The Jerusalem Operation: A Reading of Its Dimensions

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

The bold operation carried out by two Palestinians at a synagogue in the city of Jerusalem has left major effects whose implications will continue to reverberate across the Palestinian arena for some time. It is clear this operation comes within the context of Zionist assaults on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and on the very day following the hanging of a Palestinian bus driver by Jewish settlers.

About the Operation

This operation carried a spatial symbolism the two perpetrators may well have intended: that it took place inside a Jewish synagogue, sending a clear message to settlers and extremists of every stripe and color that assaulting Arab holy sites will lead to attacks on synagogues and Jewish holy sites. Palestinians do not assault the holy sites of other religions, but they are prepared to deliver the message clearly to everyone who assaults their own.

The operation was also notable for its boldness and audacity, coming amid a number of bold operations Palestinians have recently carried out against Israelis, especially in the city of Jerusalem, but this operation was the boldest yet, since it was carried out against a congregation and with primitive weapons. Media outlets reported that the Palestinians used an automatic pistol, but the more significant weapon was the bladed weapon — knives and cleavers. It was a courageous operation, carried out suddenly and without prior warning.

This did not fall within the logic of terrorism as Americans, Israelis, and their Arab allies define it, but rather stemmed from the logic of self-defense and rescuing the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian people has recently been subjected, especially in Jerusalem, to intensive assaults carried out with contempt, and settlers have taken to roaming Jerusalem and its holy sites as they please, as though the Palestinian people did not exist, inflicting insults and humiliation on people, and denying them freedom of movement on the main roads linking cities and villages in the West Bank.

The Palestinian people has recently been subjected to the worst forms of insult and humiliation at the hands of the Zionists, not to mention the numbers of Palestinians who recently perished in the aggression on Gaza. So if Palestinians are now carrying out acts against Israelis, this is — in the view of most Palestinians — in defense of the Palestinian people, in vengeance for the people’s dignity, and to restore its standing and respect, which explains the Palestinian street’s joy at this operation, its elation, and its sense of strength.

The operation instilled strength and pride in Palestinian hearts, giving them great energy and raising their morale. These young men who rose up against the Israelis are not killers or criminals — the Palestinian street describes them as freedom fighters, and believes the Palestinian people must defend itself even if Arabs and some Palestinians cooperate with the Israelis.

Palestinians have no need to witness painful events continuously and daily in order to seek their own vengeance, because provocation is continuous and ongoing due to the existence of the occupation, which constitutes the greatest justification before them to defend themselves. If there is a cause for the acts of violence continuing in Palestine, it is the Israeli occupation.

The occupation carries its own negation within itself, and only a fool believes the occupation will continue without resistance from those upon whom it is imposed. If any state or party is to place blame, it must blame the occupation and stand against it, and work to remove it if it wants stability to prevail in the Arab-Islamic region and the world.

Here I am struck by the comment of the American Secretary of State, who said the Jerusalem operation has nothing to do with humanity, but did not mention whether the occupation itself has anything to do with humanity or not. This statement of his confirms what is already certain: that America speaks blasphemy when it addresses the Palestinian cause, because of its absolute bias toward Israel, which makes it a party to the conflict, not an arbiter.

Here too it must be noted that the comment of the president of the Palestinian Authority on the operation did not differ much from the American secretary’s comment — he too condemned the operation. No Palestinian asked the Authority’s president for a comment, but he volunteered one, as he usually does, with phrases carrying a great deal of injustice toward the Palestinian people. He could have placed responsibility for the continuation of such operations on the persistence of the occupation, without trying to negatively affect the sense of strength that crystallized in Palestinian hearts following the operation.

Between Calm and Escalation

There are calls urging Palestinians to be keen on calming the region, and these are illogical calls, because they forget the existence of the occupation. Whoever wants calm must stand firmly against the occupation, because the occupation itself is a factor of instability, violence, and wars. And where is the logic in asking people living under occupation to calm down?

If there is any humanitarian logic and concern for human rights, states must offer every support to those living under occupation to rid themselves of the brutal enemy, since history knows of no truce or calm with an occupation, and it seems the Palestinian case is what introduced the term “calm with the occupation” into the political dictionary.

This does not mean those living under occupation must continue waging battles, but it means they are the ones who assess the situation and ultimately decide whether their capabilities allow them to confront the occupation or not. As for the call for calm, it means calm under the occupation, or coexistence with it, and if the people were to coexist with the occupation, the latter would never find itself compelled to leave or to recognize the rights of the people it occupies.

Today there are Arabs generally, and Palestinians specifically, calling on the Palestinian people to coexist with the occupation, and this is why the Israeli occupation, over the preceding years, was a cost-free occupation, useful and beneficial to Israelis at the Palestinians’ expense.

It is the responsibility of a people living under occupation to always be keen on keeping the situation tense, in order to prevent stability for the occupying state and for the states supporting it. If the world feels stable, it will not move to rid itself of the problem, which is why periods of calm in the Palestinian arena have witnessed international disregard for the Palestinian cause, and the greatest evidence of this is the disregard shown by America and the European states toward the Palestinian cause since the establishment of the Authority, which took to guarding Israeli security.

A people living under occupation must continuously keep the situation tense if it wishes to draw the world’s attention and force the concerned states to search for satisfactory solutions. Tension draws the world’s attention, and states take it into account in order to preserve the stability of their interests, and to prevent harm to these interests.

The Palestinian political dictionary has been polluted with many phrases about logic, calm, self-restraint, and the like, while Israelis confiscate land and build settlements, and no one takes action against them, while the Palestinian must guard his tongue if he wants to obtain a few crumbs of money from the donor states.

The weak must be skilled at manufacturing crises in order to drag the world onto his own field, since submission and faintheartedness only harm, never help, and Palestinians have bitter experiences in this field.

Palestinian leaders tried playing the role of the weak, who has neither power nor strength, and the result was that a fait accompli was imposed on Palestinians far worse than conditions were before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. The manufacturing of crises is an art, capable of helping corner the world in a way that makes it impossible to ignore the rights owed to the weak.

The Strategic Dimension of the Operation

Israel considers military operations of this kind among the most dangerous and severe, because of how difficult they are to detect, track, and abort.

Such operations are planned in entirely closed circles, and likewise executed. In most cases, the planning takes place between a person and himself, without anyone else’s participation, which makes the matter an absolute secret no one can penetrate. The decisions to plan and execute such an operation are entirely fortified from a security standpoint, and there is no chance for the security apparatuses to discover and track them, unless technology develops to the point of intruding between a person and himself.

This is why these operations happen suddenly, taking the security apparatuses by surprise just as they take the ordinary person by surprise. Whoever plans an operation of this kind contacts no one, coordinates with no one, indeed receives orders from no one. Nor does he use a phone or any other means of communication, and so the security apparatuses cannot grasp a thread to build upon in a way that leads to discovering the secret and thwarting the act.

This is why Israel finds in these operations something that threatens its stability and threatens its people’s morale — it stands entirely helpless before them, possessing nothing but threats and warnings that, if carried out, could only worsen matters further.

Israel understands that operations of this kind express a reaction, and if it were to raise the level of repressive measures against the Palestinian people, the effects of this would rebound on the Israelis themselves — meaning Israel is in a predicament however it thinks or acts. These operations have an impact on Israeli morale, and are bound to reinforce a conviction that has crystallized among Israelis: that Israel is the last safe place for Jews.

Israel has always portrayed itself as the oasis of security in which Jews find their safety, comfort, and repose, but the succession of wars and resistance operations has begun convincing Israelis that Israel is the last spot on earth that can provide security for Israelis. This is why we find many Israelis beginning to think of leaving Palestine, and some of them — the financially comfortable especially — have already actually left. If these resistance actions continue, Israeli morale will dwindle, driving them out of Palestine.

The result is that whoever plays the role of the weak is forever the loser, and only the one who insists on building strength to defend himself with attains his rights.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “عملية القدس.. قراءة في الأبعاد” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.