In an unprecedented, yet calculated and well coordinated military operation, Palestinians have weakened Israel. Numerous occupation forces have been killed and some captured, including a military commander. Israel has responded with aerial attacks, killing more than 200 Palestinians in Gaza.

Professor Sa’ad Nimr from the Birzeit University in the West Bank has told Radio 786 that the time for Palestinians to take on this matter on their own terms, has come. Nimr slammed the absolute hypocrisy from the West in ignoring Israeli continued brutality against Palestinians for years.

Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is clearly well coordinated, having exposed the weaknesses of the Israeli occupation. A Gaza-based journalist told Radio 786 that the operation is not only a comprehensive response to the ongoing attacks on Masjid Al-Aqsa and the ongoing occupation, but the resistance acting on information that Gaza was about to be attacked by the right-wing Israeli cabal in occupied Palestine.

Senior researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, Na’eem Jeena says the attack is clearly a well-planned operation from the Resistance.

Jeena says the resistance groups in Gaza, led by the Qassam brigades, have taken into consideration what an Israeli response might be, and what their counter action should be. It may be a massive surprise, but an effective blow against the Israeli occupation.

Today’s operations are not just about the international community’s inaction, says Jeena, but rather it is a result of the Palestinians being coordinated and determined to overthrow the Israeli occupation and liberate themselves.

Judging by previous responses, Naeem Jeena however warned that Palestinians – especially in Gaza – should expect a harsh kind of response from the Israelis tonight. This, as the operation comes as the Israelis are observing a Jewish holiday, and it has taken some time before the Israeli war room could be activated. 

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

The Western response has been typical, blaming Palestinians for seeking to assert their own freedoms and dignity.

Iran’s foreign ministry said attacks by its ally Hamas were proof of the Palestinians’ increased confidence in the face of Israel’s occupation.

“In this operation, the element of surprise and other combined methods were used, which show the Palestinian people’s confidence in the face of the occupiers,” ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

The attacks “proved that the Zionist regime is more vulnerable than ever and that the initiative is in the hands of Palestinian youth,” government spokesperson Ali Bahadori-Jahromi told state news agency IRNA.

Qatar said it holds the Israeli regime solely responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinians Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also urged the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as an excuse to launch a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

For its part, Syria has hailed the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and said that resistance is the only way to achieve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

“Palestinian resistance factions marked a new chapter of struggle on the path to achieving the inalienable Palestinian rights,” Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“Syria reiterates its support for the Palestinian people against Zionist terrorism and stresses that Palestine is close to achieving the desired victory,” the statement added.

The Iraqi government is meanwhile calling for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss “serious” developments within the Palestinian territories.

THE RESISTANCE

Iran and Syria have unequivocally paid tribute to the heroic actions of the resistance in Palestine, pledging full support.

Senior researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, Na’eem Jeena believes that there may be a response from Lebanon, as the Arc of Resistance may likely be activated from that region in defence of the Palestinians.  Jeena notes the lack of official demands being forthcoming is strategic because giving the details limits the extent of this operation. It’s the beginning of a full-scale liberation struggle, said Jeena to Radio 786’s special coverage on the developing situation.

As for Egypt, Jeena believes that there may be a lot of American pressure on Egypt for it to play its usual role of mediating between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist regime.