Palestinian National and Islamic forces: “expand the popular resistance”

Headline: “The [Palestinian National and Islamic] Forces call to expand the popular resistance and set out against the settlers’ terror”

“The [Palestinian] National and Islamic Forces called to expand the popular resistance (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror) in order to defend the land and block the terror of the settlers, who are carrying out all the forms of terror and aggression under the protection of the occupation army. They also called to expand the committees of defense and protection against the settlers’ attacks and their crimes.

Following a meeting they held yesterday [Feb. 13, 2023], the forces emphasized that the escalating aggression and crimes of the occupation and its settler herds will not break our people’s will.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 14, 2023]

Palestinian National and Islamic Forces - an unaffiliated coordinating body comprised of representatives from factions in the PLO and outside the PLO. The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces were established in 2000 shortly after the start of the PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005), under the authorization of Yasser Arafat and the leadership of terrorist Marwan Barghouti. During the PA terror campaign it played an active role in coordinating political efforts and terror attacks against Israel, but since the end of the campaign it has been less significant and its activity is primarily centered in Gaza.

The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance,” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, ‎Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 ‎terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Abbas said: "We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is." https://palwatch.org/page/9276