The Axis Of Resistance And Imperialism In West Asia

• Published date: 04 November 2022
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/arabstudquar.44.3-4.0154
• Pages: 154-180
• Date: 04 November 2022
• Author: Ibrahim G. Aoudé
• Subject Matter: Palestinian struggle for liberation,Ethnic cleansing,West Asia,global capitalism,Zionist settler-colonial entity,US hegemon

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THE AXIS OF RESISTANCE AND

IMPERIALISM IN WEST ASIA

Ibrahim G. Aoudé

Abstract: The main thesis in this article is that the Axis of Resistance, at the center of

which is the Palestinian struggle for liberation against the settler-colonial entity (Zionist

entity) in Palestine, leads the fight against imperialism in West Asia. This struggle must

be situated in its regional and global context. West Asia (and North Africa) is a region in

which rivalry and animosity among regional and global state and non-state actors have

accelerated since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The US, in collaboration with

NATO, has sought to dominate the region, beginning with the demise of the USSR in 1990,

but increasingly so since 2000. A critical point in the discussion is the organic relationship

between the US and the Zionist entity in Palestine, which was created to keep the Arab

East and West Asia, in general, within the Western imperialist fold.

Multiple wars, uprisings and instability have transpired that can best be explained in

the context of global capitalism dominated by the US as a singular player leading a pliable

Europe and more often than not succeeding in arranging the political map of the world

in its own image.

Challenges to a unilateral globalizing world soon followed complicating the interna-

tional scene militarily, politically, and economically. A consequence of this development

has been an increasingly unstable international situation. This confluence of events com-

pelled state and non-state actors in West Asia that belong to the Axis of Resistance to

tread gingerly and weigh their moves so as not to come, at least prematurely, into direct

conflict with US hegemony.

In this milieu, the Zionist entity in Palestine stepped up the oppression of the Palestin-

ian people and ramped up their ethnic cleansing and confiscation of Palestinian lands.

While the Palestinian liberation movement had benefited from the relationship between

it and the regional front against US global hegemony, considerations and calculations

of this front often compelled it to readjust its tactical (and sometimes strategic) con-

siderations to maintain the global alliance opposing US hegemony. Taking advantage

of this reality the Zionist entity continues to increase the pressure on the Palestinians

while attempting to degrade the capabilities of the Resistance front in clear support of

US regional strategy.

In May 2021 the Palestinian Resistance forced the settler-colonial entity to temporar-

ily retreat from effecting its settler-colonial machinations in Palestine. In May 2022 the

Palestinians, building on the successes of their confrontation with the existential enemy

Professor emeritus of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA.

DOI:10.13169/arabstudquar.44.3 & 4 0154

THE AXIS OF RESISTANCE AND IMPERIALISM IN WEST ASIA 155

ASQ 44.3 & 4 Produced and distributed by Pluto Journals

have thwarted imperialist, Zionist, and reactionary Arab calculations to defeat them.

A plethora of recent examples demonstrated this point. Currently, facts on the ground

show that the Palestinian Resistance has opposed regional compromise and capitulation

to Western imperialism by some state actors. This opposition to US imperial strategy is

the sine qua non for a dynamic confrontation by the Axis of Resistance in West Asia to

defeat the US hegemon.

Keywords: Palestinian struggle for liberation, Ethnic cleansing, West Asia, global

capitalism, Zionist settler-colonial entity, US hegemon

Introduction

In May 2021 the Palestinian liberation struggle took center stage in the fight against

the Zionist settler-colonial entity (Zionist entity) in Palestine, which is backed by

US imperialism and other Western powers. The Sword of Jerusalem, the Palestinian

military operation that emanated from Gaza, came on the heels of the Zionist

entity’s armed forces and thug-like religious zealots attacking al-Aqsa Mosque

and al-Haram Ash-Sharif (the Holy Sanctuary) and evicting Palestinian families

from their homes in the Old City to be replaced by Zionist religious zealots. The

Sword of Jerusalem, united the Palestinian people in all of Palestine, including

those living in 1948-occupied Palestine in their struggle against ethnic cleans-

ing, demographic shifts in favor of the Zionist enemy, oppression, and occupation

(Abu Shamalah, 2021; Aljazeera, 2022; Kingsley and Ahmad, 2022; Saleh, 2021).

It was the first time in which the Palestinian Resistance in all of its groups in

Gaza launched an attack against the Zionist entity in support of the Palestinians in

Jerusalem who organized rallies to protect al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Palestinian

families from being evicted from their homes. The Sword of Jerusalem demon-

strated the developing power of the Palestinian Resistance based on two interre-

lated tracks. The first, points out the integral relationship between the achievements

of the Lebanese Resistance and the Palestinian.1 The second, had to do with the

settler-colonial entity’s practices in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and

Gaza (Pappe, 2019). Regarding the first track, suffice it to note at this point that

the liberation of most of South Lebanon from Zionist occupation in 2000 was a

qualitative development in the struggle for liberating Arab lands. It was the first

time since 1948 that an organized guerilla force had been able to defeat an occupy-

ing Zionist army and force it to withdraw. There were no negotiations nor were

there any compromise with the Zionists (El Bacha, 2021; Fonte, 2022). In time,

this significant achievement became a valuable lesson for the Palestinian people

who had witnessed the complete defeat of the first Intifada when the Palestinian