Victory Is Better Than Sleep

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

“Victory is better than sleep” — a headline a Zionist newspaper wrote above its article on the Jerusalem crisis and the Palestinians emerging victorious, echoing the dawn call to prayer, which says: “Prayer is better than sleep.” And indeed it is.

Palestinians stayed up through the nights, exhausted, enduring hardship, abuse, and repressive measures, but chose to remain vigilant so as not to be caught off guard, forcing the Zionist entity to retreat from its measures against Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians won, and in their victory was something far better and nobler than sleep, relaxation, and turning one’s back on the holy sites. They fought well, received their reward and recompense, their morale rose, and they began to feel strength and the capacity to stand firm and confront.

Palestinians won the recent crisis over Al-Aqsa Mosque, but without being safe from the Zionists’ evil. It is one of the Zionists’ fixed policies never to let Palestinians win any battle, small or large, so their morale does not rise, so they remain under the yoke of frustration, and so their joy and self-confidence, should they achieve an accomplishment, are spoiled. This is why it would not be surprising if the Zionists carried out some acts and measures to disturb the calm of the Palestinian atmosphere, such as spreading further disputes among the people and the factions, or orchestrating a new act of aggression against Al-Aqsa or any other holy site. This is why Palestinians remain on high alert, eyes and ears open, so the Zionists cannot catch them off guard with a sudden act.

Among the most beautiful things that happened in the rescue of Al-Aqsa was Palestinian mass national unity. Palestinians of all their political, national, and religious spectrums participated in this rescue, and only a single flag rose — the flag of Palestine. There was no one in the ranks claiming victory for their own faction or party — everyone won for Palestine, and everyone spoke with one heart and one tongue. It was evident there were no conflicts at the mass level — disputes were confined to politicians with interests, prepared to sacrifice Palestine for private interests whose keys the occupation holds.

The sit-in protesters were not alone on the field, keeping vigil and standing guard through the nights — behind them stood an army of blessed Jerusalem women. The women of Jerusalem mobilized to serve the men and women holding the sit-in, providing their daily needs. They prepared food and served it to everyone, provided water, juices, and treatment, opened their homes to the exhausted, the sick, and the wounded, and brought paramedics into their homes to carry out their national duty.

The women of Jerusalem set the highest example of sacrifice and selflessness, spending from their own private pockets, asking no one for financial assistance. This is a deed to be recorded in the national history of Palestinian women. Perhaps it was good that money never entered the crowds of protesters at the gates, since it has historically been a corrupting factor, distracting people with accusations and counter-accusations. The absence of money proved the Palestinian people can rely on itself without chaos and without the theft of public funds.

It is also noteworthy that Palestinian cohesion included Christians, who were partners in the victory. Christians joined in prayer with Muslims in defense of Al-Aqsa, and it was planned, according to some media outlets, that a mass march would set out from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to Al-Aqsa Mosque last Friday when the crisis eased. Christians did not fall short in opening their churches to Muslims when they were unable to pray in the mosques. This is the true Christian spirit, and this was the wonderful Islamic reception of the Christians’ efforts. This is the authenticity of the Palestinian people, which has always appeared in times of hardship, granting the people a steel-hard strength.

So will the feuding Palestinian factional leaderships, who have divided the Palestinian people, learn the lesson? The whole people hopes so, but it is difficult for them to learn. These are wayward, corrupt leaderships, always dragging the people into their own corruption and divisions. This is what we have observed throughout Palestinian history, since the beginning of the Zionist invasion of Palestine. The masses have always offered the sacrifices, while the leaderships have offered concessions in exchange for the possibility of achieving national accomplishments. The people were always at the forefront, and the leaderships panted behind them. But the results were always in favor of these leaderships, and the people returned to its base with its martyrs, its wounded, its demolished homes, and its cut-down trees. But the leaderships harvest the gains and the positions, because they always bargained, and the enemy lavished its blessings and bounty upon them. So will the leaderships remain distant from the scene this time? The people hopes so, but they possess enough money to win over their army of hypocrites who care nothing for the homeland or the citizen.

Palestinians also achieved another victory over the normalizers, Arabs generally and Palestinians specifically. The wheel of normalization with the Zionist entity was rolling quickly, and most Arab governments were prostrate, waiting for the Zionist entity’s grace to accept them, when the Al-Aqsa crisis came, reviving awareness once again in the minds of the Arab peoples, and putting the Arab governments in an awkward position, even if only temporarily. The flame of normalization and coordination with the entity was temporarily extinguished, awaiting suitable conditions.

Arab mass awareness of the Palestinian cause had faded for some time, and then came a Zionist leadership brimming with arrogance and stupidity, reviving the movement anew in people’s hearts. The Palestinian people rose up, and its news topped the media in various Arab countries, reviving awareness, and the peoples began to stir against the Zionists. Insufficient Arab crowds came out into the streets in support of Jerusalem, but they ignited in hearts a victory for Al-Aqsa and a desire for revenge against the enemy.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “الانتصار خير من النوم” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.