Organizer of the Great March of Return says protests in Gaza ‘must go on’
Palestinians show their skills near tents during the Great March of Return
Ahmed Abu Artema writes in Mondoweiss:
The Great March of Return established itself as a new way for the Palestinian people to re-energize our cause and generate political pressure against the occupation in innovative ways without the devastating cost of military struggle; a way to put Palestinian rights back on the global agenda and reclaim the image of a people justly struggling for freedom and rights in the face of brutal and violent racist oppression.
Mistakes have also been made in this effort, however, which have harmed this peaceful approach and even jeopardized its future.
The Great March of Return must go on. There is simply no alternative to peaceful popular resistance. But we also need to take a step back and think about how we can reduce its cost in lives and injuries to our people, so that we may be able to nurture and grow this new form of resistance.
Our struggle for freedom is long, and its victory will be the fruit of countless efforts and sacrifices. The occupation state has been revealed as the main perpetrator of murders and massacres, and its aim is clear: to raise the cost of the Great March of Return until we ourselves abandon this path.