Palestinian Resistance, Guerrilla & Information Warfare
Palestinian Resistance: The power of Guerrilla & 5th generation warfare and how it is, like Vietnam, new and overpowering western colonialism & imperialism.
Ghassan Kanafani, the political author and spokesman of PFLP, said:
”Armed Resistance is not a shell; it is the fruit of a planting that is deeply rooted in the Earth. If liberation stems from the barrel of a gun, then the gun itself stems from the will for liberation. The will to liberate is nothing but the natural, logical, and inevitable outcome of resistance in its broadest sense: Resistance on the level of refusal, and on the level of firm adherence to roots and convictions.
This type of resistance takes its pioneering form in political and cultural work. This concomitant work that complements each other forms the fertile ground that breeds and nurtures the armed resistance, embracing and guaranteeing the continuation of its course.
Hence, a cultural form of resistance is of paramount importance and never less valuable than the armed resistance itself. Therefore, observing, investigating, and revealing its depth remains an indispensable necessity for understanding the ground on which the guns of armed struggle rest.”
Advanced Warfare & “Israel’s” Failing War:
Something my comrade
and I have talked about is the kind of warfare the Palestinians have been engaged in. It is obviously a very advanced form of warfare unlike even what we saw in Vietnam which, when the Vietnamese War started, caught millions of Americans by surprise with the strategy and tactics the Vietnamese was using. Someone else I know, whose analysis was correct, said we are seeing an advanced form of warfare which shares obviously deep study of WWII, Vietnam, Korea and many other past conflicts, including an obvious strategic study of past attacks/invasions of Gaza by the “Israeli” Occupational Forces (IOF).The Palestinian Resistance Coalition, referred to as such because Gaza is governed by a collective of resistance groups (Hamas, PFLP, DFLP, PIJ, etc.) operating as a single organism through the Joint Operations Room; has clearly studied their enemies in depth and created a new form of guerrilla warfare that is proving itself effective.
“Either we rise together, or they will kill us individually” -Martyr Dr. Fathi Shaqaqi, PIJ founder and intellectual.
They have fought this conflict for years, especially with the increased fighting since Oct. 7th, and still are weakening the Zionist entity on both a domestic and international level. By either exposing the brutality of Zionism to the world stage, but also by trapping and outmaneuvering their forces. Not only has “Israel” lost hundreds of soldiers and tanks over the last 7+ months in the conflict, their own have admitted they can’t capture the inner cities, especially Gaza City, because they can’t advance their soldiers or tanks through the rubble without being ambushed and bombed. They can’t even scare the Gaza people to leave; some have, but many are trying to return back to their abandoned homes. There was young teens screaming at the Egyptian border “give us guns if you aren’t going to do anything!” Not only all this, but “Israel” is buckling economically, it is suffering from the cost of the war, losing more trade partners and by the Yemen blockade. Even the “Israeli” journalist, Gideon Levy came out saying the war is failing, saying it has achieved nothing. That isn’t even mentioning the “Israeli” settlers who are angry, rioting in the streets because of the situation, burning “Israeli” flags and some even attempting to storm Netanyahu’s home.
Make no mistake, the more brutal the colonial project gets, the worse it makes its situation, and the closer its death. This is just the more violent fascistic death throes we are seeing.
Palestinian Guerrilla Warfare & 5th Generational Warfare:
“Basel did not call on us to be resistance fighters. Nor did he call on us to be revolutionaries. Basel told us to be true, that is all. If you are true, you will be revolutionaries and resistance fighters.”
-Khaled Oudatallah in a Eulogy for Basel Al-Araj in Al-Walajah, March, 8th, 2017.
The insight of Palestinian Resistance tactics can be seen by martyr Basil Al-Araj 8 rules of war.
The following information is from the Resistance News Network on Telegram:
The eternal martyr Basil Al-Araj wrote abundantly before his ascension in March of 2017. In his posthumously published book “I Have Found my Answers” (a line from his will) he spoke of war during the 2014 Zionist aggression on Gaza, just prior to the IOF ground invasion of July 17th.
He wrote, guiding us with 8 rules and insights on the nature of war:
The Palestinian Resistance consists of guerrilla formations whose strategies follow the logic of guerrilla warfare or hybrid warfare, which Arabs and Muslims have become masters of through our experiences in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza. War is never based on the logic of conventional wars and the defense of fixed points and borders; on the contrary, you draw the enemy into an ambush. You do not stick to a fixed position to defend it; instead, you perform maneuvers, movement, withdrawal, and attack from the flanks and the rear. so, never measure it against conventional wars.
The enemy will spread photos and videos of their invasion into Gaza, occupation of residential buildings, or presence in public areas and well-known landmarks. This is part of the psychological warfare in guerrilla wars; you allow your enemy to move as they wish so that they fall into your trap and you strike them. You determine the location and timing of the battle. So, you may see photos from Al-Katiba Square, Al-Saraya, Al-Rimal, or Omar al-Mukhtar Street, but do not let this weaken your resolve. The battle is judged by its overall results, and this is merely a show.
Never spread the occupation’s propaganda, and do not contribute to instilling a sense of defeat. This must be focused on, for soon, we will start talking about a massive invasion of Beit Lahia and Al-Nusseirat, for example. Never spread panic; be supportive of the resistance and do not spread any news broadcast by the occupation (forget about the ethics and impartiality of journalism; just as the Zionist journalist is a fighter, so are you).
The enemy may broadcast images of prisoners, most likely civilians, but the goal is to suggest the rapid collapse of the resistance. Do not believe them.
The enemy will carry out tactical qualitative operations to assassinate some symbols [of resistance], and all of this is part of psychological warfare. Those who have died and those who will die will never affect the resistance’s system and cohesion because the structure and formations of the resistance are not centralized but horizontal and widespread. Their goal is to influence the resistance’s support base and the families of the resistance fighters, as they are the only ones who can affect the men of the resistance.
Our direct human and material losses will be much greater than the enemy’s, which is natural in guerrilla wars that rely on willpower, the human element, and the extent of patience and endurance. We are far more capable of bearing the costs, so there is no need to compare or be alarmed by the magnitude of numbers.
Today’s wars are no longer just wars and clashes between armies but rather are struggles between societies. Let us be like a solid structure and play a game of biting fingers with the enemy, our society against their society.
Finally, every Palestinian (in the broad sense, meaning anyone who sees Palestine as a part of their struggle, regardless of their secondary identities), every Palestinian is on the front lines of the battle for Palestine, so be careful not to fail in your duty.
“Our duty is not only to take revenge. Our duty is to improve revenge.”
”Palestine is the moral standard for any human. If you want to see the moral side of any person, know their stance on the Palestinian cause and the resistance in Palestine”
-Martyr Basil Al-Araj.
"Our promise to every orange tree on the land of Palestine. Our promise to every olive tree on the land of Palestine. Our promise to every sprout that grows on the land of Palestine: Our promise is to keep fighting. And fight. And then keep fighting. And keep fighting! For years. For decades. For centuries if necessary…
This struggle may last for 100 years or more, so the weak-hearted should step aside.”
-George Habash.
It is clear, this is the advanced thinking of men with combat experience, military study and powerful military intellect. These points show a way of behavior and thinking for guerrilla fighters and liberation forces against capitalism, colonialism, imperialism. These points should be a topic of study by all who opposes Zionism, capitalism and Fascism.
General Resistance Points:
The positions and statements by the Palestinian resistance makes clear how we should operate both as allies of Palestine but also as fighters in our own struggles. Analyzing their positions of guerrilla warfare, mentality and the tactics of historical resistance forces; The following is a simplified general guide to the way all liberation movements and revolutionary groups must operate to see victory in their respected struggles:
Unity is most important because the enemy is larger and will pick off those fighting as time goes on. Most internal issues are not worth fighting over when already taking on a much larger force, and division tactics might even be attempted by the enemy themselves. The sooner unity is made, and the revolutionary’s structure is secure from outside sabotage, the better.
Don’t be weak-hearted or back down in the conflict; if you are, let those who aren’t fight. The conflict for liberation needs every bit of critical analysis, blood, labor, discipline, people, support and devotion to the end goal. Nothing else matters except unwavering loyalty to the end goal; liberation.
Study your enemy and its past actions/tactics, you can’t fight what you don’t know, so therefore it is a necessity to know your enemy better than they know themselves. This will allow you to outmaneuver them or manipulate them into your trap.
Play on your enemy’s weaknesses. Their recklessness is your gain.
Never pay lip-service to the enemy’s propaganda or narratives. Be truthful in your efforts to win popular support, but never surrender the ground to the enemy and their allies. Undermine their propaganda at every chance, don’t let their arguments infect your own circles or people. Similarly, never believe your enemy’s propaganda, it is to weaken moral, weaken our forces, and destroy resistance.
If your resistance is true, if you are intertwined with the interests of your communities, if you don’t sneak against your own, and if you serve & protect your people; then no amount of fallen will destroy your resistance, because as martyr Al-Arbi Ben-M’Hidi said “Throw the revolution to the streets and the masses shall pick it up.” But never forget that the biggest death of your resistance is the destruction of moral and and trust that your soldiers have with themselves and with those they are fighting for. This is why all attacks on the resistance, including psychological ones, both inside and outside the group, must be resisted. Embody your community’s interests, and they’ll embody the resistance; as Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi said ““Take care of the homeland after my death, and do not abandon the rifle.”
Outnumbered or not, success for the resistance comes from willpower, devotion, advanced strategic thinking, endurance, and deep rooted trust/support of the masses.
No wars today are just and balanced, thus the logical step is maintaining a unified structure that resists by any means necessary, and claims an eye for an eye against the more powerful enemy. Resisting by land, air, sea and underneath if necessary. Resisting by gun, propaganda, sabotage, etc.
Always be ready for the enemy to never keep its part of the deal. There is no victory until the fall of the primary enemy force(s), and there is no end to the conflict even after victory until the revolution has secured a state of self-reliance, unbreakable bonded trust of the masses and the state, and military security.
Victory won’t come tomorrow, it may not come within your lifetime. The goal isn’t to see peace within your lifetime, it is to end the enemy force by never abandoning your post. While revolution is revenge for the loss of your own, it isn’t individual revenge, but collective revenge. Your heart should burn for revolution not because of your loss, but the loss of all those around you. You serve them, not yourself; thus we move the bar closer to liberation a little at a time even if we won’t see liberation within our lifetime, at least our future generations will see the fall of the enemy easier than we did. Nothing should extinguish the fire inside to see the end of oppression, and nothing should slow you down or take your focus away from your duty.
The rise of multipolarity and the war against Zionism are intertwined, and of course not only is this militarily, it’s economic, it’s cultural, and finally it’s information; which leads to the topic of 5th generation warfare, which is information warfare. Just as every state has its news outlets and propaganda (all information and media is propaganda) it is the task of information warriors to fight for their sides. This means, those who support multipolarity and the Axis of Resistance, must not fail in their duty to fight in the information war. We may have organizers, we may have foot soldier, but regardless, everyone has the task to undermine the propaganda of the enemy, and spread the positions of our allies. And as Basil said “Never spread the occupation’s propaganda” this also applies to the propaganda of the west and its allies. Undermining the imperialist coalition of America, Europe and their lap dogs means not only opposing the narratives from them, but outright undermining their narratives.
This is why cheap and mass producible propaganda, social media content, psychological and sociological marketing tactics; it all plays a necessary goal to reach as many as possible and undermine the enemy propaganda by de-programming those consuming the western entity’s information.
5th Generational Warfare, also referred to as information warefare:
Remember This: The weaker the support base, the weaker the foundation of the enemy’s infrastructure itself. Revolutions don’t happen except through the masses’ refusal to tolerate any further action in its name.
Information Warfare, while being portrayed as a negative phrase by the west, information warfare is spread among multiple people (state actors, non-state actors, influencers, activists, etc) to influence a population uninvolved to reach a specific outcome. For this in relation to the topic above, that outcome is to de-program brainwashed people and turn them against the western imperialists and their passion projects; be it the Zionist project of “Israel,” the Fascist project of Ukraine, the Nationalist bourgeois of Taiwan, the US puppet state of South Korea, etc. The stronger the information war against them, the weaker their ability to successfully manufacture consent for conflicts.
Robert Malone wrote a pretty informative and decent piece into the topic of 5th gen. warfare. Even if I don’t fully agree with him, he makes solid points on this piece just as a analysis of warfare.
In regards to information warfare, it has consumed even normal people who wasn’t originally involved. This is the power of information warfare and why it is not only more dangerous against the enemy because it breaks the foundation of trust that the state needs with its population (even if that trust is built on lies) but it is a common tactic even among intelligence agencies like most famously those of the CIA and their NGO’s, FBI, Mossad, MI6 and others.
How do we fight effectively in the information war for both Palestine and other liberation struggles? The Palestinian movement across the world is picking up speed largely because of the information pouring out of Gaza which has caught the humanity of billions. The movement for Palestine has been, since the start but especially now, a movement with support from Arabs, Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Asians, Africans, and many others along with Communists & Progressives who make up a large percentage as well. Thus, there is plenty of mass support and propaganda to fight and undermine the Zionist machine. How do we replicate and improve upon this for other liberation struggles? To touch back to a couple points I made and expand upon them from my newest video on YouTube & Rumble about Propaganda:
We have plenty of people and content to utilize both online and offline, but we lack centralization which means we need to network within out respected communities and political allies and build across them.
The most serious and experienced of our communities need to get together to build institutions and propaganda networks that can push content online consistently and show up at physical events to expand outreach and name recognition.
We need content creation teams & strategy teams within these centralized new networks who know influencer strategies, graphic design, video/audio editing, human psychology and sociology, social media marketing. These teams must also have direct access or monitoring of the positions and narratives of liberation struggles and allied states (China, Russia, DPRK, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Cuba, etc.) as these teams will be the ones in charge of pushing the values of the anti-imperialist, anti-zionist & anti-fascist, and anti-capitalist movements.
These networks will also need a legal team & a cyber security team to protect our institutions and propaganda networks from those reactionary entities who will twist the law to target them or attack them via hacking, malware or social engineering attempts.
These institutions will need large numbers involved, both publicly and covertly. People involved need to assist its growth be that with content submissions, funding it to stay operational, boosting content from the networks, or reposting/sharing it across multiple platforms and groups. This is a team effort and the farther the reach the more we chip away at western propaganda. Everyone needs to play a role.
Where Do We Go From Here?:
Thankfully with the information here, hopefully with a deep study of the topics covered of guerrilla warfare, revolutionary mentality, and effectiveness of information warfare: From here, we aim towards victory, so long as we stay firm to the path laid before us.
Another special shout out to Resistance News Network, where much of the sourced information of the statements and positions of the Palestinian Resistance came from. I recommend giving them a follow in order to plug into the pulse of the Palestinian Resistance.
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