From the First Zionist Congress to the Eighth Congress: Challenges and Ways to Protect the National Project

First, we congratulate the Palestinian National Liberation Movement – Fatah on the convening of its Eighth Congress, which represents a pivotal national and democratic milestone in the history of the Palestinian people, given the historical role and political standing of the movement, which for decades has made it the backbone of the Palestinian national movement and the protector of the Palestinian national project through various stages and turning points. Fatah has never been merely an organizational framework; rather, it has formed the unifying political identity of the Palestinian people and led their struggle through the most difficult and complex circumstances. Therefore, the strength of the movement reflects strength upon the entire Palestinian situation, while any weakness or division within it directly impacts the overall Palestinian national project. Thus, the Eighth Congress cannot be viewed as merely an internal organizational station, but rather as a national congress par excellence, whose outcomes extend beyond the movement's boundaries to affect the future of the entire Palestinian cause, amidst unprecedented challenges targeting the land, people, narrative, and the very existence of Palestinians, to the point where Palestinians face a historical equation: to be or not to be. And, God willing, we will be.

Just as I congratulate the Fatah movement on this occasion, I congratulate myself as a witness to the founding of this movement from the very beginning, specifically since my first meeting with the martyrs Khalil al-Wazir "Abu Jihad" and the symbol Yasser Arafat "Abu Ammar" in Algiers in 1963. I also had the honor of participating in the consultative meeting for the establishment of the movement with the martyred brothers, in addition to the late Hamdan Ashour and Mohammed Abu Maizar, as well as the meeting that organized the relationship between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Fatah movement in 1969, with the participation of the late Ahmed Shukeiri, Abdul Majeed Shoman, Haseeb Sabbagh, and Abdul Mohsen Qattan. The purpose of this meeting was to reconcile the views between Ahmed Shukeiri and Yasser Arafat.

In my previous article, titled "From Basel to Gaza, the Nakba of Humanity: The Historical Narrative and Dimensions of the Global Zionist Project," I summarized how this project, which was implemented based on a comprehensive ideology, program, and plan agreed upon by the interests of the Zionist movement and renewed Christian Zionism, has resulted in all the catastrophes, woes, and conflicts we experience today, particularly in the Arab Mashriq region, as it is the targeted area to be the homeland of this colonial-settler project. This project is being pursued and crowned through the establishment of Greater Israel. Since then, the Palestinian people have entered into an open confrontation with a colonial-settler project based on displacement, settlement, and the elimination of the other, within an expansionist vision that has long promoted a "Greater Israel" extending from the Nile to the Euphrates.

In contrast, the Palestinian people have not surrendered to these projects, but rather have embarked on a long journey of national struggle that began with successive revolutions, leading to the launch of the contemporary Palestinian revolution led by the Fatah movement in 1965, which restored the independent Palestinian national identity and transformed Palestinians from a state of refuge and diaspora to a state of political action and national struggle. However, the Palestinian people continued to pay heavy prices, starting with the Palestinian Nakba, which saw the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land, through the Naksa and the occupation of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, leading to decades of settlement, siege, arrests, assassinations, attempts to erase the Palestinian national identity, and even the genocide practiced by the most extreme Israeli government led by Netanyahu.

Today, with the devastating war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the accompanying scenes of killing, starvation, and systematic destruction of human and urban infrastructure, the Palestinian cause appears to be at a very critical stage, as attempts to liquidate the Palestinian national project are accelerating through the imposition of new realities based on forced displacement, breaking the will of the Palestinian people, and ending any just political horizon. Amidst these challenges and the absence of democratic elections for more than twenty years, the catastrophic effects of the internal Palestinian division cannot be ignored, as it has weakened the national position and deprived Palestinians of the most important element of strength, which is the unity of decision, vision, and destiny.

Hence, the historical responsibility placed on the Eighth Congress of Fatah requires the emergence of a unifying national thought and a comprehensive national vision that rebuilds the Palestinian national project on the foundations of unity, partnership, democracy, and the renewal of national legitimacies, thereby ensuring the protection of the Palestinian national identity and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, especially in Jerusalem, which is exposed to the most dangerous projects of Judaization, demographic, and political emptying. The stage also calls for developing tools of political, diplomatic, legal, and media struggle, and restoring the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate and sole representative of all Palestinians, and working diligently to end the division and restore national unity as the real gateway to any successful liberation project, which will encourage other countries in the world to recognize the State of Palestine and accept it as a full member of the United Nations.

In this context, the Eighth Congress must constitute a starting point towards a new Palestinian phase by adopting a set of fundamental decisions, foremost among them: launching a comprehensive national dialogue that ends the Palestinian division, rebuilding the Palestinian political system on the basis of national partnership, empowering women and youth to participate in national decision-making, and strengthening the steadfastness of Jerusalemites and all members of the Palestinian people, especially in Area C, economically and socially in light of an unprecedented financial siege and the continued piracy of the Palestinian people's funds by the Israeli government, and the necessity of developing a national strategy for awareness and protecting the Palestinian narrative in the face of campaigns of falsification and incitement, in addition to expanding the Palestinian presence on the international arena and activating international legal tools to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes.

In the face of Zionist ideology based on exclusion, racism, and the logic of force, Palestinians are also called upon to present a universal humanitarian and ethical ideology based on truth, justice, freedom, human dignity, and environmental protection. The Palestinian cause has never been the cause of a people seeking revenge, but rather the cause of a people demanding their right to life, freedom, and peace. Hence, the future vision must transcend the boundaries of traditional conflict towards building a more humane and just world, a world governed by the values of peace, cooperation, and shared development, free from epidemics, wars, hatred, racism, and cross-border conflicts. Moreover, achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will only be possible through ending the occupation and embodying an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, based on the Arab Peace Initiative, and ensuring security, stability, and dignity for all peoples of the region. It is important to transform this into an ideology embraced by all Palestinians and free people and lovers of peace.

Palestine, despite all its wounds, will remain a cause of freedom and human justice, and the Palestinian people, with the support of Arabs, Muslims, and free people of the world, will remain capable of protecting their national project as long as they adhere to their unity, historical rights, and free will, because peoples who possess truth, awareness, and will cannot be defeated no matter how severe the challenges and how great the conspiracies.

In conclusion, and stemming from the national and moral responsibility I have undertaken for over 84 years, which was strengthened through my relationship with my companion on the path, the martyr Yasser Arafat, who entrusted me, along with other brothers, with the responsibility of legal, political, and developmental struggle, I have worked to contribute with all my capabilities to protect the Palestinian national project by supporting the Palestinian national movement and my membership in the National and Central Councils since the establishment of the organization, as well as my work as a volunteer in the government of my late friend Wasfi al-Tal in 1970 to mend the rift and strengthen Jordanian-Palestinian relations, and as a Minister of State in the first Palestinian government, and the establishment of developmental institutions, most notably the Welfare Association, the Health Work Committees, and the Munib and Angela Masri Foundation, which launched its charitable projects in all governorates of the homeland and other countries, and the Jerusalem Fund and Waqf, and the Nablus Governorate Civil Committee. I also contributed to the management and establishment of financial and investment institutions such as the Arab Bank and Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO), in addition to launching multiple projects, most notably the National Spatial Master Plan for the State of Palestine 2050, the project to document the Palestinian narrative, and the project to sue Britain regarding the consequences of the Balfour Declaration. Today, I find myself called upon to redouble efforts in light of the difficult circumstances and conspiracies we are experiencing, and the importance of focusing on ending the division, holding elections, building a unifying national and humanitarian ideology, and enhancing awareness among younger generations to work towards establishing a universal humanitarian message and ideology to build a planet governed by truth and justice, free from epidemics, wars, borders, and barriers. I call on everyone to bear their responsibility with honesty and sincerity, for Palestine and its people are a trust upon us, time is of the essence, and history will spare no one.