"Every child in Palestine is a leader," said "Umm Qutaiba," the sister of Saleh al-Arouri, the Deputy Head of Hamas's Political Bureau, who was assassinated in Beirut last Tuesday. She spoke in an attempt to empty Israel's elation over the killing of her brother, overcoming the pain of loss and the sorrow of mourning.
This defiance, however, is not devoid of reality—even if it seems extremely exaggerated to some, or appears to be an attempt to demonstrate resilience and consolation. This reality is based on three fundamental aspects:
The Harsh Social Environment
- The Palestinian child is born into a social milieu laden with grave challenges posed by the occupation and fueled by the narratives of the elders about their difficult experiences. These circumstances do not allow the child to experience childhood ordinarily, but rather accelerate their progression towards the worries and preoccupations that await adults and youth in other societies.
As their life experiences intensify, Palestinian children find themselves compelled to bear, decide, and choose, as if they are not children but rather tasked with carrying a portion of the weight of their people's cause on their shoulders. They learn to do this willingly, without hesitation.
A Legacy of Resistance
- The rule of inherited resistance: In communities that nurture resistance groups, organizations, or factions, children become an integral part of this embrace. They are assigned roles in conveying messages and sometimes supplies. They are required to live as little resisters or to wait to take their place when they grow into young men. Their role does not solely involve bearing arms but also performing vital functions for a resisting community, whether it is farming, running workshops, education, instilling love for struggle, or fostering readiness for sacrifice in pursuit of freedom.
Practices of Political Organizations
- The practices of secretive or overt political organizations: These groups or factions raise their followers within a hierarchical structure, taking into account that their men could be pursued, killed, imprisoned, or banished from the scene. They ensure they have a plentiful human backup to fill any void created by someone's absence, quickly replaced by another who has been prepared for this day.
These organizations, including those with religious ideologies, are not exempt from this rule. Their experience not only in Palestine but also in all Islamic countries where they exist and are in danger, or engaged in significant challenges due to their pursuit of objectives, tells us this.
Ongoing Targeting
In the occupied Palestinian territories, the challenges only increase for such organizations or factions, as they are perpetually targeted without respite, required to engage in relentless struggle. Their survival instinct must always be alert as they face immense difficulties in mobilization and recruitment.
There are three fundamental matters relating to the Palestinian resistance's ability to replenish its leadership or fill the gaps due to the loss of some members. The first is that these organizations are accustomed to the non-biological death of their leaders, who cannot guarantee survival until old age. They can be snatched by death at any moment, even outside the occupied territories, at the hands of the long reach of the Israeli Air Force. They may not be killed but taken to the depths of prisons for long periods, isolated from the field in a state akin to death.
Israel has not ceased pursuing Palestinian leaders since the assassination of Ghassan Kanafani in Lebanon in 1972 up to the killing of al-Arouri, including many like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Fathi Shiqaqi, Abu Ali Mustafa, Hassan Salameh, and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. Some even affirm that Yasser Arafat himself was poisoned. However, the Palestinian arena has always been able to promptly compensate and mend the rifts.
The second aspect is the abundance of exposure to leadership skills within resistance movements. Beyond training, the practice of guerrilla warfare inherent in resistance enables individuals to make decisions or issue commands in the field, not confined, like a regular soldier, to orders from their direct command.
The third aspect relates to the demographic composition of those engaged in the armed struggle, who must all – or a majority of them – be youths capable of combat. This youthful nature provides continuous opportunities to generate elements qualified for leadership roles.
A Long and Arduous Journey
Palestinian resistance movements have continuously nourished their existence with two types of leaders: the first is military field leaders emerging from intense training and strictest secrecy, and the second is political leaders with a margin for flexible discourse and relative freedom of movement, handling internal Palestinian affairs and international political representation and negotiation.
These leaders' images grace the wall of Palestinian struggle for a time, with people growing accustomed to their faces, only to awaken one morning to find them vanished. The question then arises: Who can be the successor to fill the gap? In no time, a new face emerges, ready to fill their sight.
The resistance understands that its journey towards liberation is long and arduous, akin to how airlines operate with a co-pilot alongside the main pilot, equally competent or capable of reaching the destination if something befalls the original pilot. This becomes even more crucial for very long flights.
Of course, all robust societies and strong states possess the ability to produce alternatives, including administrative, political, and military leadership, as well as in economics and culture. However, with resistance factions, this is different in two matters: firstly, leadership is often more of a burden than a reward, especially for military or security leaders who must constantly risk their lives. Secondly, the rate of leadership turnover among resistance fighters is rapid.
A Shared Destiny
This does not mean that the resistance does not suffer losses from the killing or absence of its leaders, particularly those who are intelligent and brave. Yet, this is part of their destined fate, which they embrace and, in many cases, benefits them, as death—despite its brutality—allows them to demonstrate that their fate is no different from the communities supporting them, that their blood is no nobler than that of their supporters.
Al-Arouri's assassination comes at a time when voices are raised questioning the resistance, suggesting its leaders are in safe havens, living comfortably in hotels in foreign countries, while the people of Gaza suffer amidst raging fire. The assassination refutes these voices, especially since al-Arouri himself spoke before his death about the possibility of being killed in his enforced exile, expecting and unafraid of it, just like the rest of the Palestinian people under occupation in Gaza and the West Bank.
Therefore, al-Arouri's assassination is not a significant gain for Israel that can be marketed as the elusive victory they seek in Gaza, nor can it serve as a cover for the shortcomings of their army, which have been increasing since the launch of "Al-Aqsa Flood" on October 7, 2023.
