Palestinians have no choice but a new Intifada: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Hani al-Bassous, professor of political science at the Islamic University of Gaza, about the Palestinian political factions including Hamas calling for a third Intifada to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: First of all, do you think that there is now a major threat to Israel by a third Intifada that could actually happen?

Al-Bassouss: Well, I think based on the situation we can witness on a daily basis in the West Bank where the Israeli army have arrested hundreds of Palestinian people. This ongoing abduction of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and the blockade on the Gaza Strip and the daily air strikes on the Gaza Strip and talking about silence of the international community, I think nothing has been left for the Palestinian people except having a new Palestinian Intifada.

Establishing this fact, I think it is not something new. We had an intifada in 1987 and in 2000 and those intifadas and those uprisings were against the occupation and its own policy. Now we witness an escalation on the Israeli arbitration policy against the Palestinian people in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in the Gaza Strip.

This offense is an ongoing offense. It does not stop. So, this is why Hamas is calling for a new Palestinian uprising, Intifada. It’s not only Hamas, I think most Palestinian political factions in Palestine are calling for such an Intifada to stop the Israeli illegal activities and to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
Press TV: Since the issue of three Israelis and the manhunt taking place, a lot of observers were saying that this is threatening the unity government and the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Do you agree that that is now certainly on the threat?

Al-Bassouss: Of course, it is. We had division in Palestine between the political parties for seven years and when we had the Palestinian unity government which was established only a few weeks ago, the occupation forces do not want, the Zionist entity do not want any unity in Palestine.

They do not want to see Hamas and Fatah – an Islamic Jihad – united against the occupation forces. So, they are using the pretext now that Israeli settlers have been kidnapped in the West Bank to jeopardize any Palestinian efforts towards unity. They want to stop the unity. They want to divide the Palestinian society.
The occupation, the Zionist occupation forces in Palestine want to divide the Palestinian community and the Palestinian political system. They want to end the Palestinian existence and they want to prolong the occupation. They want to keep the occupation as long as they can, but this would not happen as long as the Palestinian people standing in their own land. This would not happen as long as the Palestinian political and military factions still standing, resisting the occupation.

So, the situation has been tense and the situation is difficult. But I believe that the Palestinian people would come out, would come up and stand against the occupation because nothing has left for the Palestinian people except the agony and except the clashes against the occupation.
Life has been difficult for people under occupation and I believe people will stand against the occupation as long as it takes, as long as it calls the Palestinian people. They will stand against the occupation.