The Third Intifada: A new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for liberation
As resistance activities intensify across the West
Bank, indicating another potential uprising with similar causes as the previous
two intifadas, the evolving armed resistance suggests a heightened level of
sophistication and adaptability among the resistance groups.
June 29 2023
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. Alternatively, a more realistic inquiry would
be to determine when exactly the current uprising began.
Following the battle of Sayf al-Quds (“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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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,
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 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”
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.
The views expressed in this article do not
necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
