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OPINIONS

Wed 09 Apr 2025 2:01 pm - Jerusalem Time

Is it time to submit to the popular will?

In recent weeks, calls have been growing for the resistance forces to "withdraw Israel's pretexts" for continuing its war of extermination. At first glance, such calls may appear to stem from a "concern for the lives of innocents in the Gaza Strip," some of whom are now hastening death, awaiting its inevitability. This may be the case, however, when those behind these calls clarify their positions, demanding that the resistance forces surrender their weapons and accept Witkoff's proposals, which are in line with Netanyahu's Israeli conditions, and when these people demonstrate for the first time, however limited in number, in central Ramallah, this is not to save Gaza from the fascist war of extermination, but rather to demand the withdrawal of the resistance forces from their homeland, describing them as terrorists, for there is more to the story. This is nothing more than an identification with the Israeli position, which has long sought to place responsibility for the ongoing extermination on the forces of "Palestinian terrorism," as these people describe it. This is simply an attempt to exonerate war criminals, whatever the intentions of these misguided ones (with an open "l" or "the misguided ones" with a closed "l").

In recent weeks, voices have been calling for the creation of a vice-president position, as if the priority today is not the unity of the people and all their forces to stop the war of extermination, heal the people's wounds, and liberate the will of our people, not just the wealth of this people, from Israeli piracy. Some see the call to resist annexation plans as an absurd act and an agenda seeking to destroy the West Bank, just as Gaza is being destroyed.

It is incomprehensible that the question of who will be the next president, which has long been an Israeli-initiated bargaining chip for further blackmail attempts at the leadership, would suddenly turn into a demand, or even a condition, for some Arab parties. These parties are not satisfied with the constitutional declaration issued by the president, stating that the Speaker of the National Council shall assume the presidency until presidential elections are held within ninety days, extendable only for another ninety conditional days. Furthermore, the rush to convene the Central Council, which has usurped the powers of the National Council, to amend the law in order to pass this amendment comes despite the fact that the Council was only called for consultation, not for a formal meeting, throughout the war of extermination, and the mobilization of the people's forces and energies required to confront it and confront its goals. It also aims to discuss mechanisms for implementing the National Consensus Agreement (the Beijing Declaration), which received popular consensus as a savior for confronting the war of extermination, annexation, and the comprehensive and final liquidation of our people's cause and national rights.

Amidst this extremely gloomy atmosphere, which, if it persists, will only lead to distorting popular awareness, the Secretary of the Fatah Freedom Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, made statements during a visit by a delegation from the movement to Cairo, including the Speaker of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, and former Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. Rajoub requested that Cairo host a Palestinian national conference, stating that the movement's delegation had presented Cairo with ideas for "building a Palestinian national partnership" that includes Hamas. This clearly demonstrates everyone's awareness of the existential dangers that threaten not only the entire national movement in all its branches, but also the national destiny as a whole. This call, which must include all political and social forces and prominent national figures, including representatives from civil society and the youth and women's sectors, requires that the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, which stipulates the formation of a national unity government and the activation of the unified leadership framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, be at the forefront of its priorities. This is not only to respond to the next day's statement, but also to address the Gaza issue in all its dimensions, starting with stopping the war and providing relief to its people, ending with the reconstruction of the Strip. This also includes strengthening our people's ability to withstand the war to uproot the West Bank camps, liquidate the refugee issue, complete the Judaization of occupied Jerusalem, confront plans to annex the West Bank, and confront the illusion of resolving the conflict by liquidating our people's national rights.

With this position, the Fatah delegation to Cairo seizes what could be considered the last opportunity to halt the insane war led by the fascist government in Tel Aviv. This is the path to unifying discourse and position, and the serious follow-up required to culminate in an action plan and a unified framework that will bring us all back to the right path. The leadership of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other political and social forces must not only welcome this position, which aligns with their declared positions throughout the war of extermination and their urgent need for it, as they confront, along with our people, the war of extermination and the plans to uproot our people from their homeland, in a manner that goes beyond the Nakba of 1948. Rather, the resistance forces must take the initiative to place the entire Gaza Strip file under the responsibility of the new national consensus government, in accordance with national consensus in the face of Israeli conditions that aim to liquidate the culture of resistance, not just its weapons. This must be agreed upon nationally.

This certainly does not absolve us from exercising all forms of popular pressure, including the call by all forces, figures, and initiatives that have long called for unity, to organize a popular conference that includes all those prepared to engage in accomplishing this noble mission of unity within the framework of comprehensive national institutions capable of restoring hope to our people.
With this, and only with this, we have returned to the right path, where we resort to a common word, and most importantly to the will of our people and their supreme national interests, and to providing them with everything they need for their steadfastness and ability to survive and confront the liquidation plans, as well as resorting to their will through the ballot box as a natural and constitutional right to elect their leadership and representatives, and obligating them to unity and solidarity in bearing the national responsibility to save their fate in this country.

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Is it time to submit to the popular will?

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