[News] The Third Intifada: A new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for liberation

[Anti-Imperialist News]

thecradle.co
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/26515/the-third-intifada-a-new-chapter-in-the-palestinian-struggle-for-liberation>
The Third Intifada: A new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for liberation
By Ali Abou Jbara <https://thecradle.co/profile/126/Ali-Abou-Jbara> - June
29 2023
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The occupied Palestinian territories have undergone a series of significant
changes since last year, with the most notable being the escalation of
resistance operations in the occupied West Bank. This development has
transformed the territory into a frontline between Palestinian resistance
and the Israeli occupation state, reminiscent of the atmosphere during the
Second Intifada over two decades ago.

That the occupation army has reactivated its assassination policy through
targeted air strikes against resistance figures has solidified this line of
argument.

The question that has been circulating for some time now is whether this
signifies the onset of a third Palestinian intifada
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/22525/palestinian-islamic-jihad-calls-for-third-intifada-against-israel>.
Alternatively, a more realistic inquiry would be to determine when exactly
the current uprising began.

Following the battle of Sayf al-Quds
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/11011/hezbollah-irgc-present-in-joint-command-during-2021-sayf-al-quds-battle-hamas>
(“Sword of Jerusalem”) in May 2021, the frequency and organization of
resistance attacks significantly increased. What initially started as
individual actions by Palestinian youth groups evolved into coordinated
operations supported by various resistance factions across the West Bank.

*Growing support for another Palestinian uprising*

The intensification of resistance operations led to over 28 Israeli deaths
by the middle of 2023, in comparison to 31 deaths the previous year. This
dealt a significant blow to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who,
alongside his far-right allies, boasted during their election campaign that
only they could prevent such attacks. However, the passage of time proved
otherwise for “Mr. Security” (as Netanyahu is often referred to).

On 20 June, 2023, four Israelis were killed
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/26217> near the illegal Eli settlement
in the West Bank. Just a day earlier, during the storming of the Jabriyat
neighborhood in the Jenin refugee camp, a booby-trapped device exploded,
injuring seven Israeli soldiers. The operation, claimed by the Al-Quds
Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), compelled the
Israeli army to deploy combat helicopters for the first time since the
Battle of Jenin in 2002 <https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/136358>.

Israeli Channel 14 published statistics on the first six months of 2023.
The report claims that 147 operations took place in the occupied West Bank
against the occupation forces and settlers, 80 percent of them (120
operations) shooting operations. As for the entirety of 2022, a total of
202 operations were carried out, 74% of which (150 operations) involved the
use of firearms.

Meanwhile, the year 2021 witnessed 117 operations in total, 51% of which
(60 operations) were carried out with firearms. In just one week of June
2013, 15 shootings were recorded in the occupied West Bank.

The numbers clearly indicate that resistance operations in the occupied
territories have been on the rise, along with the percentage of the usage
of firearms.

Aside from resistance developments on the ground, Palestinian public
sentiment also suggests another intifada is imminent. In March, an opinion
poll
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinians-expect-new-intifada-erupt-according-polling>
conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research revealed
a significant increase in the percentage of individuals supporting armed
confrontations and an intifada.

Just over 60 percent in the West Bank expected the outbreak of a third
armed intifada, while almost 70 percent expressed support for the formation
of resistance factions, such as the Nablus-based Lions’ Den
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/24619/lions-den-send-israeli-troops-fleeing-from-nablus>
.

Another 70 percent of respondents also felt that “punitive measures” by the
occupation forces against Palestinians would lead to further escalations
and retaliatory attacks against Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Under the current extremist Israeli government, attacks against
Palestinians have surged, exemplified by recent assaults by settlers on the
towns of Turmusaya and Huwara
<https://twitter.com/saaed_bsharat/status/1671484144893804548>. These
attacks resulted in the death of two Palestinians and the destruction of
numerous homes and vehicles, all under the watchful eye of the Israeli
occupation forces.

*This intifada will be different*

Over the past year, the Israeli occupation forces killed 167 Palestinians
in Jerusalem and the West Bank, 50 in the Gaza Strip, and four in the
occupied Palestinian territories. The grim reality continues for
Palestinian prisoners, with approximately 4,700 individuals, including more
than 500 Jerusalemites, enduring harsh and inhumane detention conditions
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/israel-opt-death-of-khader-adnan-highlights-israels-cruel-treatment-of-palestinian-prisoners/>
.

Among them, about 700 are suffering from various illnesses, and tragically,
four prisoners have lost their lives due to the occupation’s policy of
medical negligence. Furthermore, the year 2022 witnessed the arrest of
7,000 Palestinians, including 850 children and 160 women.

On the other side of the conflict, the number of settlers killed in
Palestinian resistance attacks has risen to 31 this year, a significant
increase compared to 5 in 2019, 3 in 2020, and 4 in 2021. This surge in
Israeli casualties evokes memories of 2002, when the Israeli army launched
Operation Defensive Wall in the West Bank in an attempt to suppress
resistance and quell martyrdom operations.

The Israeli Prime Minister at the time, war criminal
<https://www.ihrc.org.uk/war-crimes-and-criminals-some-thoughts-on-ariel-sharon/>
Ariel Sharon, dubbed the month of March as “black,” when 105 Israelis were
killed, including 26 soldiers, in martyrdom operations. Under the illusion
of ending the Al-Aqsa Intifada (which he provoked
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170928-remembering-the-second-intifada/>
in the first place by visiting the mosque’s compound), Sharon gave the
green light for an invasion of the West Bank.

According to Daoud Shehab, a spokesperson for the PIJ, there have been
attempts in the West Bank to extinguish the national spirit and create a
new generation that embraces coexistence with the occupation and normalizes
its presence. However, these efforts have proven unsuccessful. Shehab
tells *The
Cradle* that, “Today, it has been proven that all these attempts failed.”

In a March report
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/new-intifada-young-palestinian-fighters-rise-west-bank-boils-2023-03-14/>
by *Reuters,* it was argued that any new Palestinian uprising will be
completely different from previous ones, as it will be disconnected from
traditional Palestinian leadership, yet informed about Palestinian
suffering through social media.

The report highlighted the escalation of “spontaneous” armed attacks in the
West Bank against the occupation forces and settlers, the endeavor of some
young people to announce their affiliation with Palestinian factions, and
the emergence of armed groups such as the Lions’ Den and Jenin Brigade
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/15712/in-the-west-bank-resistance-rises-as-the-pa-crumbles>
are all indications that something out of the ordinary is happening.

*The Nablus-Jenin nexus*

The Lions’ Den has garnered widespread popular support, transforming into
more than just a group of individuals. It has become an idea that unites
Palestinian across political parties and affiliations. Together with the
Jenin Brigade, these groups pose a significant threat to the Israeli army,
which can no longer storm Nablus and Jenin without encountering armed
resistance.

Moreover, both groups have transitioned from a defensive stance to an
offensive one – taking the initiative in attacking occupation checkpoints
and settlements surrounding the two cities in an unprecedented manner not
seen since the Second Intifada.

Confrontations with enemy soldiers have evolved beyond gunfire, now
involving the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), raising serious
concerns among the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service. On 14
March, Haaretz newspaper reported
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-03-14/ty-article/.premium/megiddo-blast-could-herald-a-new-era-of-palestinian-bomb-making/00000186-dcdd-d25f-a59f-ffff20a00000>
the growing unease within the army and Shin Bet regarding the rising
attempts to manufacture local IEDs:

“During the second intifada, in the first years of this century, terrorist
groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were intensively involved in
preparing explosive charges and explosive belts, which were the most lethal
and effective weapons against Israel.”

Despite operating under siege and facing numerous challenges, the
resistance groups have succeeded in transforming the occupied West Bank
into a battlefield where the occupation army faces attrition.

*The De-facto Intifada *

Under the current Israeli government, the Palestinian people’s awareness of
the occupation’s plans for Judaization and settlement is growing, along
with their determination to confront the far-right.

On 13 March 2023, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, called
for a renewed intifada
<https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1678775841-islamic-jihad-calls-on-israeli-arabs-to-start-another-intifada>,
stating:

“We call on all the fighters among our people and the free people in the
West Bank and in Israel to mobilize for this war, so that there will be an
overall intifada that will create the basis for the end of our enemy and
its expulsion from all of Palestine.”

Hamas refugee affairs official Issam Adwan agrees on the likelihood of
another uprising, informing *The Cradle* that “the people are the ones who
resist and the pace will increase … neither the Palestinian Authority [PA]
nor the Israeli occupation will be able to curb it.”

Developments are not restricted to the situation on the ground – Israel
sends political messages to the Palestinian people, from which one can
understand that the only option to liberate the land is through
‘revolutionary violence.’

In addition to the continuation of building settlements and the seizure of
Palestinian property in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Hebrew media revealed
on 26 June 2023 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the Foreign
Affairs and Security Committee in the Knesset that the idea of a
Palestinian state must be “eradicated.”

His statement expresses the systematic Israeli policy towards the
Palestinians for 3 decades – that the only option before them is to
surrender. But recent events have revealed that the Palestinian people
reject kneeling.

In February, CIA Director William Burns expressed his concern over the
situation in the West Bank resembling the prelude
<https://thecradle.co/article-view/21094/palestine-reliving-events-that-led-to-second-intifada-cia-chief>
to the second Palestinian intifada, signaling Washington’s apprehension
about the Palestinian Authority losing control. He stated that the CIA is
working in coordination with the PA and Israel to achieve stability.

However, it is not necessary for the current circumstances to resemble
those preceding the previous two intifadas for them to be labeled as such.
Clear distinctions existed between the first and second intifadas. The
first, which erupted in December 1987, started as a popular struggle
primarily characterized by stone-throwing incidents and became known as the
“Stone-throwing Uprising.”

In contrast, the Second Intifada involved armed acts of resistance, whether
in Gaza, the West Bank, or through special operations in the 1948
territories. It witnessed the participation of both the public and the
Palestinian resistance factions, along with a significant portion of the
official PA apparatus.

Israel closely monitors the developments in the Palestinian landscape and
is deeply concerned about the level of confrontation with the occupation.
The “Intifada of Knives
<https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4712071,00.html>” that emerged
in 2015 has transformed into acts of resistance that are affecting Israelis
across all of Palestine. While a precise name for the current situation may
not yet exist, it is evident that a new uprising is in the making – and its
true nature will become clearer with time.
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