As 2025 drew to a close and 2026 began, it became evident that the Palestinian cause, the trajectory of the Arab–Israeli War, and even the internal political, military, social, and economic landscape of the enemy entity remain deeply shaped by the repercussions of the heroic “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation carried out at dawn on October 7, 2023.
Despite the wide range of opinions and subsequent debates surrounding the timing and consequences of that operation, anyone who closely followed developments before and after it—and who understands the nature of the Zionist mindset and its long-standing plans, implemented under unparalleled American and Western cooperation and supervision—knows that the Judaization of the region, the annexation of the West Bank and Jerusalem, the entrenchment of the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the targeting and weakening of all resistance forces in preparation for generalizing the “Abraham Accords,” thereby erasing the Palestinian cause in all its dimensions, had already begun well before October 7. What occurred that morning was nothing more than the inevitable culmination of accumulated injustice and oppression inflicted upon the Palestinian people.
Why revisit this issue now? To assert that the overall scene in Palestine—across the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and even within the occupied territories—has, over the past year, revealed two distinct faces. Both must be examined in order to grasp reality as it is, without exaggeration or distortion.
The first face is defined by the accelerating pace of displacement, starvation, daily bombardment, and killing, alongside the total collapse of the health system in Gaza, whose population endured the harshest year imaginable in this regard. In parallel, the West Bank and Jerusalem witnessed a series of large-scale enemy operations: Operation Iron Wall in Jenin camp in January, which expanded to Tulkarm and its camps in February, and the operation in the Tubas Governorate in November. These were accompanied by daily arrest campaigns, widespread demolitions, and the revival of settlement projects. This also coincided with the occupation’s closure of all UNRWA institutions within the camps and the Knesset’s final approval of legislation cutting off electricity and water to UNRWA offices.
The second face stands as evidence of a people who have not surrendered and have not abandoned the path of resistance. Despite two years of unprecedented aggression and near-total Arab abandonment—were it not for the support fronts in Yemen, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the resistance in Iraq and Lebanon—the resistance succeeded in “shattering the myth of strategic deterrence and the claims of Israeli security superiority, leading to the collapse of the Israeli narrative that has dominated for decades through falsehood and injustice, and further complicating and obstructing the normalization project,” as stated by Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, during the movement’s 38th anniversary commemoration in mid-December.
The enemy, despite reneging on the March 18 ceasefire agreement by launching a sudden and large-scale offensive that resulted in the martyrdom of hundreds of civilians—preceded two weeks earlier by a complete closure of Gaza’s crossings to humanitarian aid—failed to eradicate the resistance. The ceasefire, which had come into effect on January 19 through American–Egyptian–Qatari mediation, had enabled the partial return of thousands of displaced Gazans to northern Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip, as well as the release of 33 Israeli prisoners in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
Even after assassinating most of the resistance’s military leaders and conducting extensive, complex ground operations aimed at destroying its infrastructure from northern to southern Gaza, the occupation failed to achieve its objectives. Among the most prominent of these operations were “Operation Gideon,” approved by the Israeli cabinet in early May 2015, and the occupation of Gaza City on August 8, during which dozens of enemy soldiers were killed and suicide rates among soldiers and officers rose sharply. This failure persisted even after the attempted assassination of the resistance’s negotiating team, led by Khalil al-Hayya, in an airstrike targeting the Qatari capital, Doha, on September 9.
Ultimately, the enemy found itself compelled to negotiate exclusively with the resistance in order to secure the release of its prisoners. For months, the families of the captives, along with hundreds of other Israelis, demonstrated against Netanyahu’s government, accusing it of abandoning them while continuing its aggression and disregarding their lives. By mid-October, only twenty of the forty-eight prisoners had returned alive, while efforts continued to recover the bodies of the remaining prisoners, amid significant difficulties in locating and identifying their burial sites.
The issue of the resistance’s weapons and culture, and ongoing attempts to dismantle and eliminate them, remains central in discussions between enemy authorities and their American ally, without any clear or realistic plan in sight.
This reality was underscored by the meeting that concluded 2025 between the enemy’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump in Florida. Netanyahu failed to achieve his long-promised “complete victory,” despite all his efforts. Consequently, his wars continue in pursuit of an elusive decisive outcome, notwithstanding Trump’s so-called “peace plan,” which Arab leaders welcomed at the Sharm El-Sheikh conference in Egypt on October 13, portraying it as the beginning of “establishing peace in the Middle East and opening a new chapter of regional security and stability.” They announced the start of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, only for the enemy to shatter these illusions through continued violations: more than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, crossings remain closed, reconstruction is blocked, and thousands are still forced to live in tents, exposed to the harsh winter.
As for the second phase of the plan, it is evident that it has so far encountered major obstacles to implementation. There are no international forces willing or able to impose effective control over Gaza, no credible or enforceable mechanism to disarm Hamas or prevent its rearmament, and no reconstruction process—an outcome rejected outright by the enemy, whose objective is to “eliminate Gaza as an entity and as a Palestinian presence.”
This intent was further reinforced not only by statements from all enemy leaders, but also by Netanyahu’s late-December announcement recognizing “Somaliland,” which raised fears that the region could be used to implement displacement schemes and, eventually, as a staging ground for an attack on Ansarullah in Yemen.
Some experts interpreted this move as part of a broader project to redraw spheres of influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. They noted that Israel is closely monitoring Somaliland due to its extensive coastline and proximity to areas controlled by Ansar Allah (the Houthis). Enemy media outlets have pointed out that Israel is seeking strategic alternatives to ensure maritime security and protect vital trade and energy routes, particularly as traditional military tools prove increasingly ineffective in confronting the growing threats emanating from Yemen.
Nevertheless, despite the immense pressures and challenges facing the Palestinian cause and its resistance—and despite the fact that the end of this year opens the door to an especially difficult and decisive period—it must not be overlooked that the resistance is rooted in a solid popular base and supported by a long and rich history of sacrifice, military experience, and organizational expertise. These foundations provide it with the capacity to adapt and reemerge stronger whenever circumstances allow, as has occurred more than once in the past.
The Israeli Entity… Major Internal Challenges as the New Year Begins
As the Israeli entity attempts this year to repair its severely damaged international image—tarnished by genocide and the systematic violation of humanitarian laws and principles—Netanyahu’s government is confronting mounting internal challenges. By 2025, opposition figures and analysts accused Israel of steering the country toward an unprecedented economic abyss due to the enormous costs of successive wars, with the deficit reaching between 5.2% and 6%, alongside warnings issued by international credit rating agencies.
Against this backdrop, many experts agree that the entity’s current leadership will devote considerable effort this year to improving economic performance. At the same time, vast sums will be allocated to developing the army, which is facing a serious recruitment crisis. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the army is currently considering a proposal to draft the children of foreign workers residing in the occupied territories. This development follows an unprecedented demonstration of nearly one million participants in Jerusalem, organized by thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) protesting government attempts to reinstate the mandatory military service law—a crisis that threatens the stability of Netanyahu’s coalition government.
In this context, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported on December 24 that Netanyahu had instructed his aides to prepare for the possibility of early elections, “perhaps as early as next June,” despite general elections being officially scheduled for October 27, 2026. The newspaper noted that “in private conversations, Netanyahu expressed confidence in passing the controversial legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service.” However, political sources told the paper that, during in-depth consultations, “Netanyahu understands that the situation could deteriorate rapidly and therefore instructed his aides to prepare for the possibility of dissolving the Knesset early if the coalition fails to pass either the conscription bill or the state budget.”
Observers believe that Netanyahu will struggle to pass the budget in the Knesset by the end of March unless the conscription law—granting exemptions to ultra-Orthodox men—is approved, as religious parties have made their support for the budget conditional on this legislation.
Netanyahu also faces a personal predicament. Externally, he is effectively a fugitive from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes; internally, he is a fugitive from ongoing corruption trials. In response, he has turned to his ally Trump, seeking a pardon after the latter described the legal proceedings as a “judicial farce.” This prompted criticism from some Zionists of the American president’s remarks and his direct request to President Isaac Herzog to grant the pardon, with Trump reportedly asserting, “He will. How could he not?”
Source: Al-Manar Website