Sarah, the Irish girl, wasn't exaggerating when she expressed her surprise at the certainty that enables the people of Gaza to endure so much pain. In a widely shared video clip, the girl wondered about the role of Islam as the deeper framework that supports the grieving Palestinians, granting them patience in the face of harm that exceeds anything else experienced in modern and contemporary history.
The girl touched on the core or the distant cause of the resilience witnessed in Gaza, a cause shared by Palestinian Christians as well. They understand "Christ's suffering" not as a "historical issue" or a "symbolic" one, as Europeans might perceive it, but as an ongoing reality, something that each of them feels deeply. This sentiment was echoed by one of the senior clergy in response to the targeting of mosques by Israeli aggression: "If they destroy all the mosques, we will open our churches for the call to prayer to be announced from their towers," inviting Muslims to their five daily prayers.
The Need for Certainty
I'm not merely speaking of the intense religious conviction present as a motivation for patience and endurance in most resistance rhetoric, particularly that of "Hamas" and "Islamic Jihad," but rather the conviction that dissolves in the general Palestinian sphere. This belief is echoed in the words of the people who witness their loved ones falling as martyrs, suffering grave injuries, being rendered homeless as their homes are destroyed, or when they talk about the lack of sufficient food, medicine, shelter, and clothing in the severe cold of winter.
Naturally, people turn to religion in times of hardship to bolster their spirits and protect themselves from collapse or submission to vile worldly oppression. Whether one is taking up arms to fight the enemy or enduring the blows of this enemy, they need certainty that surpasses religious belief to ensure their existence and continuity.
Palestinians are also mindful of the vociferous Biblical inclination that the Israelis bring to the current war, as we've seen in the speeches of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or in the presence of rabbis with their prayers, advice, and even their incitements, in the heart of the battle.
Maneuvering Through Harsh Conditions
The religious belief is not the only reason behind the legendary resilience of the Palestinians. There are other reasons, only understood and truly felt by those who have painstakingly read the everyday accounts of suffering that Palestinians have lived under occupation from the Nakba to the outbreak of the "Al-Aqsa Intifada."
Many Palestinians have gone through harrowing experiences, from those who lived the initial displacement during the Nakba to the young children who listen day and night to their grandparents' stories about the chill of displacement, its confusion and the intense longing for their homeland.
The Palestinians understand that any sign of breaking, faltering, or panic that leads to escape or surrender will have dire consequences, more painful even than relentless bombardment, no matter how fierce and targeted it is. The temporary endurance of fire and blood – even if the war lasts longer than expected – is easier than enduring exile and alienation when they lose their land and their way in foreign lands, as has happened to them in the past.
Palestinians have learned a great deal about the methods and tricks to circumvent the harsh circumstances that assail them, after years of exposure to the coercive and often bloody practices of the Israeli occupation.
Since the practices are continuous, the Palestinian people have become capable of withstanding them. As long as the drums of war beat over their heads, as long as they witness killing and destruction, and as long as they live under a strict siege that nearly counts their breaths, a siege that, surprisingly, counts even "the calories" they get from the limited amount of food and drink allowed to them.
The scenes of blood, smoke, and debris we see in the current assault on Gaza have been repeated in all of Israel's previous wars on the enclave. To the people of Gaza, "Al-Aqsa Flood" is no more than a highly concentrated dose in its breadth, depth, and duration, but it does not differ from its predecessors in terms of Israeli military tactics and its excessively brutal behavior.
Popular Support for Resistance
I'm not discussing the general adaptability of Palestinians, and Gazans in particular, to deliberate suffering and humiliation, but rather their extraordinary and remarkable ability to comprehend the goals of the occupation and its persistent actions – a strategy revealed in an open book that does not change with the changing of governments in Tel Aviv.
Moreover, their ability to strip these actions of their intended meaning, to thwart their objectives, including the suppression of the Palestinian voice forever, working on the erroneous assumption that Israel built its presence here on the idea that "Jews are a people without a land, who came to a land without a people."
Adding to all this, more than ever before, Palestinian civilians realize that their targeting aims to expose the resistance's vulnerable rear flank and break their determination, by making it seem as if they do not care about their popular base, or by driving this base towards losing faith in the resistance, and possibly even rebelling against them or betraying them.
There is a notion implemented by the Israeli military, since the 2006 war against Hezbollah, based on inflicting excessive harm on civilians to pressure the resistance. Lately, we have observed American officials urging the Palestinian resistance to surrender in order to save civilians, and some voices and pens in league with the occupation echo this call, insisting on its demand.
Despite the severe harm to civilians in Gaza, most understand the long build-up that preceded the events of October 7, 2023, and view it as leading inevitably to the outcome that ensued. They do not see the situation as isolated, as some eager or malicious parties might suggest.
There is a cause related to the bravery displayed by the resistance and their stunning success in the battlefield, making people believe in their approach, to support them, and to stand firm around them so that they continue to fight and repel the aggression as a losing endeavor.
Since the Battle of Karameh in 1970, the Palestinians have not achieved a victory over the Israeli army that goes beyond mere challenge and resistance. Many believe that Israel's current strategic loss will be a significant turning point in the conflict, propelling them towards a much-awaited independent Palestinian state, for which many sacrifices have been made.
Civilians in Gaza and the West Bank alike are aware of the sacrifices made by the resistance, with sweat and blood, and they believe in their devotion to their country's cause. Consequently, honor requires them to endure harm alongside them, especially since they rely on the resistance to avenge them, and more importantly, to bring them closer to regaining their long-denied rights.
Confronting Collapse and Uprooting
Another reason for Palestinian civilian endurance is their acute awareness of how their major sacrifices have brought their issue back into the international arena. After Israel succeeded in burying it under piles of dirt, and removing it from the region's political equations, shifting from the principle of "land for peace" to "peace for peace."
Another significant reason, by the standard of the Palestinian psyche, is that for the first time, Palestinians see Israelis forced to leave their homes and stay in refugee tents because of the resistance's strikes. They experience a taste of what they have inflicted on the Palestinian people for seventy-five years. Despite the difference in situations, Palestinians are content, at least for now, with Israelis feeling a fraction of the pain they’ve endured for so long.
The causes and motives for Palestinian resilience are multifaceted, some deeply ingrained in their souls, and others have emerged in the current aggression against them. In any case, they are worthy of consideration and are a prominent example of a people's capacity to stand and challenge, to confront all the forces of collapse and uprooting.
