The eighth of October 32 years ago was a historic turning point and  one of the crucial stages in the Palestinian freedom struggle against the Israeli occupation. On this day, the Palestinian people staged a mass uprising across the West Bank and Gaza towns, the refugee camps, and Jerusalem to put the national Palestinian cause on top of the world’s agenda and to fight off Israeli attempts to dominate the Palestinian people and promote a delusive claim that the Palestinian people have surrendered to the fait accompli and will no longer resist the Iraeli occupation.  

With a massive, popular support, the First Intifada (uprising) broke out to prove to the whole world, above all the Israeli occupation, that the Palestinian people would stick to their lands and national identity and refuse to give up or cave in to all bids to tarnish the Palestinian national awareness and commitment to lands and cause. A sense of national unity among all Palestinian factions prevailed the 1987 intifada (uprising), during which all Palestinians united in the face of the Israeli occupation.

The plans aimed at abolishing and liquidating the Palestinian cause nowadays require united efforts and dedication to fight off one enemy, the Israeli occupation. Every day, the Israeli occupation is approving further colonial projects in the West Bank, while vowing to annex and impose its sovereignty on the Jordan Valley and the settlements built in the 1967 occupied territories. The Israeli occupation breaks into al-Aqsa Mosque on a regular basis in a bid to impose new realities on the ground and rewrite history through attempts to judaize and divide the al-Aqsa Mosque compound spatially and timely.

On the 32^nd anniversary of the First Intifada, the deep scars left on the Palestinian cause by the so-called peace process are still fresh. The Palestinian people are virtually blackmailed into their sources of living and movements through the so-called coordination and liaison office, which has turned Israeli army commanders into actual rulers of the West Bank.

Neither was the Palestinian cause in a better situation before the 1987 First Intifada than of that is today, nor were the dangers posed to it less than those of nowadays.

However, the Palestinian people, who launched an uprising that inspired all revolutionaries around the world, have set an honorable example in resisting the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are inventing means to resist the Israeli occupation either through the Great Return March, which has put the Palestinian cause back on top of the world’s agenda just as the First Intifada did, or the weekly, popular protests in the West Bank.  

On this anniversary, Hamas states the following:

First: Hamas salutes all Palestinian martyrs killed during the First Intifada and hails the Palestinian detainees and wounded for the sacrifices they made throughout the Palestinian fight for freedom and liberation.

Second: We salute the Palestinian people in the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and the 1948 occupied territories as well as in the diaspora for standing steadfast and resilient in the face of the plots orchestrated against their cause, while sticking to their rights and embracing the option of resistance.

Third: Hamas expresses its full support for the Great Return March and vows to stick to the demands of Palestinian people until achieving them.

Fourth: Resisting the Israeli occupation, particularly the armed resistance, is an illegitimate right guaranteed by all heavenly religions and international laws and conventions, so it is a strategic option to preserve the Palestinian cause and restore national rights. No side can deny the Palestinians of this internationally-guaranteed right. 

Fifth: The reasons that led the Palestinian people to stage a popular uprising are still present until these days. Therefore, the Palestinian people, who have been struggling against injustices for dozens of years, are capable of threatening the stability of the Israeli occupation. 

Sixth: Restoring the Palestinian unity and preserving the national project is on top of Hamas’ agenda. Resisting the occupation and fighting off its colonial project would not be possible unless a complete partnership, at the political, diplomatic, and military levels, was established between all Palestinian factions. Thus, Hamas reiterates its positive stance towards holding Palestinian elections in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. The movement also reaffirms the necessity to back to the polls and create a welcoming environment to ensure the success of the elections process, as well as respecting election results.

Seventh: We reject all forms of normalisation with the Israeli occupation at this critical stage, including all aspects of the political, economic, cultural, and sports life.

Hamas Movement

Sunday 8, 2019