I am not making a claim, it is an observation, and I am not the only one who observed it. Palestinian leaders and thinkers, Israeli historians and more. In your penultimate line, you have figured it out. The threat of a second Nakba loomed on Palestinians before the Al-Aqsa Flood. They were doomed if they did and doomed if they didn’t. Albeit it might have continued slowly and silently, most of the world weren’t paying attention or even believed the Israeli narrative.
Resistance against a militarily superior enemy is not easy, and we have examples of indigenous people resisting only to be nearly wiped out. So I understand why it may seem futile to you. The Palestinians are attached to their land, the greatest regret of those who left in the first Nakba is that they didn’t die fighting for their land, they regret leaving. Palestinians are far less willing to leave now, and they are facing far greater violence. What possibly gives them hope is knowing that there were times when the indigenous resistance has been successful. A lot can be learned if you read about the Algerian resistance to the 132 years of French colonialism (1830–1962), the massacres and the millions who died fighting a superior enemy with nuclear weapons.
So if you wonder what Palestinians gained, I will tell you: recognition for their right to statehood. This thing which seems so obvious has been denied to Palestinians. Palestinians, except those living within the green line, are stateless people living under a brutal occupation since 1967. Now the world is paying attention.
I am not making a claim, it is an observation, and I am not the only one who observed it. Palestinian leaders and thinkers, Israeli historians and more. In your penultimate line, you have figured it out. The threat of a second Nakba loomed on Palestinians before the Al-Aqsa Flood. They were doomed if they did and doomed if they didn’t. Albeit it might have continued slowly and silently, most of the world weren’t paying attention or even believed the Israeli narrative.
Resistance against a militarily superior enemy is not easy, and we have examples of indigenous people resisting only to be nearly wiped out. So I understand why it may seem futile to you. The Palestinians are attached to their land, the greatest regret of those who left in the first Nakba is that they didn’t die fighting for their land, they regret leaving. Palestinians are far less willing to leave now, and they are facing far greater violence. What possibly gives them hope is knowing that there were times when the indigenous resistance has been successful. A lot can be learned if you read about the Algerian resistance to the 132 years of French colonialism (1830–1962), the massacres and the millions who died fighting a superior enemy with nuclear weapons.
So if you wonder what Palestinians gained, I will tell you: recognition for their right to statehood. This thing which seems so obvious has been denied to Palestinians. Palestinians, except those living within the green line, are stateless people living under a brutal occupation since 1967. Now the world is paying attention.