Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · Sama News Agency · 2014
Eighteen days into Israel's war on Gaza, Omar Shaban argues on a cost–benefit basis that the time has come for the resistance to engage flexibly and positively with ceasefire initiatives, Egyptian or otherwise. He lists the gains: the resistance's steadfastness and the losses inflicted on Israel; putting the blockade back on the agenda, since three wars in seven years have not solved the Gaza problem; renewed global attention to the Palestinian cause; a unified Palestinian position; stronger bonds with the West Bank, Jerusalem and the 1948 areas; and an improved Arab climate. He points to the humanitarian toll — thousands of displaced families, power cuts of more than 20 hours a day, hundreds killed — and stresses that the conflict is a long path requiring a stronger home front, elections and development independent of international funding.
Omar Shaban, July 2014: the resistance’s gains and Gaza’s humanitarian toll justify engaging positively with ceasefire initiatives.
With eighteen days having passed since the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and with the distinguished achievements accomplished by the Gaza Strip and the resistance, not only in military confrontation but also on the political, media, and legal levels, and according to the equation of cost and return, which should govern any decision, it has become appropriate, in my view, for the forces of the resistance to deal flexibly and positively with ceasefire proposals, taking into account the following achievements already realized:
· The resistance has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of standing firm in the face of the diverse and advanced Israeli war machine, inflicting heavy losses on it, and significantly affecting the course of life in Israel on the economic, political, tourism, and media levels, as well as its image in the West.
· Bringing the issue of the Israeli blockade imposed since 2007, even if it was noticeably eased after the Freedom Flotilla incident at the end of May 2010, back into the circle of official and popular Arab and international attention. Many Western decision-making circles have now become convinced that there is no alternative to lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip; three wars in seven years have not solved the problem of Gaza and Hamas, so work must be done to avoid a fourth war.
· Restoring popular and official Arab, Islamic, and Western attention to the Palestinian cause in general and to the tragedy of the Gaza Strip in particular, which was manifested in dozens of massive demonstrations in dozens of cities around the world, confirming once again that the Palestinian cause remains an important issue and that work must be done to find a strategic solution to it.
· Achieving unity in the Palestinian position, as manifested in the speech of President Mahmoud Abbas and the statement of the Palestinian leadership, both of which adopted a position fully aligned with the position of the resistance, with the need to translate this position into action. The resistance and the steadfastness of our people in the Gaza Strip will be credited with achieving Palestinian unity, something that dozens of rounds of dialogue and many reconciliation agreements failed to achieve.
· Restoring and strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and unity of destiny between the West Bank and Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, which had been negatively affected during the years of the blockade, through the massive marches that swept the cities and villages of the West Bank as well as the 1948 areas.
· Improving the atmosphere in the Arab surroundings, including, for example, the return of official relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the resumption of communication, albeit timidly, between Egypt and the leadership of Hamas. The resistance also contributed to the return of official Arab attention to the Palestinian cause.
In my estimation, these are sufficient and highly convincing achievements that justify positive engagement with ceasefire initiatives, whether the Egyptian initiative or other initiatives. Achievement on the level of resistance will be followed by intensive political work with exceptional ability to translate the achievement of the resistance into gains at the political and national levels. The work will not stop with the end of the aggression; rather, it will continue at an accelerated pace to break the unjust blockade, strengthen national unity, activate Palestinian action, and repair the relationship with the Arab surroundings in a way that returns the Palestinian cause to the forefront.
The Gaza Strip is being subjected to an aggression unprecedented in its cruelty and destruction, and it has produced an unbearable humanitarian tragedy. Thousands of citizens and families have been forced to leave their homes without carrying any of their belongings, with electricity continuously cut off for more than 20 hours a day amid the blessed atmosphere of fasting, intense heat, and shortages of many basic goods. Most important of all are the hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded, along with the destruction of thousands of homes and infrastructure.
Our conflict with Israel is not decided by a single battle or by a knockout blow; rather, it is a long process of struggle in all its forms. This process includes many phases of confrontation, calm, and the accumulation of achievements, not only in the field of resistance in its narrow meaning, but in its broader meaning, which includes protecting and strengthening the internal front, modernizing the Palestinian political system, holding elections that renew life within it, achieving sustainable human development independent of international funding, and strengthening the state of international solidarity with our cause until we attain our rights to freedom and independence.
Topic: Ceasefire & Peace Plans — 2014 Gaza war · ceasefire · blockade · national unity — Text © Sama News Agency — archived here with attribution to the source. — Original source