate, because the Brotherhood movement and its ideas and branches seek to assume power and implement its vision, and this is what they do not want, and therefore they left the resistance movement to its fate. As the suffering became prolonged, Arabs officials began to distinguish between the affected Palestinian civilian population and the Islamic resistance, and they contributed limited relief. Those who participate with the resistance in negotiating and mediating in an effort to rescue are Qatar, the sponsor of political Islam in the region, and Egypt, which is forced, by virtue of its neighbourhood, to mediate, but whose government obstructs the delivery of aid through the Rafah crossing

    It was said that the October invasion was intended for many things, for example: halting normalization, returning the issue to the international agenda, liberating Palestine, and other slogans that follow along with the course of the fighting. The result is that normalization was not affected at all, but rather, trade-offs with Riyadh began to be issued in exchange for a solution to the Palestinian issue and a halt to the ongoing genocide. Riyadh was demanding a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in exchange for normalization before the invasion, and the enemy is now saying in the negotiations: There will be no more than civil administration for fragmented areas where there is no rule by armed men, and of course this is subject to change in conjunction with the outcome and end of the battles… As for the countries that were normalized and peaceful previously, they have remained on course and did not withdraw any ambassadors in protest. As for the goal of putting the issue on the international stage: The matter has become about pressuring the enemy to have mercy on the rest of the living and stop afflicting them, accompanied with talk about a two-state solution later that the enemy rejects

    It turned out that the October invasion took place without consulting any potential fighting allies, such as the Lebanese resistance, which of course did not participate from the first moments and could therefore not exploit the element of surprise, but the Lebanese resistance was forced, under pressure from the street and its slogans, to form a support front with the consent of Iran, which later encouraged the Houthis in Yemen to intervene in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq to bomb American bases from time to time. What is important here is that this support came from the Shiia side, and Sunni Islam maintained its subservience and silence

    In the past, aggression required a response with external operations against parties supporting the enemy, as well as operations inside the territory occupied since 1948, specifically against civilians, but nothing like this has happened yet! It is also surprising that the Islamic Resistance Movement, which previously won its position and reputation in Palestinian society, through bombing and suicide operations and killing enemy civilians by the dozens in their cities and towns, and it was thought that it had prepared such operations as a precaution for deterrence, has done nothing in this regard, and it does not appear that suicide operations are on the cards either

    In other words, the armed resistance lurks in the tunnels, hunting enemy soldiers and vehicles when they pass near them, and does not strike any enemy civilian target (no party has announced that Palestinian rockets killed anyone or demolished any house), while the enemy kills and injures Palestinian civilians in the tens of thousands. Thus, the enemy’s internal front remains safe and comfortable, and the pressure on politicians is relatively limited, while destruction falls on the internal Palestinian front, and people in the Gaza Strip form ideas that are not supportive of all these events and results, especially since the internal front was not prepared for the consequences of the invasion, the outbreak of war, and the growing massive insecurity in the economy and security, with people feeling the opportunities for the Islamic resistance to return to power in the Gaza Strip diminishing

The enemy, on whom all the curses, criticism and blame were poured, united internally and formed a war council of the government and the opposition, and they postponed the municipal elections for a few weeks because of the war, but still held them before the end of the war, and they did not fear any consequences for their parties, nor did they postpone any elections. This was common in the past, but they increased it and have repeated election activity during every crisis they experienced. But the Palestinians, after months of the tragedy unfolding and growing, were unable to unite the resistance factions and the Palestinian Authority in a temporary leadership, and the rivalry continued in a shameful manner between the leaders of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and there is no reason to delve deeper as the results are clearly nihilistic. As for the elections, for 17 years both parties in Palestine have sought to postpone them for reasons that are flimsy in public, but in reality everyone knows that neither party wants to give up its share of the spoils in power and ability to deplete the people in every sense of the word. Hence, every Palestinian must, above all, consider himself responsible for remaining silent and accepting the situation throughout those years, thus achieving these results and losses and this is a lesson which must be learnt

    In fact, there is alignment in the quality of politics between the main leader of the enemy, the fascist prime minister, and the Palestinian leaders, in that each of them is determined to cling to power, regardless of the sacrifices; The first accepts daily losses in soldiers and vehicles, sacrifices hostages, destroys his country’s reputation in the world, and expands aggression in order to ensure his continued stay in power and perhaps his re-election, and our group does  nothing except slouch in their seats and let the people go to hell, as evidenced by the fact that they have not yet made any moves towards reconciliation. They did not suggest quick elections for the people to determine their fate and choose their leadership. Instead, they proposed to unite in the aftermath of the invasion and the reaction, and to form a government for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and joint committees that would travel around the world, participate in demonstrations, present the Palestinian vision, and dialogue with politicians around the world

    Thus, we see that it is clear that the lack of democracy or respect for it in Palestine is the main reason for the bullying and destroying the function, effectiveness and reputation of the Palestinian political leadership over the years. The paralysis caused a focus on the continuity of governance in Gaza and the West Bank, and thus ignoring the internal situation. Before the disaster, the workers were serving the enemy to secure their livelihoods, instead of the creativity of these governments that had no legal authority to solve this problem. When the disaster occurred, chaos ensued, with merchants raising prices insanely, thieves looting the homes of the displaced and selling the contents, the principle of survival of the fittest prevailing, and institutions collapsing without any popular organization or intervention. All of this and more is a result of the chaos and selfishness of the government, both previously and currently. For example, no directives were issued to the people, no threat of accountability for the greedy, or promises of restoration and compensation to those affected to reassure them, which put the people in a state of loss and shock, and they behaved as if it was the Day of Judgment…some of them were described as ‘like the walking dead’… that is in the Gaza Strip, but in the entire West Bank, enemy forces and herds of settlers roam, kill, arrest, burn and plunder as they please, with general silence from the Ramallah government and its armed forces!! If there was democracy and a successive choice of governance and institutions, people would choose the most fit according to their vision, and thus participate in bearing responsibility for their choices. But now; their hatred is directed, of course, towards the fascist enemy, but also towards their divided political leaders, who were originally built up or chosen by the enemy, whether intentionally, or by remaining silent about them and funding them over the years

    In the case of the Palestinian Authority, there is no doubt that it is chosen by the enemy and governs with his approval and instructions, and in the case of the Gaza Strip, it is known who founded them as competitors to the National Movement, and we have two important testimonies last month in this regard. The first is the statement of European Union Foreign Minister Joseph Borrell, criticizing the goal of destroying Hamas that Israel created and financed to divide the Palestinian ranks. The Egyptian Foreign Minister said at the Munich Security Conference that it was necessary to hold accountable those who encouraged and financed the establishment of the movement, and this came in response to a question from the former Israeli Foreign Minister, whether the movement was a negative factor in the region. The Egyptian minister accused them of bearing that responsibility… and the matter does not really need proof, even though the movement maneuvered, resisted, and caused pain to the occupation in several periods, especially after the uprising, and after the Oslo Accords, when the movement increased suicide bombings to thwart the Oslo plan and complicate the life and projects of the PLO and Abu Ammar. The movement also rejected the principle of a two-state solution and announced its goal from the river to the sea. After the movement gained popular approval and support due to its operations, it returned to accepting the two-state solution, and here it is now, due to the results of the October invasion, destroying its people, itself, and any semi-reasonable and acceptable political solutions. The late Arafat and the PLO originally wanted a two-state solution through Oslo for a few decades, in order for the Palestinian people to regain their strength after the destruction and failure they faced in Black September, then in Lebanon, and after that, the years of loss in the Arab deserts. The Islamic Movement thwarted that with its suicide operations against Oslo, and now it is maneuvering to accept less in order to continue to have a role and participation in governance… This is the bitter truth that will become clear to everyone very soon… unfortunately

    The leadership of the Islamic political movement in Gaza and abroad, and the leadership of the National Authority in Ramallah, did not unite, even temporarily, pending the end of the crisis, in order to raise the morale of the people, and they did not agree on an interim goal regarding the day after the war and to anticipate what the enemy is planning and proposing in terms of post-war solutions. Rather, they did not even promise an immediate election date after the war so that this afflicted people could finally choose someone to lead and direct them in the next stage. Both Palestinian parties have been driven by their stubbornness, stupidity, and selfishness and want to continue pulling and turning the same waterwheel even after the flow of water stops. As we said, they practically serve the enemy’s goals and accept, among other things, the consequences and responsibility of the near future, such as the migration of everyone who can leave the country in an attempt to escape from them, from the occupation, and from the degree of stupidity imposed

What has also become clear is that the enemy as an institution is innovative in its ideas and visions, meaning that it is quick to change or has advance plans ready to exploit when circumstances suit it. Therefore, for example, the process of revenge for the October invasion was transformed into a massacre, then destruction, then into annihilation, and it is now heading towards deporting and enslaving those remaining. If the Palestinian defenses had evolved from missiles and targeting soldiers and tanks to killing civilians and bombing their buildings and streets in Tel Aviv and its suburbs, we would not have reached this fascist religious bullying. We also know that one of the goals of the invasion was to empty the prisons, to repeat the experience of capturing soldier Shalit and replacing him with 1,500 Palestinian prisoners. But now the fascist Prime Minister has thrown the prisoner card in the face of the movement, and he is no longer willing to meet the demands of emptying the prisons, and he is resisting the pressure of the families of the hostages. He seeks to release them alive or dead through military pressure, starving the northern Gaza Strip, and intimidating a million and a half residents and displaced people in Rafah… That is, the enemy moved and changed his vision regarding the idea of repeating the Shalit deal, and we did not hear, for example, from our prisoners a call or guidance or opinion on this matter to ease the situation. Putting pressure and suffering on their people, and facilitating negotiations between the leaders of the movement and the enemy to achieve goals other than the emptying of prisons.    It was possible for the Islamic Movement to resolve the prisoner crisis in several ways other than by exchange, which proved to be no longer possible on the scale originally intended. They could, for example have involved the United Nations, Washington, the European Union, neighboring Egypt, or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was wanted for normalization… Which of these was it to be? The movement could express its readiness to hand over the hostages to them if they are prepared to impose logical political conditions on the enemy, such as ensuring security in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a guaranteed pledge to establish a Palestinian state with American and Western recognition, and a quick return of things in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to how they were before the elections are held… that is, changing the goal of the October operation after its results headed South, just as the fascist leader changed his goals when he felt the world’s support for him in the beginning

    It must be made clear that criticism and advice are necessary at all times, and that this criticism is specifically directed, as is clear from every sentence, to political leaders of all stripes, whether for their poor behavior and previous planning, or their current lack of acceptance of unity and positive action to save the situation. The fighters are outside this scope, and they have performed well and are still steadfast. They carry out  defense in force majeure circumstances and prevent the enemy from declaring its control over the Gaza Strip. Likewise, the defenseless and mythically steadfast people are outside the scope of criticism, and any defects that appear in the popular actions are due to the misjudgment and selfishness of the leaders who neither trained nor armed the people, but rather each group cared only about their own supporters, training them and arming their militias… while on the other side the enemy imposed training, arming, and participation in the war on every person of military age, male or female. Here, of course, the difference between the militia and democracy becomes clear: the first follows the vision of the commando leader, and the second renews leadership according to experience and choice

    Finally, the enthusiastic slogans issued by hollow minds will not serve the people of Palestine under the knife, and all the verses and supplications will not end the suffering with victory of any kind. Rather, the enthusiastic extremists have not yet understood what the situation has become in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and so that we do not depart from our history and geography back to the Stone Age; the leading Palestinian political forces in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and abroad must be united immediately on a national program acceptable to all after concessions from all sides to permit  advancement towards  the formation of a temporary leadership body that will negotiate on behalf of all the people and move through its committees in order to transform the disaster into an achievement that guarantees the people’s security and future. This is while ensuring two principles: the first is preserving resistance as a principle and an option, and the second is embedding elections and timed commitment to them. It is a ship of survival at all levels and for all times. The silence of the Palestinian political leaders on the matter is a betrayal that amounts to foolishness and more, and calls for popular movements similar to the United Popular Committees during the first intifada