[News] Gaza’s unbreakable resistance: A historical perspective on the war and its aftermath

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Gaza’s unbreakable resistance: A historical perspective on the war and its
aftermath
By Ramzy Baroud <https://english.palinfo.com/?p=250012>

Friday 24-January-2025 -
https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/gazas-unbreakable-resistance-a-historical-perspective-on-the-war-and-its-aftermath/
<https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/gazas-unbreakable-resistance-a-historical-perspective-on-the-war-and-its-aftermath/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/gazas-unbreakable-resistance-a-historical-perspective-on-the-war-and-its-aftermath/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/gazas-unbreakable-resistance-a-historical-perspective-on-the-war-and-its-aftermath/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/opinion_articles/gazas-unbreakable-resistance-a-historical-perspective-on-the-war-and-its-aftermath/#>

The problem with political analysis is that it often lacks historical
perspective and is mostly limited to recent events.

The current analysis of the Israeli war on Gaza falls victim to this narrow
thinking. The ceasefire agreement, signed between Palestinian groups and
Israel under Egyptian, Qatari and US mediation in Doha on 15 January is one
example.

Some analysts, including many from the region, insist on framing the
outcome of the war as a direct result of Israel’s political dynamics. They
argue that Israel’s political crisis is the main reason the country failed
to achieve its declared and undeclared war objectives – namely, gaining
total “security control” over Gaza and ethnically cleansing its population.

However, this analysis assumes that the decision to go to war or not is
entirely in Israel’s hands. It continues to elevate Israel’s role as the
only entity capable of shaping political outcomes in the region, even when
those outcomes do not favor Israel

Another group of analysts focuses entirely on the American factor, claiming
that the decision to end the war ultimately rested with the White House.
Shortly after the ceasefire was officially declared in Gaza, a pan-Arab TV
channel asked a group of experts whether it was the Biden or Trump
administration that deserved credit for supposedly “pressuring Israel” to
agree to a ceasefire.

Some argue that it was Trump’s envoy to Israel, Steve Witkoff, who denied
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any room to maneuver, thus
forcing him, albeit reluctantly, to accept the ceasefire terms.

Others counter by saying that the agreement was initially presented by the
Biden administration. They argue that Biden’s supposedly active diplomacy
ultimately led to the ceasefire.

The latter group fails to acknowledge that it was Biden’s unconditional
support for Israel that sustained the war. His UN envoy’s constant
rejection of ceasefire calls at the Security Council made international
efforts to stop the war irrelevant.

The former group, however, ignores the fact that Israeli society was
already at a breaking point. The war on Gaza had proven unwinnable. This
means that, whether Trump pressured Netanyahu or not, the outcome of the
war was already sealed. Continuing the war would have meant the implosion
of Israeli society.

On the Palestinian side, some analyses – affiliated with one faction or
another – exploit the war’s outcome for political gain. This type of
thinking is extremely insensitive and must be wholly rejected.

There are also those hoping to play a role in Gaza’s reconstruction to gain
political and financial leverage and increase their influence. This is a
shameful stance, given the total destruction of Gaza and the urgent need to
recover the thousands of bodies trapped under rubble, as well as to heal
the wounded and the population as a whole.

One thing all these analyses overlook is that Israel failed in Gaza because
the population of Gaza proved unbreakable. Such notions are often neglected
in mainstream political discussions, which tend to commit to an elitist
line. This line is entirely removed from the daily struggles and collective
choices of ordinary people, even when they achieve extraordinary feats.

Gaza’s history is one of both pain and pride. It stretches back to ancient
civilizations and includes great resistance against invasion, such as the
three-month siege by Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army in 332 BCE.

Back then, Gazans resisted and endured for months before their leader,
Batis, was captured, tortured to death, and the city was sacked.

This legendary resilience and sumoud (steadfastness) proved crucial in
numerous other fights against foreign invaders, including resistance to
Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1799.

Even if some of Gaza’s current population is unaware of that history, they
are a direct product of it. From this perspective, neither Israeli
political dynamics, the change of the US administration, nor any other
factor is relevant.

This is known as “long history” or longue durée. Far from being merely an
academic concept, the long legacy of resistance against injustice has
shaped the collective mindset of the Palestinian population in Gaza over
the years. How else can we explain how a small, isolated and impoverished
population, living in such a tiny piece of land, managed to withstand
firepower equivalent to many nuclear bombs?

The war ended because Gaza withstood it – not because of the kindness of an
American president. It is crucial that we emphasize this point repeatedly,
rather than seeking inconclusive and irrational answers.

It matters little how we define victory and defeat for a nation still
suffering the consequences of a war of annihilation. However, it is
important to recognize that Palestinians in Gaza stood their ground,
despite immense losses and prevailed. This can only be credited to them -a
nation that has historically proven unbreakable. This truth, rooted in
“long history”, remains valid today.

*-Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of the Palestine Chronicle.
He is the author of five books. His latest is ‘These Chains Will Be Broken:
Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons’. Baroud is
a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global
Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC). *
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20250124/a4d49ef7/attachment.htm>