Written By: Abdel Majid Swelim
Suddenly and without a previous notice, Hamas launched a social platform offense simultaneously with the President’s speech at the United Nations. The reasons behind this social platform offense are still unknown or have not been announced. The timing of the offense- which was before giving the speech- could be “understandable” if we knew about it, if we had listened to it, or watched it on the UN platform. However, this was not the case. It could now be interpreted as a disagreement with the discourse’s form and content. Hamas’ offense before giving the speech and without publishing anything confirmed its content to be an unprecedented event in politics. Hamas fires first and then designates its target!
By all accounts, Hamas can acquire a patent for this “feat” invention, to guarantee the intellectual property of this invention so that no one can compete with it. This is entirely their “right” in this case. Of course, we are all incapable of discussing the content, reasons and motives of Hamas for its sudden offense simultaneously with the United Nations session. We know nothing about it and Hamas did not tell us what the reasons and motives behind this offense are. What we have heard, seen and read says almost everything except for these motives and reasons!
We may discuss what Hamas has done after the speech. Then, we will see if this movement has something to say to explain and discuss the consequences. With all regret, it seems that we should not let these situations and consequences happen. The content and essence of the discourse is not the subject of the sudden “offense”. This is due to the reasons being different with varying motives. The discourse is neither the matter nor the issue. I will come to the real reasons and motives at the end of this article. I will now turn to the Hamas offense on the Palestinian keffiyeh because this particular offense is fundamentally and organically related to the reality of what happened. It is currently happening and reflects the reality of the crisis that Hamas created. Perhaps Hamas does not know that the Palestinian keffiyeh turned into a great national symbol since the late twenties of the last century. The British approached the Palestinian farmers who used to wear the “hatta and the I’qal (headbands)”.
Hamas may be “excused” for its ignorance of these facts because it comes from an intellectual background that does not believe much in the homeland, patriotism and national symbols. The important thing is that the keffiyeh became a symbol of the great national leader Abdul Qadir al-Husseini, and then turned into a comprehensive national symbol at the head of the leader Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian keffiyeh on the head of “Abu Ammar” turned into “Palestine” as a homeland with honor and cause. There is no symbol in the world today stronger than the keffiyeh of Arafat and there is no global awareness higher than the keffiyeh. There is no unity for this symbol such as the Palestinian keffiyeh between this “cover”, the homeland and the leader of this homeland.
Disagree with Arafat in politics as you wish, disagree with Abu Mazen as you wish, and disagree with “Fatah” all you want because no one has the right to insult national symbols. The issue here is beyond crime,misdemeanor, harm or damage.
The issue here is a shame not of wrongdoing. For someone to offend national symbols, this is a fatal fall that will make it difficult for those who committed to “get rid” of the moral burden and guilt. If Hamas does not rush to apologize quickly to the Palestinian people for this shameful act, this will cause Hamas to have a severe damage and loss. It will fail twice. Once was when the action occurred and once because they were arrogant and did not apologize. The Palestinian keffiyeh has such a national “heritage” cannot be an “incitement”. The attempts to describe it as such is an additional stigma.
The only incitement here is an act of stigma and disgrace in both cases. The sad and funny thing is that “most human rights” organizations and champions of defeated political hypocrisy have carried out this disgraceful national act in which Hamas police assault on students wearing the keffiyeh. They consider it to be a violation of the university’s sanctity – and it is a flagrant violation indeed. This contradicts with our “liberties” but they did not commit this dangerous act out of its national symbolism. As if the keffiyeh – how strange – was a commercial brand. As though students were wearing “jeans” torn at the knees?! This is a dangerous “political act”, an indirect offense, and a new kind of complicity with the act being offensive to the keffiyeh symbol and its significance.
To respond to the entire system that defames Palestinian nationalism and symbols of patriotism, the keffiyeh must be raised high on the shoulders of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It must be raised high on the roofs of houses and in the streets. The leadership of the national and popular action, all partisan, civic, union, and public, must reconsider this proud keffiyeh of Palestine, its people and its national leaders over the years. The keffiyeh has nothing to do with Oslo or Madrid. It has nothing to do with any political or ideological background. It is not related to agendas,interests, disagreements and differences. The only sure connection to this keffiyeh is the connection to the Palestinian homeland and to the Palestinian struggle. It is the cohesive connection with Palestine and only Palestine.
I return, now, to the reasons and motives for the sudden offense and for creating the crisis. The issue is simply that the Hamas movement felt that the legitimate leadership, despite all the observations recorded on it in its recent performance, was able to regain part of its international and regional balance. Thus, the bets on undermining it fell throughout the entire phase of Trump and Netanyahu. They fell then and they fall now. Since Naftali Bennett, Hamas sees itself to have an emphatic marginalized role. The Gaza state project is still ongoing. Therefore, this crisis was “necessary” to have attention drawn to it.
