From Lebanon, Ali Hammoud: “The option for the Palestinian people is critical”
We talk with our comrade Ali Hammoud, leader of the LIS group in Lebanon, whom we consulted on various aspects of the war conflict in the region.
there, please, update us a little...
It is important to remember that for many years we have been facing an occupier called Israel, a colonialist state, imperialist, implanted there to divide the Arab world. Here we cannot have a decent daily life while that enemy is occupying and committing massacres, as is well documented and as Israel itself recognizes.
We know this situation well, but it is also worth remembering Israel's strategic military superiority compared to the Palestinian resistance and the Arab armies. After the massacres of 73, of the 82, of the 2000, in the last 60 years we have reached an important conclusion: we cannot defeat it with a single battle or even a war, but through many years of accumulation of forces to be able to defeat it. That is why it is not a question of giving a single blow, since Israel has modern military forces and the support of Europe and the United States to guarantee its security. Since before 7 October, after many battles, Most people agree with this conclusion..
He 7 October exceeded expectations, although rumors had been circulating for some time and everyone knew that Hamas forces could enter several kilometers into territory occupied by Israel and then leave.. Hezbollah itself from Lebanon could advance 20 O 30 kilometers. He 7 Hamas entered some 15 kilometers and attacked several kibbutz under the questionable motto of“the victory of God”. We do not believe that a victory will be guaranteed under a religion, even less so under Iran and other Arab regimes. In this war for the liberation of Palestine the only solution is resistance, which is a very big tactical difference.
How is the situation in the Gaza Strip??
Now Gaza is in a 70% destroyed, all its infrastructure, there are more than 40.000 dead, 10 a 15.000 missing people who are also presumed dead under the rubble, 100.000 wounded and a million and a half people in permanent migration depending on where Israel attacks. Of being a liberated city although surrounded, Gaza came under Israeli military control, who even installed new headquarters.
In Gaza and Lebanon the tone of the war increases, which could last up to five years. There is talk that Palestinian fighters could enter Gaza from Egypt, attack Israeli troops there and change the equation of forces. But in Gaza the humanitarian situation is very complicated, terrible. It has already been declared asnon-viable city and now there is a risk of childhood polio and other diseases spreading.
What role does Iran play in this conflict??
Although Hamas does not say it openly, has suffered betrayal from Iran and other Arab states because none of them stood up to help Palestine. From a victory to recover more territory, now the situation changed, The Palestinian position has weakened and efforts are being made to prevent many Gazans from migrating to Egypt..
It must be remembered that Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, organization that makes different political agreements in each country. This is what the leader Ismail Haniya did, recently assassinated by Israel in Iran, and other leaders continue to do so in Türkiye or Yemen. The new leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, is totally aligned with Iran.
There are negotiations with Türkiye and Iran to see who governs Gaza, whether Hamas or the Palestinian Authority remains, or you come Israel. Now the conflict is spreading to the West Bank. The Israeli extreme right knows this political conflict well and tries to divide the two Palestinian lines, occupying Gaza and also the West Bank. They want to increase military operations to transform the West Bank into a new Gaza, non-viable, to expel Palestinian residents to Jordan and Egypt.
Regarding the situation in Lebanon, we must take into account Iran's big lie about “battlefield unity”. It means that they will always support whoever is attacked by Israel.. But for eleven months we have seen that it is a total lie. He 8 In October, the Lebanese border was opened to try to advance and thus reduce pressure in Gaza. But there is no infrastructure left standing there.. Empty of people, Business, factories, is going to be destroyed.
Israel carried out attacks inside Lebanon…
Yes, We already know that Israel has great air and intelligence superiority. That is why they can assassinate the first line of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders who are in Lebanon looking for weapons to send to Palestine..
Now there are also bombings deep inside Lebanon, 70 u 80 kilometers and even to Beirut, but there is no very clear response from Hezbollah essentially because there is no involvement from Iran. Iran does not want to intervene directly to protect its own economic and political interests.. Fear for the nuclear aspect, since it has factories, and he does not want to be affected by the United States and is waiting for the result of those elections. Iran suffers a very big economic and social crisis. Every year there is some popular uprising, since the Iranian people are not happy with the government, who fears those rebellions.
On the Lebanese border there could be more clashes with Israel than there are. although the 30 July Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr in Beirut, a respected commander, Hezbollah's number two, He makes agreements to only attack military targets because the Iranian decision is not to enter a major war. He threw some 300 Katiusha missiles and drones, although it has much better ballistic missiles.
The answer was on Sunday 25 of August, before six in the morning. one hour before 70 Israeli planes bombed some 60 southern areas of Lebanon, but not those where the missiles came from. Although Israel knows, We still maintain a certain secrecy about where they are fired from.. That's why there were no deaths..
Obviously, Israel has superior strength, in military weight and imperialist support, but resistance is the right option and not next to a country like Iran. In these eleven months the Palestinians have been paying a high price with their own blood, because no religious state is going to really help them.
In Lebanon, what do the government do, the army, unions?
At the government level, There is actually no president and, with that excuse, parliament is paralyzed. So there is no official position on the conflict with Israel. Negotiations are only being held with the United States to seek an agreement and for Hezbollah to withdraw to 15 kilometers from the border. Regarding the Lebanese army, It does not fight against Israel at all but is only there to take care of the political and religious leaders..
In Lebanon there is no true unionism, but an official religious union leadership. When was the civil war in 1996, unionism was divided into two wings: one bureaucratic religious and another more genuine. The military took the opportunity to arrest the leaders of this last sector. After 96, the PC, Instead of recovering real unionism, he founded his own small unions. That is why we face the problem that if the official sector seeks a new and independent unionism, PC attempt didn't work. Even in some cases, leaders of this sector agreed with the bureaucracy against the labor movement..
The General Student Union played an important role. In a time of civil war, before a large demonstration, the government took the opportunity to eliminate it. There were some attempts to reconstruct the UGE, but it is very difficult.
What perspectives do you see in the conflict??
The decision to deepen the war is important and will be taken in any case by Europe or Iran.. This conflict will continue for at least six more months., since no one will make definitions until the inauguration of the new government in the United States in February 2025. Israel and the Netanyahu government are not going to back down in Gaza, only strong pressure from the United States would make them change their position a little.
Regarding the emotional state of the Palestinian people, it's really difficult. The situation is so catastrophic that sometimes it is celebrated that they get a little water to drink or a cucumber to eat.. To the logical pain for the dead is added that many times they cannot bury their bodies. A 50% of the population unconditionally supported Hamas and that is decreasing. They also recruit new fighters, although the 90% he knows that he will almost certainly not return from the operations. In our opinion, the most dangerous decision is the forced migration of the Palestinian population., which can lead to expulsion. Some people already want to leave and leave the lands of Gaza permanently.
Hamas did not plan much for the continuation of the combat after the 7 October because he expected a response from Iran and its allies. I thought Iran was going to stop Israel's offensive in Gaza. To understand a little how the head of these sectors works, We must remember that all movements are political Islam. He 8 October they opened the Lebanese border, but the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, wait 31 days to speak. It is evident that he believed that within five or six days Iran was going to intervene with “the help of God.”.
How does the Palestinian Authority play Fatah?
Islamist leaders lie to people and end up believing their own lies. It was a bad tactic inside Palestine and a strategic loss on Iran's role, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria. They do not want to see that Gaza is being emptied and now Israel is advancing on the West Bank in a new Nakba. This was announced in the texts of the Israeli extreme right and that Nakba is already underway. They look at things the same as before 7 October.
Regarding the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Since the Oslo agreements, these are people who negotiate with the United States, It guarantees nothing for the Palestinian people but only its own continuity. When the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza was attacked and there were marches of repudiation in the West Bank, The AP came out to repress even with bullets. To understand your style, each internal sector of the PA reflects its negotiations with Israel, U.S, Saudi Arabia or some other country. Less than a month ago there were clashes in the West Bank, An injured Palestinian was taken to a hospital and Israel kidnapped him. The women came down to defend him, but the AP did nothing. The best word to describe the Abbas government istraitor, because it helps Israel sustain the occupation.
What can you tell us about nationalist currents and the left??
The main real political division of the Palestinian people is between Fatah and Hamas, beyond the agreement they made a month ago in China, which causes internal wear and delays the process of liberation from Israeli rule. There is a political left, the PFLP, which is very weak although it maintains some strength in Palestine and the refugee camps in Lebanon. Had some military involvement, but nothing has been said about it for three or four months..
Fatah, the main sector of the PLO, It is a socio-political organization and many people depend on its management. The option for the Palestinian people is critical because Fatah has betrayed and in turn Hamas is making them pay a very high cost., so the decision will be clearer if the war ends in a few months.
Unlike other previous situations, Today the role of the left in Lebanon is very marginal. Slightly larger groups are silent and the organization in general has weakened. With the deep crisis in Lebanon, many young activists left the country and that exodus also affected us.
At the level of our modest forces, with groups of young medical students, Pharmacy and Psychology we have formed the group “For the People” and we are doing some humanitarian solidarity work towards the refugees who are fleeing from southern Lebanon.. In these tasks at a humanitarian level we group new colleagues and include some transition to political work, even knowing how difficult it is under these circumstances.
Reportage: Pablo Vasco
