On the Rhetoric of Resistance in the West Bank
The first conclusion reached by Israel's security community, namely the army of military analysts and former officials in the security establishment, from the resistance operation carried out near the "leader checkpoint" in Jerusalem on February 22 (*), was to acknowledge that all the so-called "preventive offensive measures" carried out by the Israeli army and security services in the West Bank in recent times had failed miserably. These measures include daily raids across the West Bank, confiscation of weapons, killing of hundreds of Palestinians, arresting thousands, reinforcing IDF forces on the ground, and carrying out punitive steps against families of resistance fighters with a focus on home demolitions.
(*) Editor: Three Palestinians had opened fire at motorists near an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem on February 22, killing one person and wounding five.
According to a former official in the Military Intelligence Division (AMAN), intelligence coverage of the West Bank territory is no longer sufficient. .....................................................
عن بلاغة المقاومة في الضفة الغربية
تمثّل أول استنتاج خلُص إليه الوسط الأمني في إسرائيل، والمقصود جيش المحلّلين العسكريين والمسؤولين السابقين في المؤسّسة الأمنية، من عملية المقاومة التي نفّذت بالقرب من "حاجز الزعيم" العسكري في القدس يوم 22 فبراير/ شباط الحالي، في الإقرار بأن كل ما يوصف بأنه "إجراءات هجومية وقائيّة" يقوم بها الجيش الإسرائيلي والأجهزة الأمنيّة في أراضي الضفة الغربيّة في الآونة الأخيرة قد مُنيت بالفشل الذريع. وتشمل هذه الإجراءات مداهماتٍ يوميةً في شتى أرجاء الضفة، ومصادرة أسلحة، وقتل مئات الفلسطينيين، واعتقال آلاف منهم، وتعزيز قوات الجيش الإسرائيلي في الميدان، وتنفيذ خطوات عقابية بحق أسر المقاومين مع التركيز على هدم المنازل
وبموجب ما يؤكّد مسؤولٌ سابق بشعبة الاستخبارات العسكرية (أمان)، لم تعد التغطية الاستخباراتية لأراضي الضفة كافية ......................................................
In recent years, the term "comfortable occupation" has begun to be used in Israel, and some considered that it may turn into a political reality if two things continue: First, there is no real opposition to this occupation and in general to the rule of the Israeli right, which is in a state of Catholic marriage between the extreme right and the Charedi [i.e. the orthodox Jews], while the dominant element in the performance of parties trying to stand against the policy of that right is [simultaneously] trying to turn into an extension of that right [alliance], an expression of [them] drowning in illusions and deception. This would succeed in attracting the masses of centrist and right-wing parties to their ranks, thanks to their social attitudes associated with an acceptance of the occupation. Second, there is no heavy political and material price for this occupation and its settlement practices. There is no doubt that the rhetoric of the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank now lies in putting an end to the second thing.
بدأ في إسرائيل، في الأعوام الأخيرة، استخدام مصطلح "الاحتلال المريح"، واعتبر بعضهم أنه قد يتحوّل إلى صيرورة في الواقع السياسي في حال استمرار أمرين: الأول، انعدام وجود معارضة حقيقية لهذا الاحتلال وعموماً لحُكم اليمين الإسرائيلي الموجود في حالة زواج كاثوليكي مع اليمين المتطرّف والحريدي، في حين أن العنصر الطاغي على أداء الأحزاب التي تحاول أن تقف على الضدّ من سياسة هذا اليمين محاولة التحوّل إلى ملحق لهذا اليمين، تعبيراً عن الغرق في الأوهام وخداع النفس بأن من شأن ذلك أن ينجح في جذب جماهير أحزاب الوسط واليمين إلى صفوفها، بفضل مواقفها الاجتماعية المترافقة مع قبولها بالاحتلال. الثاني، عدم جباية ثمن باهظ سياسيّاً ومادّياً جرّاء هذا الاحتلال وممارساته الاستيطانية. ولا شك في أن بلاغة المقاومة الفلسطينية في الضفة كامنة الآن في وضعها حدًّا للأمر الثاني
[العربي الجديد on Feb. 28]
Politically speaking, tribal nationalism [patriotism] always insists that its own people
are surrounded by " a world of enemies " - " one against all " - and that a fundamental
difference exists between this people and all others. It claims its people to be unique,
individual, incompatible with all others, and denies theoretically the very possibility of
a common mankind long before it is used to destroy the humanity of man.
Hannah Arendt, a Jewish activist who became famous for her
book describing the Elements and Reasons of Totalitarianism.
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HISTORY - The Punic Wars
For centuries during the pre-Christian era, two major powers in the Mediterranean Sea area vied for supremacy – the Roman Republic, with its capital in Rome, Italy, and the city of Carthage located in what is now Tunisia. The so-called Punic Wars in 264, 218 and 149 BC between Rome and Carthage involved a total of 43 years of warfare, leading to the final victory of Rome and the total destruction of Carthage.
"The great Carthage fought three wars. It was still mighty after the first, still habitable after the second. It was no longer to be found after the third."
- Bertolt Brecht - (1898-1956), a famous German playwright and anti-fascist, in an open letter to German artists and writers, published in 1951 and distributed at a large scale. From there, his stance on the Punic Wars became often quoted at a time when memories of World War II were still fresh.
