[News] ‘Victory or martyrdom’: The liberation of Al-Quds is in reach

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/-victory-or-martyrdom---the-liberation-of-al-quds-is-in-reac>
‘Victory or martyrdom’: The liberation of Al-Quds is in reach
Robert Inlakesh
June 20, 2025
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Robert Inlakesh argues that "Israel’s" strike on Iran has backfired,
triggering a broader regional war that could lead to the liberation of
Al‑Quds.

   - [image: For a while, it appeared as if the war was over, but Iran has
   now breathed new life into the spirits of the people in Gaza. (Al Mayadeen
   English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/20/1cdca84f-e049-407a-9126-fe31d8a7b3f9.jpg?width=1000>
   For a while, it appeared as if the war was over, but Iran has now breathed
   new life into the spirits of the people in Gaza. (Al Mayadeen English;
   Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran may
have set in motion a series of events that will lead to what has long been
referred to as the “final war of liberation”. Although this may seem
hyperbolic, if the war does not end soon, the only end is regime change in
Iran or regime change in occupied Palestine.

The Zionist Entity appears to have fallen to its own propaganda and went
too far with its attack on Iran, believing that what it sought to achieve
would cripple the Iranian capability to quickly mount a solid response and
lead to a somewhat limited exchange. It is clear that this was a
catastrophic miscalculation.

Throughout the 20 months of genocide that have been inflicted against the
people of Gaza, the Zionist regime has failed to find an image of victory.
Despite inflicting occasional tactical defeats against the Palestinian
Resistance, Iran’s IRGC and most notably Hezbollah, through assassinations
and intelligence operations that use terrorist tactics, the Zionists hadn’t
strategically defeated any of its opposition.

Instead, Hamas and all of the other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are
still alive and well. Hezbollah survived. Despite the existential threat
posed to the Lebanese Party, they still managed to defeat the Israeli
ground invasion of southern Lebanon under the worst possible circumstances.
Yemen, on the other hand, forced the US military to back off and continued
firing upon the Zionist regime on a daily basis in support of Gaza.

While failing to win on any front, the despicable slaughter of innocent
people, most notably in Gaza, but also in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, turned
most of the global public against the Israeli regime. This, as the Zionist
project saw the closure of tens of thousands of businesses, the loss of
investments, the escape of around a million citizens, and a steep economic
decline.

Combined with all of this, the regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
began purging all critical voices of his rule and replacing senior
officials with yes men and personal allies. Meanwhile, cracks within
Israeli society began growing and periodically causing bursts of unrest.

The Israeli military never actually went after Hamas and the Palestinian
Resistance in Gaza on the ground. Until this day, there is virtually no
footage showing Israelis carrying out close quarters offensive combat
missions and clashing directly with Palestinian fighters. Instead, they hid
like cowards in their armored military vehicles, rushed into areas to set
up secure positions and used their Air Force as cover, only occasionally
launching special forces operations.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian armed groups launched daring ambushes against
the invading occupation forces, as the Israelis almost always concluded
their “operation” with an invasion of a major hospital that they took over
and used as a military base.

Instead of fighting head on like a real army, the Israeli participation
trophy force - which grants 19-year-olds the rank of Sergeant - carried out
a genocide instead. Their goal? To solve the Gaza question. By expelling
and exterminating the civilian population, while making Gaza uninhabitable,
they foolishly believed this would eventually lead to the collapse of the
Resistance. To their surprise, the Resistance only recruited more into its
ranks and, with limited means, continued to resist.

The Zionists briefly paused their genocide, but soon after violated the
ceasefire they agreed upon, only to escalate their daily slaughter of
civilians. “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” was sold to the Israeli public as
“phase 2” of the war on Gaza, yet it quickly became clear that it was
simply more of the same. The difference being that the highly degraded
Israeli army now sought to use the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”
to aid a new displacement and starvation agenda, while contracting
ISIS-linked gangsters to do their dirty work for them.

In Syria, the Zionist Entity continued invading new territory in the south
and frequently committed bombing campaigns throughout the country. This is
despite the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, working with the Israelis
on security coordination and even signaling his intent to normalize ties.

In Lebanon, the Zionist regime refused to leave the south and committed
well over 3,000 violations of the ceasefire since November 27, 2024. It
continued to kidnap Lebanese civilians, carry out assassinations, bombard
the south, Beqaa Valley, and even occasionally strike civilian buildings in
Beirut. Israeli drones and fighter jets roamed the skies of Lebanon every
day, and the Lebanese Army did not resist them with a single bullet.

The unhinged settler-colonial entity made its expansionist endeavors
crystal clear and its leader, Netanyahu, constantly mouthed off about
“total victory” in a “seven front war”. Meanwhile, the United States and
most Western European leaders stood by and watched it all happen, not even
bothering to condemn, let alone halt all trade or apply sanctions.

The Israelis stood plausibly accused of genocide at the International Court
of Justice (ICJ), and its Prime Minister became a wanted war criminal by
the International Criminal Court (ICC). Every major rights group, including
B’Tselem, accused the Zionist entity of Genocide in Gaza. Millions around
the world took to the streets, week-in week-out, pleading with their
governments to take action. The students across North America and in
different nations in Europe stood up, many sacrificing their degrees and
possible future employment.

In the end, the Zionist Entity faced no real punishment from the so-called
“international community”, beyond occasional statements and a few brave
leaderships that took limited actions to impose a price.

What happened in the past 20 months is the death of International Law and
Human Rights, these concepts now rest under the rubble of Gaza, along with
the bodies of thousands of children who are yet to be recovered.
*Iran finally took off the gloves*

During this period of time, Iran received blow after blow. Its embassy in
Damascus was bombed, Hamas leader Ismail Hanniyeh was assassinated in
Tehran, and top IRGC officials were assassinated time and time again.

Then came the terrorist pager attacks in Lebanon, which injured thousands,
including many civilians, and even killed women and children. The
cornerstones of the West’s so-called “liberal free press” who we have been
told uphold the gold standard of journalism? They praised the pager attack
that even former CIA Director Leon Panetta called terrorism.

Donald Trump took office, his campaign bankrolled by a who's who of Zionist
billionaires like Miriam Adelson, then proceeded to threaten taking over
Gaza and turning it into a sleazy ruling class casino. The unserious,
mentally incompetent front man for the war machine only encouraged Israeli
militaristic-adventurism further.

For some time, it appeared as if Gaza was going to be continuously crushed
without anyone stepping in to stop it, beyond Yemen, which proved itself
the only nation on earth to be dedicated enough to the cause of justice to
wage a military intervention with its limited means from so far away.
Fatigue and a sense of hopelessness swept its way across the region,
especially after Hezbollah exited the fight.

But when all else seemed lost, one power remained standing in the way of
the bloodthirsty Zionist regime’s plot, as its US allies frothed at the
mouth, waiting to prey on the remains of the steadfast Palestinian people:
that power was Iran.

The final goal for the Zionist Entity was to deliver a blow to the Iranian
people, one that could lead to a gradual regime change. However, when the
Israeli regime delivered its blows, it went too far, and the Iranians
delivered responses beyond what anybody had anticipated. Enough was enough.
*The Israeli Miscalculation*

When the Zionist regime launched its initial assault against Iran, it made
a series of mistakes. The first was to target densely populated civilian
areas, which caused horrifying scenes that will never leave the minds of
the Iranian people: a toddler laying dead in the street and a mother
trapped under the rubble, with countless civilians slaughtered in apartment
complexes.

The second major mistake was the assumption that the assassinations of key
IRGC leaders would put Iran into a state of confusion and temporarily
incapacitate them. All the military contacts I spoke to at the time had
given estimates that Iran would take 2-5 days to recover. To everyone’s
surprise, Iran replaced its leaders, got its air defenses back online, and
launched its first devastating missile strikes, all within 15 hours.

Another miscalculation was the obvious belief that the Islamic Republic
could be depended upon to strike back in a limited and measured way. So
far, it appears as if the only contingency in the event of what happened
was to try and desperately pursue regime change as soon as possible.

The IRGC shook the entire world with their maximum impact strikes, followed
by a strategy of draining the Israeli-Western-Arab air defenses guarding
the Zionist Entity. Iran’s attacks were truly devastating and shocked even
their most ardent supporters.

An issue which the Israelis now face is that even if there was to be a
ceasefire signed tomorrow, their population will likely begin to flee, and
their “security” myths will collapse. This will be the overarching message
to the Israeli public, that you are surrounded by enemies who you cannot
defeat and are still determined to end your ethno-supremacist regime.

Therefore, Benjamin Netanyahu quickly appeared to desperately shift to
option two: regime change by any means. The Israelis even pulled out their
pathetic weasley puppet, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran. This Zionist
controlled collaborator has repeatedly released videos claiming that the
Islamic Republic is falling apart, desperately trying to incite civil war
in order to help the Zionist regime destroy his own nation. Yet, none of
his speeches have led to even a single recorded protest inside Iran so far.

In fact, due to the brutal nature of the Israeli assault on Iran’s civilian
areas, many Iranians who otherwise hate their government with a passion
have sided with it against the Zionist regime’s brutality, understanding
that the assault is aimed at destroying them.

If we are to try and understand the Israeli perspective in launching their
assault, it has to be assumed that their logic revolved around similar
talking points circulated in the leading Israeli and American pro-war think
tanks. The most influential think tank over the Trump administration, The
Heritage Foundation, argued in a 6-page brief, that the Israelis should
attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and trigger a containable conflict.

All the so-called foreign policy experts were echoing the same sentiments,
that they believed taking out the Iranian nuclear program could be achieved
without triggering an all-out war. It is likely that what emboldened the
Zionists to launch such a devastating attack on civilian areas in Tehran,
was the belief that Iran would respond in a restrained way and practice the
same “strategic patience” it has for decades.

If it also believes its own nonsense about “destroying Hezbollah” too, it
will be in for an even bigger shock in the future.

While it is true that for some time the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance did
not take the view that the ongoing multi-front war was existential, or
should be considered the “final war”, the aggression, unimaginable
brutality, and recklessness committed by the Zionist regime has now made
them all see the war this way. Why? Because the Zionists were defeated on
October 7, 2023, and have never recovered, going crazy and turning a single
tactical defeat into an existential war for the regime's very survival.
*The capture of Al-Quds?*

If there is no ceasefire, which would be an acknowledgment of strategic
defeat by the Israelis, the war will continue to escalate and drag on. Even
with US involvement, it does not change this predicament, in fact, it only
accelerates the process.

It would be foolish to assume that the Israelis don’t have more tricks up
their sleeves, most likely involving Mossad operations, assassinations, and
terrorist attacks. It could also launch hybrid warfare attacks and stir
internal unrest. So, this should not be ruled out.

But one thing is for certain, this is the opportunity for everyone who was
ever wronged by the Zionist Entity to rise up to the moment in history.
Although the spark will be Iran’s missile strikes, defeating the Israelis
completely is something that would have to be achieved on the ground.

When the Israeli air defenses are depleted and its air fields destroyed,
greatly hindering the effectiveness of its air force, then a ground
offensive from multiple fronts will succeed. Yet, such a ground offensive
would have to be all out, with the objective of capturing occupied al-Quds.
Hamas and Hezbollah would have to be the main actors in this ground war.

Alternatively, if the groups do not want to risk it all for such an
offensive, then there is the opportunity for Hezbollah to liberate southern
Lebanon and to return its prestige, avenging the assassination of Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah and all of the nation’s fallen sons and daughters. While
on the other hand, the Palestinian resistance can launch a campaign inside
Gaza to force the Israeli military to retreat. Either way, the options are
all going to be costly.

If the occupying entity was truly seeking its survival by any means, it
would be begging for a ceasefire, in fact, it would never have attacked
Iran illegally to begin with. Yet, arrogance got the better of it.

The fact is that what this criminal settler-colonial entity has committed
over the past 20 months will never go away, and the people of the region
will never stop resisting its tyranny. With every new nation that it
attacks, with each child that it slaughters, it brings its end closer.

In his first speech following the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the
martyred Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, gave a
boxing analogy to the war with the Zionist entity. He said: so far, points
were being scored against the enemy, but the knockout blow had not yet been
landed.

After tiring the Israeli opponent out over many rounds, the big blows have
started landing, and they are wobbling. Now we wait for the moment when the
haymaker lands and sends the Israelis to canvas.

“It’s a Jihad of victory of martyrdom” has been the Palestinian slogan in
their fight against the Israelis during this genocide. For a while, it
appeared as if the war was over, but Iran has now breathed new life into
the spirits of the people in Gaza.

None of this had to be this way, but the Israelis chose to commit genocide,
and the US chose to back them. The corporate media and most Western
governments were also fully complicit; now they have allowed the Israelis
to get so carried away with their illegal aggression that they have gone
too far this time. Even if Iran and Lebanon are reduced to rubble, so too
will the Zionist regime. Even nuclear weapons will not save it.

Evil terrorist regimes that commit genocides and attempt to conquer all
their neighbors are not built to last. Eventually, they fall to pieces,
because they make the mistake of thinking they are more powerful than God
and that their lives are more precious than the lives of others. All
fascists eventually fall, because humanity eventually wins one way or
another.
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