The Palestinian people’s struggle against the Zionist occupation -known as the Intifada in Arabic, or uprising-has dramatically turned in recent years. The word “intifada” was only used in dictionaries before the Palestinian Intifada, but it has since become a part of world political literature. It established a link between Palestine’s past and present.

Martyr Ibrahim Fathi-Shaqaqi, the late Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, once was quoted as saying: “Semantically, the Intifada signifies a revolt against inertia and stagnation. However, in reality, Intifada has been just the pre-revolutionary stage within our struggle. What is now taking place in Palestine is a full-fledged Intifada, with structural differences from previous intifadas despite similarities in context.”

On December 9, 1987, the “Great Intifada,” also known as the “Stone Intifada,” began, gradually spreading across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians’ only weapon in this Intifada was throwing stones against heavily armed Israeli troops. They had a little lever over the Zionist regime. Thus the uprising was put to an end in 1991 when Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords.

In reaction to Zionist Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s infamous visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the second Intifada began in 2000. During this Intifada, the Palestinians were still defenseless, and their weapons were primitive.

According to historians, the Second Intifada was the primary cause for the Zionist retreat from Gaza. The Sharm El Sheikh Summit signaled the end of the Second Intifada. Nonetheless, with Iranian aid, the Palestinian resistance has recently adopted an indigenous and deterrent strategy.

This time, Intifada has seen a greater range and complexity of missiles than previous ones. The war in Palestine has now reached new heights, with advanced Palestinian rockets breaching Israel’s much-touted Iron Dome defense system.

Today, new Palestinian missiles have been developed, including the “Ayash” missile named after the Martyr “Yahya Ayash,” one of Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades’ founders.

Moreover, Al-Quds battalions fired hundreds of Badr-3 missiles at the Zionist settlements of Ashkelon and Sderot in occupied Palestine. Finally, the Qasim rocket, which has a range that includes Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot, and other occupied Palestinian towns, was used against the Zionists during the ongoing battle of the Sword of Al-Quds.

Another crucial aspect of the current conflict between Palestinian resistance and the Zionist regime is the more tangible ideological solidarity among Palestinians and their allies in the Axis of Resistance. Unlike the resistance groups’ 22-day, 51-day, and 8-day wars in Gaza, the Axis of Resistance has taken decisive steps, sending stern messages to the Zionist regime declaring the “Axis of Resistance” is a united block. The launch of three rockets from Syria and rocket attacks from southern Lebanon on the occupied territories supports this argument.

“We go through the most trying and painful time in our history as if we have no choice but to consider their [Palestinian] demands and end the occupation,” Israeli daily Haaretz journalist Ari Shavit wrote recently. “Not only militarily, but also psychologically, it is over for us. In order to survive, we must return to San Francisco, Berlin, or Paris.”

To the detriment of Zionists, a full-fledged revolt has erupted in the occupied West Bank, forcing the Zionists to escalate their brutal crimes against Palestinian men, women, and children.

On the other hand, Palestinians have concluded that armed resistance is the only path to reclaim their freedom from the occupiers.

Furthermore, free nations worldwide have recognized that Zionist tyranny is a threat to the entire humanity because of its fascist policies. As the Zionist regime’s massacres in Gaza continue, various countries around the world have become the scene of mass rallies in support of the Palestinian people.

Despite restrictions imposed by the epidemic, thousands of citizens across several US states and European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, have taken to the streets to defend the Palestinian cause and expose Zionists and their heinous crimes.

The late Imam Khomeini’s ideas inspired the Axis of Resistance, which has now come to fruition under the aegis of Imam Khamenei and his soldiers in Baghdad, Damascus, Manama, Sanaa, and Palestine, who shall put an end to the Zionist occupation.