The level of calmness of the Palestinians has cast doubt on what once seemed like the predestined fate of the Palestinian struggle.

The Palestinian ‘sumud’ and the failure of Netanyahu’s plans

The past year has seen the Israeli genocide in Gaza and unprecedented violence in the West Bank, as well as legendary displays of Palestinian ‘sumud’ (Arabic for ‘resilience’). It is not the scale of the Israeli bloodbath, but the degree of Palestinian resilience that has called into question what once seemed the predestined fate of the Palestinian struggle. However, it turned out that the last chapter on Palestine was not yet ready to be written and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be its author.

The ongoing war has exposed the limits of Israeli military capabilities. The typical policy of Israel’s relations with the occupied Palestinians was based on unhindered Israeli violence, unconditional Western assistance and the ’deafening silence’ of the international community. To a large extent, only Netanyahu determined the timing and objectives of the war. Until recently, his opponents seemed to have no say in the matter. This is, though, not the case anymore. Israel’s war crimes are now being met by Palestinian unity, Arab, Muslim and international solidarity and the first – and quite serious –signs of legal responsibility.

This is not likely what Netanyahu had hoped for. Just a few days before the aggression against Lebanon began, he stood in the........

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