A statement by the ODS Initiative on November 27, 2024
We in Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora have been pained to see the colony’s war on Lebanon for over a year, and particularly since it extended its genocide there over the past months. We breathe a sigh of relief at the news of a long-term end of atrocities there. We salute the sacrifices of those in Lebanon who have bravely resisted, who have been martyred, who have lost loved ones, who have been hurt, who have lost their homes, who have been displaced, and who have suffered other material and psychological losses because of the Zionist aggression.
Despite its armed capacities and the resistance and sacrifices of its fighters, Hezbollah has been unable to stop the genocide in Palestine or in Lebanon, and has been unable to fulfill its promise to keep supporting the resistance in Palestine until the aggression on Gaza ceases. We do not say this in spite as the normalizers do; nor do we accept leaving criticism to the normalizers. The fight against the colony is ongoing and will continue until it is dismantled. Understanding our weaknesses and failures and learning from them is key to victory.
With regards to this, we note three wrong decisions. First, the triumphalist discourse, which proved to be disconnected from reality. Hezbollah turned out not to have the capacity to enforce a balance of power that deters the colony from committing massacres against the population in Lebanon, unlike what it claimed over the past years. Second, the failure to build a state that is capable of facing the colony. Lebanon was left without basic necessities required to face such a powerful enemy, such as shelters, a relief plan, accommodation for the displaced, a solid economy, healthcare or even electricity. Third, the identitarian discourse. Entrusting the heavy responsibility of protecting Lebanon and resisting the colony to a sectarian party that openly claimed to be “the Islamic Shiite party” and “the group of Iran” endangered the unity and cohesion of Lebanese society, as well as the credibility of the concept of resistance. This proved to be particularly dangerous when facing an enemy such as the “Jewish” state which thrives on fomenting sectarian divides. All of these factors also established an uneven relation with Iran, as, in the absence of a state, Lebanon had virtually no negotiating power in its relations with regional and international forces.
We in the One Democratic State Initiative call on those in positions of responsibility and influence, and those in political parties and other societal organizations in Lebanon, Palestine and the region, to recognize the failure of old recipes, particularly the politicization of identities. To face such an enemy, our societies require a liberatory political vision that is the fundamental antithesis of Zionism: A vision for the establishment of democratic and secular states.
