On Sunday, 7 August, Ziad Nakhaleh, Palestinian resistance leader and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, announced a ceasefire in the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the Palestinian resistance’s response. This statement made clear that the Palestinian prisoners are at the heart of the battle and of the Palestinian resistance and that the unity of the Palestinian people in all areas of geography could never be undermined or disrupted by 75 years of colonization.
In particular, Nakhaleh emphasized that the resistance had imposed its conditions, specifically for the protection of the Palestinian prisoners, namely:
- The release of Khalil Awawdeh, on hunger strike for over 150 days, tomorrow, to a hospital
- The release of Sheikh Bassam al-Saadi, a prominent Palestinian national leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, with an Egyptian guarantee
- No conditions imposed on the resistance
Nakhaleh emphasized that if the occupation violates these conditions, the resistance will not hesitate to return to the battle by all means to liberate these imprisoned Palestinian strugglers. The Palestinian resistance, taking up arms, taking to the streets, rising up by all forms, defends and protects Palestinian life, from the massacres of the occupation warplanes and the violent raids of mass arrest and political incarceration.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the courage and dedication of the Palestinian resistance in the deep level of sacrifice and struggle undertaken to confront the policy of arrest and assassination raids throughout occupied Palestine. We emphasize that this is not a time to bring our popular mobilization and pressure to an end but rather to continue and escalate. We must make it clear to the Israeli occupation regime that the resistance is not alone and that the people of the world demand the implementation of these achievements of the resistance, the liberation of these Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli occupation regime and the Egyptian state — which is complicit in the blockade of Gaza for over 15 years and normalizes with the occupier — cannot be trusted, and all of our vigilance must continue to ensure the liberation of Awawdeh and al-Saadi, the achievements of the Palestinian resistance gained through selfless struggle and deep sacrifice.
The massacres committed by the colonialist forces — part of 75 years of ongoing Nakba that continue to run into the impenetrable wall of the Palestinian people’s resistance and will to struggle, survive and achieve victory — have taken the lives of 44 martyrs, including 15 children and two prominent and deeply respected leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Tayseer al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour. The number of injured reached 360, while civilian sites throughout besieged Gaza were destroyed by the U.S.-funded bombs and warplanes of the occupier.
These crimes were backed throughout by the United States, Canada, European Union countries, Britain and other imperialist powers, who affirmed the colonizer’s nonexistent “right to defend itself” from a colonized people resisting mass incarceration, targeted assassinations and indiscriminate massacres. The reactionary normalizing Arab regimes continued their collaboration with the occupier, even as the Arab people throughout the region made clear that Palestine was and remains the compass for all people in the region to achieve justice and liberation. The Palestinian Authority continued to engage in “security coordination” and imprison political detainees for their role in the resistance with the occupation even as it made press statements criticizing Israeli crimes.
At the same time, the Lebanese resistance and all of the forces of resistance and liberation in the region and the world made clear their position alongside the Palestinian people and their struggle for justice, return and liberation, and their complete rejection of the Zionist crimes committed against the Gaza Strip.
Once again, as in the Battle of Seif al-Quds/the Unity Intifada, the Palestinian resistance made clear that the Palestinian people, everywhere in occupied Palestine from the river to the sea, and in exile and diaspora, are one people, with one resistance, confronting a common enemy camp, and that the Palestinian resistance in Gaza was willing to fight by all means, even at a grave cost, to defend the Palestinian prisoners who struggle every day behind Zionist bars for liberation.
People around the world, including Palestinian and Arab communities and democratic and revolutionary forces everywhere, have taken to the streets from the first moment of this battle.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network emphasizes the need to build on the achievements and sacrifices of the Palestinian people and their steadfast Resistance, affirming that the Palestinian prisoners are at the heart of the liberation struggle. We must not lessen our efforts, but rather escalate our organizing and action to free Khalil Awawdeh, Bassam al-Saadi, and all of the 4,700 Palestinian resistance leaders and strugglers for freedom locked up behind Zionist bars, who continue to point the way forward to the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.
CONTINUE TO TAKE ACTION:
1. Mobilize actions, demonstrations and creative interventions – Take to the streets to defend the Palestinian people and their resistance! As was made clear during the Unity Intifada/Seif al-Quds in May 2021, there is a vast depth of support for the Palestinian people everywhere around the world, including inside the imperialist powers. It is our responsibility to act and make it impossible to continue their support for the crimes against the Palestinian people.
2. Build the boycott of Israel – This is a critical moment to escalate the campaign to isolate the Israeli regime at all levels, including through boycott campaigns that target the occupation’s economic exploitation of the Palestinian land, people and resources as well as those international corporations, like HP and G4S, that profit from the ongoing colonization of Palestine.
3. Support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people – This aggression was an extension of the siege on Gaza that has been imposed on the resisting and steadfast Strip for over 15 years. The Palestinian people need economic, political and all forms of support to help sustain their steadfastness. To contribute to Samidoun’s drive in support of children’s health care in Gaza, make a donation at https://samidoun.net/gaza
