An-Najah Staff

The international law with all its various regulations and articles recognized the right of nations to resist and struggle against the occupation forces through complete recognition of the right of nations to achieve their independence and self-determination. The international law allowed the nations under occupation to practice their full right of defending their freedom and independence by using all the peaceful and violent means that could be used against occupation. At the same time, the international law distinguished between the legitimate and illegitimate violence through classifying all actions directed towards occupation as legitimate resistance and supported by the international law and its regulations as long as they in response occupation. The decisions of the General Assembly of the United Nations including its committees and corporations guarantee the right of occupied nations under foreign colonization, or that under the rule of racist regimes to resist and rebel. The prisoners who fight for the freedom of their countries should be granted the legal treatment as prisoners of war. At the same time, other countries are allowed to support the liberation movements until their countries are liberated. All what is stated previously is applied to the Palestinian people struggling against the Israeli occupation which has been occupying the Palestinian territories and denies the rights the Palestinians to the independence and self-determination. Accordingly, these rights apply to the right of resistance. The Israeli occupation has always depicted the Palestinian resistance as terrorist organizations, and the Palestinian freedom-fighters as terrorists or saboteurs, in a clear and programmed mixing between what constitutes a legitimate right to resist the occupation and what is in fact terrorism carried out by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people through many decades. This deliberate mixture has been carried out by the full support of the United States of America and a clear silence by the other Arab and Western states. The attacks of September,11-2001 triggered a wide programmed American war against what is described as international terrorism through alliance with a large number of countries all over the world. Israel has been at the top of the international alliance in the so-called war against terrorism, taking advantage of this opportunity against the Palestinian resistance by launching unlimited war with the full support of the United States. Israel has exploited the attacks of September, 11th, and the declaration of the American war against terrorism by destroying the Palestinian infrastructure. In addition, Israel continued to describe Palestinian resistance and its operations as terrorist attacks through programmed cooperation between the Palestinian factions and international terrorism. The Palestinian resistance has suffered from the deliberate mixture between terrorism and resistance. This fact has led to extreme disagreement among the various Palestinian circles regarding the continuation of the last Palestinian uprising. In addition, there has been severe controversy regarding the means used by the resistance especially the bombing attacks in the Israeli towns and cities. As a result, it was almost impossible for the Palestinian resistance and its various factions to reach a general strategy that would unify the resistance techniques, and determine their practical methods in resisting the occupation in agreement with the severe changes that have dominated the international arena, especially that new vision. The Palestinians, both authority and resistance, have not been able to produce a new strategy that takes into account the new international developments. They have become a victim of the American-Israeli promotion of mass media that have concentrated on Palestinian terrorism in community with American wishes. This in turn has opened a wide path for Israel to accelerate its aggression and to justify such aggression as a part of the war against terrorism. All this has taken place in the shadow of Arab and Palestinian weakness in fighting the decisive media war for the purpose of distinguishing between the Palestinian resistance and international terrorism, and so separating between the resistance and terrorism according to the regulations of the international law.