Egypt Daily News – Massive protests have taken place in the Gaza Strip in recent days, where Palestinians have called for the end of the war, the removal of Hamas from power, and a return to the negotiation table.
Anger among Palestinians in the strip has increased after Israel resumed the war last week, with even greater brutality than before, and after all attempts by mediators to reach a ceasefire failed. The situation worsened following Israel’s attempts to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza by establishing a migration administration, tightening the siege and bombardment on civilians, and halting the entry of all humanitarian aid in its various forms. “Al-Dostor” gathered the views of Palestinian experts on the current crisis to understand how these protests are affecting the situation in Gaza.
Waseel Abu Yusuf: The marches confirm the people’s attachment to their land and their refusal to surrender
Waseel Abu Yusuf, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), stated that “it is important to emphasize that the Israeli occupation, which has resumed its genocidal war against our Palestinian people in Gaza, believes that through its destruction and killing, it can break the will of the Palestinian people.”
He added, “The occupation believes it can impose its strategy aimed at displacing Palestinians and erasing the entire Palestinian cause, but the reality confirms that the Palestinian people, who are steadfast in their principles and rights to their land and defend it with determination, will not migrate or abandon their cause.”
He continued, “The stance of the Palestinian people draws strength from the widespread Arab and international support rejecting displacement, as well as from the total rejection of what U.S. President Donald Trump stated, which has emboldened the occupation to try to achieve its expansionist goals.”
He pointed out that Egypt’s stance is of great importance, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expressed Egypt’s firm position rejecting displacement, which is the same position expressed by Jordanian and Saudi leaders, clearly reflected in the last Arab summit. These positions emphasize the importance of rejecting displacement, the necessity of reconstruction in Gaza, and the need for comprehensive arrangements concerning the situation of the Palestinian people in the strip.
He also noted that the Palestinian-Egyptian paper presented to the Arab summit, which was adopted by the Arab countries, is moving in the right direction.
He explained that Gaza rose up through popular marches expressing the rejection of the Palestinian people of the current situation, which involves continuous killing and destruction, resulting in daily suffering for the Palestinian people. These marches are not just temporary protests but a reaffirmation of the Palestinian people’s attachment to their rights and their rejection of surrender in the face of the occupation’s policies.
He pointed out that everyone today understands that continuing the situation in Gaza under Hamas’s control is not a sustainable solution, and that the status quo cannot be accepted. It is time to unite the Palestinian ranks under the banner of the PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
He said the PLO should be the central force representing all Palestinians, leading efforts to affirm the unity of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem.
He continued that the responsibility lies with the PLO, without any interference from the different factions, including Hamas, emphasizing that maintaining the current situation, with increased killing and destruction, will only lead to more suffering for the Palestinian people. This requires full seriousness in uniting efforts to stop the war immediately. Every moment in the war adds more blood and destruction.
Abdul Mahdi Mutaawi: Continuing the current situation does not serve the cause
Palestinian political analyst Abdul Mahdi Mutaawi mentioned that the Palestinian people, who have endured the burden of the genocide war for 17 months, have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of the killing and destruction machine. However, they now realize that continuing the current situation may contribute to achieving political goals that do not serve the Palestinian cause.
Mutaawi added that the Palestinian people, who have paid a heavy price with their blood and the lives of their children, cannot continue in this suffering without a fundamental change in the course of events.
He pointed out that despite the difficulties faced, the Palestinian people feel that continuing the situation under the rule of a single faction cannot lead to the lasting solutions they aspire to.
He added that the current reality forces everyone to reassess the political and leadership paths in Gaza, with priority given to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people, not to any particular party or faction.
He emphasized that the great challenge facing Palestinians today is how to maintain Palestinian unity in the face of external challenges, which seek to impose solutions that contribute to fragmenting the Palestinian cause.
He stressed the importance of the Palestinian people moving toward achieving real national partnership between all factions, through genuine representation of national interests via the PLO, which must remain the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, ensuring the unification of efforts and national orientations.
He concluded, “The Palestinian people in Gaza no longer accept the situation remaining as it is,” noting that there is a large response from the masses for the demand for a radical change in the political management of the situation on the ground.
He added that this shift represents a declaration of the Palestinian people’s rejection of any attempts to create settlements that serve Israeli agendas or any external parties seeking to change the geographical and political reality of the region.
He explained that popular rejection in Gaza is not limited to military and humanitarian conditions, but also extends to rejecting strategies that would contribute to achieving the Israeli occupation’s goals of displacing Palestinians and altering the region’s demographic composition.
He affirmed that despite the injustice and destruction faced by the Palestinian people, they continue to hold on to hope for building a better future away from displacement policies and threats. Mutaawi concluded his remarks by stating that solutions in the upcoming phase must be purely Palestinian: “The Palestinian people should decide their fate, and the national organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization, must lead the way toward the future and work to achieve the rights of Palestinians in return and self-determination.”
Fayez Abbas: The protests embody a deep desire to end the suffering
Palestinian political researcher Fayez Abbas confirmed that the protests and popular demonstrations in Gaza against the continuation of the genocide war on the people of the strip, and the popular demand for Hamas to leave power in Gaza, represent a historical precedent since the war broke out on October 7, 2023.
Fayez Abbas added that these protests are unexpected, as the people of Gaza can no longer endure the killing and destruction caused by this war, and have decided to raise their voices demanding a ceasefire and the end of the violence. Despite these popular demonstrations, Israel continues its bombardment of the strip and threatens further killing and destruction, while seeking to seize large areas of the strip and annex them to its territory.
He explained that what is noteworthy is that the political and military leadership in Israel has not yet grasped the magnitude of the protests against Hamas in Gaza.
He pointed out that Israeli leadership does not know how to deal with these escalating protests, which so far have passed without Hamas using violence to stop or suppress them. This situation raises major questions about how Hamas will deal with these spontaneous and unorganized popular protests, which reflect a continuous public rejection inside Gaza.
He confirmed that the next few days will be an important test for Hamas, as its position on these popular protests, which seem to continue in the coming days, will become clear.
He added that these protests are receiving increasing support from Ramallah and other cities in the occupied West Bank, which strengthens their power and makes them more influential on the Palestinian scene.
He stressed that these demonstrations are not just spontaneous reactions, but rather a deep expression of the desire to change the current situation in Gaza and end the suffering of the Palestinian people, who have long endured war and destruction.
