The Fatah movement, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, launched its first popular resistance conference in an attempt to activate this controversial approach in the Palestinian territories.
The conference aims to formulate a national vision to boycott the occupation, oppose normalization, and activate volunteer work in all areas, especially where there are ongoing clashes with the Israeli occupation.
Fatah deputy chief, Mahmoud al-Aloul, said in a speech that the resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right of people in occupied territories. He asserted that popular resistance at this stage has a role in mobilizing the world alongside the Palestinian cause.
Aloul explained that the practices of the Israeli occupation require resistance, noting that the decision of popular resistance has been made at all levels.
“As long as the occupation exists, there should be resistance. All people living under occupation have the right to launch all forms of resistance. Under the current circumstances, however, popular resistance is the most effective mean to rally world support for the Palestinians.”
He called for a conference of all popular and national components, noting that after all the pressure exerted to liquidate the cause, popular resistance is the only solution left.
He asserted that Fatah will exert all efforts to achieve national unity, since division has hurt the cause a lot, noting that the election is a form to end the division.
The approach has been criticized internally for its weakness, as well as being met with criticism from opposing parties who described it as being futile against Israel.
Member of Fatah central committee, Jamal al-Muhaisen, said that the people can only be liberated through “guns” - meaning armed resistance.
But, he added that the Palestinian popular resistance is different from the rest of the world and that everyone must be engaged because it has become strategic.
Muhaisen said that the first intifada was a combination of popular resistance and armed resistance, and “we must benefit from this previous experience.”
He explained there are several ways of popular resistance to prevent settlers from moving freely on the occupied land, such as banning products of the occupation from entering the Palestinian territory.
“We need to take the initiative. We need to prevent settlers from traveling on the roads, but without using bullets. There are several ways to stop them from moving around freely on our occupied lands.”
Muhaisen also called for banning any cooperation with the settlers, stressing that the initiative is the basis of popular resistance, calling for establishing new initiatives and remaining loyal to the martyrs by achieving what they called for.
The conference will make recommendations to support popular resistance.
Head of the Palestinian Authority Wall and Settlements Colonization Resistance Committee Walid Assaf noted that the popular resistance has achieved many important results, saying the aim is to unite all popular resistance committees.
He pointed out that the Popular Resistance Committees succeeded in removing 9 outposts over the past two years, where the Israeli occupation authorities established during this period 19 outposts.
Assaf pointed out that the Wall and Settlements Colonization Resistance Committee, in cooperation with the Popular Resistance Committees, will work to develop methods to boycott the occupation which yields great results even though it is considered the least expensive.
