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By Ramzy Baroud 
When Israelis declare that the one ‘answer’ to Gaza is displacing the Palestinians, they don’t appear to have a lot data of Gaza’s historical past.
Shortly earlier than Palestinian fighters killed and wounded many Israeli troopers within the Shejaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza Metropolis, on Tuesday, December 12, that very group of troopers had a gathering on the outskirts of the city.
A video, which circulated extensively on social media, confirmed one of many officers – later killed – vowing to avenge different Israeli troopers who have been killed in that very neighborhood within the 2014 Israeli battle on Gaza.
The Shejaiya battle, in 2014, is believed to have been probably the most decisive battle between invading Israeli forces and Palestinian Resistance in Israel’s so-called Operation Protecting Edge.
Again then, Israel admitted to the killing of 16 troopers.
Shortly after that speech, the officers who vowed to avenge the useless troopers of almost ten years have been themselves the victims of Resistance ambushes.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the navy wing of the Hamas Resistance Motion, mentioned that the variety of Israeli troopers who’ve died in three successive ambushes led by the Resistance, exceeds the variety of casualties declared by Israel by far.
‘Tough Occasion’
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli military mentioned that eight troopers, principally officers, have been killed in an ambush in Shejaiya. They embrace Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, a Golani Brigade’s commander, and Lt. Col. Tomer Greenberg – the soldier who was talking within the video.
Later, the Israeli military acknowledged that extra useless and scores of wounded have been additionally evacuated from Shejaiya.
Israeli Chief of Employees Herzl Halevi has described what has taken place in Shejaiya as “a troublesome occasion”. Afterward, an Israeli military spokesman mentioned that they’re investigating that “troublesome occasion”.
However investigating might recommend that these troopers have been killed by likelihood, or via some type of a miscalculation on the a part of the Israeli military.
That is unlikely to be the case. In accordance with the Israeli navy, cited in Al-Jazeera, the Israeli military has been combating the “lethal Shejaiya Brigade” for one week and a half, a battle that appears almost inconceivable to win.
It’s inconceivable to win as a result of the combating is going down in areas which have been utterly destroyed, and repeatedly so, by Israeli airstrikes. Nobody is aware of the place the fighters come from, and the place they disappear.
The Israeli navy has itself reached the conclusion that the battle of Shejaiya can’t be received from the air, that means via airstrikes.
However it doesn’t appear to be winnable from the bottom both, as a relentless stream of reports and movies proceed to emerge from the Shejaiya space, of Israeli troopers being sniped, tanks blown up and fierce battles, whose outcomes are nearly at all times decided by Palestinian fighters.
It will not be an exaggeration to assert that the battle of Shejaiya is prone to be one of many predominant components that may consequence within the defeat of the Israeli military in Gaza.
The Shejaiya legend, nevertheless, is hardly a brand new story, whose lifespan ranges from July 2014 to December 2023. So, what’s the story of Shejaiya?
‘What’s in a Identify?’
Shejaiya is one among Gaza Metropolis’s largest neighborhoods. It’s situated instantly to the east of the town and is split into two areas, the southern space, often called Turkman, and the northern space, often called Jdeidah – the latter constructed throughout the Ayyubaid period – based within the twelfth century.
The etymology of the phrase Shejaiya is usually misunderstood. The phrase signifies direct relation to the noun Shajaa’, that means bravery. This clarification is sensible to many because of the apparent bravery of warriors emanating from this neighborhood all through the years.
However historic sources recommend that the identify is attributed to Shuja al-Din Othman al-Kurdi, a well-known warrior who died in a battle between the Ayyubaids and invading Crusader armies in 1239 AD.
Gate to Gaza
Shejaiya’s navy significance has been obvious for a whole lot of years, partly due to Inform Al-Muntar, a strategic hill which lies in Shejaiya and is taken into account the gate to Gaza. Those that management Al-Muntar Hill have visible and strategic entry to everything of Gaza Metropolis.
That is exactly why Napoleon Bonaparte fought to manage Al-Muntar, and in the end camped alongside together with his invading military within the neighborhood of the hill.
There, too, hundreds of Allied troopers, a few years later, died close to that very hill, which explains the World Conflict I Graveyard in Gaza, one among many historic websites that inform of a a lot greater story than Israel’s battle and Tel Aviv’s declared goal of eager to ‘eradicate Hamas’.
Even the very demographics of Shejaiya is rooted in a protracted story of invasions, bravery, and the final word defeats of the conquerors. Shejaiya itself is known as after a Kurdish warrior, and one among its neighborhoods, Turkman, is known as after the Turkman tribes, which joined Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi – Saladin, in his quest to free Palestine from the Crusaders and their remnants.
On this very Shejaiya, triumphant armies cheered their victories, with their proud leaders mounting their Arabian horses on Inform Al-Muntar, gazing at Gaza Metropolis and its environs.
Additionally, in Shejaiya, Muslims, Jews, and Christians as soon as lived facet by facet. Invaders got here and left, and, subsequently, demographics modified. It’s now a house to just about 100,000 Palestinians, dwelling beneath an unprecedented navy siege, and, as of October 7, experiencing probably the most severe annihilation try ever tried by an invading military.
Secret of Shejaiya
A lot is being mentioned about Al-Qassam’s Shejaiya Brigades, top-of-the-line educated and ready Palestinian Resistance teams.
Just like the Al-Shati Brigades and the Jabaliya Brigades, Shejaiya Brigades are principally comprised of Nukhba forces, the elite models of Al-Qassam. This explains a lot concerning the fierce battles underway within the neighborhood.
One other clarification is that Shejaiya has suffered most throughout earlier revolts and uprisings, particularly throughout the First Intifada of 1987, which cemented the tradition of resistance amongst its residents.
However there’s extra to the story than the continued genocide in Gaza and the brutality of the Israeli military.
Shejaiya’s story is one that’s rooted in historical past, connecting the peoples of that entire area – Arabs, Kurds, Turkmans, Muslims, Christians, and Jews – thus accentuating the importance of historical past in how Palestinians, collectively, understand themselves and their valiant Resistance.
When Israelis declare that the one ‘answer’ to Gaza is displacing the Palestinians, they don’t appear to have a lot data of that historical past. In the event that they knew that these younger fighters of Shejaiya are the descendants of the good armies which have defeated the Crusaders, fought the French and the British, they might have paused for a very long time earlier than considering that Shejaiya will fall in a day, per week, or thousand years.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He’s the creator of six books. His newest e-book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Imaginative and prescient for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Converse out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Analysis Fellow on the Heart for Islam and World Affairs (CIGA). His web site is www.ramzybaroud.internet
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