By Iqbal Jassat

Horrific details of the traumatic humiliation a group of Palestinian women experienced at the hands of Israeli troops who forced them to strip naked, has not only been a shocking episode but also confirms the total absence of morality within the Occupying forces.

It is thus no surprise that the Occupied Territories have become a tinderbox of Resistance against the Zionist regime’s brutal military reign. And a manifestation of the strong determination of Palestinians to free themselves and liberate Palestine – from the river to the sea.

No people who value freedom and liberty will allow themselves to be subjected to ongoing barbaric onslaughts, murders, massacres, torture, and the humiliation of assault on privacy at homes raided and forcibly reduced to rubble.

The mobilization by the Resistance to thwart and overcome Zionist state-sponsored terrorism is an admirable trait of the zeal and collective spirit of sacrifice by committed defenders of Palestine.

Notwithstanding the heavy-handed thuggery by the illegal regime’s bloodstained killers, they have had to retreat on numerous occasions, unable to overcome the spirited fightback by the Resistance.

The despair and frustration of the regime are clearly evident in the rhetoric of its right-wing racist “leaders”. It certainly points to their abject failure to consolidate the Zionist project, despite a century of Occupation of Palestine.

I agree with UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese who correctly points out that the oldest military occupation in modern history looks like a prison & works like a prison. About three generations of Palestinians have grown within its confines.

There is an overwhelming sense of despair among Jewish citizens about the future of the regime. Many leading Zionists have in recent days become extremely critical and publicly describe the regime as “rotten to the core”.

Conscripts in the army have not only denounced the Occupation but also the numbers of refuseniks are growing by the day.

Former head of the Occupying Forces who was also in the top ranks of the notorious Mossad, Amiram Levin has admitted the military has been weakened because reservists refuse to serve.

Coupled with the strength and resolve of the Resistance, who have not backed off despite the odds, it is clear that doom and gloom awaits the apartheid entity.

Far-right elements within the regime including war-criminal Netanyahu have consistently called for genocide of the Palestinian population on the back of applying the most horrific forms of ethnic cleansing.

It is shocking though not surprising given the impunity flowing from America’s complicity in the mass incarceration of Palestinians, that the Zionist regime continues pursuing settler-colonial policies without any regard for its international obligations under the Geneva Convention.

That there hasn’t been any consequences to date from either the UN Security Council or the International Criminial Court at the Hague for what clearly are war crimes, is due to the protection the regime enjoys from America.

Though it sounds and is blatantly outrageous, it illustrates double standards of the West in general and the US in particular.

Global outrage including internal dissent demonstrates that notwithstanding unlimited resources at its disposal, Zionist propaganda (Hasbara) has failed to conceal the ugly reality of the regime’s state-sponsored terrorism.

A major consequence indeed of mass incarceration of Palestinians and dispossession by illegal settlers, is the regime’s loss of support in the court of public opinion.

It is true that hordes of Israelis are jumping ship, fully aware that it will sink in the not too distant future.

Unprecedented numbers are desperate to flee as indicated in various reports. This trend is in direct conflict with Zionism’s creed of Aliyah and points to the extent of insecurity and uncertainty they have.

In other words, Jews fleeing their so-called land of “milk and honey”, are registering votes of no confidence in the regime. This phenomenon has been evident for some time except that it has grown exponentially in terms of numbers and visibility.

For diehard Zionists who have falsely and deliberately portrayed settler-colonialism as a “divine right” for Jews all over the world to occupy and dispossess indigenous Palestinians, reverse Aliyah is a bitter pill to swallow.

Though the regime has been at pains to conceal information about suicides among soldiers serving in the occupation army, media reports reveal that there has been a significant rise in the number of soldiers committing suicide.

Hard pressed to acknowledge reasons for this escalating phenomena of suicides, the regime attempts to downplay it to prevent a decline in the morale of troops deployed in various hot-spots.

However it is clear that suicide is escalating because the occupation army is under severe pressure by the regime to enforce inhumane and barbaric policies against Palestine’s civilian population which include minors and elderly infirm people.

The glitz and glamour of “defending their homeland” evaporates as soon as soldiers realize that mandatory service places upon them the burden of enforcing unjust laws.

To refuse results in being disparaged as traitors. Many who are unable to deal with personal convictions and emotional dilemmas opt out by resorting to taking their own lives.

Suicide cases highlight an emphatic rejection of the much-vaunted false image of the IDF as a “moral army”.

Resistance in the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank has evolved into a potent united force. And to the shock and awe of the Zionist regime and its western backers, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians support armed resistance especially in the West Bank.

The bravery and courage of the various factions of the Resistance to use every means at their disposal to confront mindless Zionist terror, has not only captured the imagination of solidarity activists across the world, it drives fear in the ranks of right-wing zealots.

Collaborators within the Oslo-created PA led by Mahmoud Abbas, who are enabled by the US to do the regime’s bidding via security coordination and intelligence sharing, are equally shaken by the Resistance’s ability to stand firm and principled in defence of Palestinian rights.