Opinion

Why Israel fears Fathi Khazem, the latest symbol of Palestinian resistance

Fathi Khazem's stoicism and defiance of colonial rule has turned him into the symbol of resistance that the Palestinian people need.

On September 28, a unit of the Israeli army’s special forces murdered Abdul Rahman Khazem, the son of a prominent Palestinian man who is wanted by the Israelis, Fathi Khazem. The murder of Abdul Rahman in Jenin refugee camp appears to be a revenge operation against his father, who has been pursued by the occupation forces since April 2022.

Fathi Khazem’s name emerged in April after his son Raad carried out an operation in Tel Aviv that resulted in the killing and injury of a number of Israelis.

In the few hours that followed the killing of his son Raad, Fathi “Abu Raad” Khazem went out to receive the crowds of mourners, addressing them loudly and in defiance of the Israeli occupation, declaring his determination to continue resisting Israel until the liberation of Palestine.

A new period of resistance

Abu Raad is not the first Palestinian to lose several of his sons to the Zionist colonial regime in the struggle for liberation, but his prominence since last April represented the emergence of a new period in the West Bank, one which marked a nascent revolutionary moment marked by the resurgence of armed resistance against Israel

This context explains the keenness of the Israeli army in taking revenge on Khazem. The army has stormed Jenin camp multiple times over the past few months in the attempt to reach him, including destroying his house and asking him to surrender himself to them. Abu Raad has never handed himself in.

It should bear repeating — Abu Raad did not carry out a specific action, and he didn’t take up arms against the army. This demonstrates clearly his power as a symbol, and as a lightning rod for Palestinian resistance. This is why he remains a critical target of the Israeli regime. 

Moreover, his targeting is a result of the Zionist policy of collective punishment. For decades, Israel has pursued a policy of punishing the families of Palestinian resistance fighters, either by detaining family members or demolishing their homes.

Abu Raad’s refusal to surrender represents a moral challenge to the Israeli colonial regime, while providing a boost of morale for Palestinians in the West Bank — not only because he is refusing to bow down to colonial injustice, but because he has succeeded in evading capture for months on end. This development is singularly unique, and would have been virtually unheard of last year in the West Bank.

Fathi Khazem flanked by Jenin militants during the funeral of his second son, Abdul Rahman, September 28, 2022. (Photo via social media)

Similar developments can be seen across all of Palestine, including Ibrahim al-Nabulsi’s ability to evade capture for months before being assassinated. This is no small achievement, as it means that there are now areas of the West Bank, however small, that Israel cannot reach without suffering a cost. Jenin refugee camp is the most emblematic example, but the developments of recent months have seen the emergence of the Old City of Nablus as another area where resistance groups hold sway.

Ever since Mahmoud Abbas assumed the presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA) seventeen years ago, Israel has enjoyed free rein in the West Bank, experiencing unprecedented ease of access to anywhere in the West Bank.

After the implementation of Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, the Israeli regime aimed to dry up the infrastructure of the Palestinian resistance factions by launching a massive invasion and reoccupation of Palestinian cities. In the aftermath of Defensive Shield, and with the denouement of the Second Intifada, the Israeli undertaking was followed up by the efforts of US General Keith Dayton in further pacifying the Palestinian populace. The US provided training and funding to elements of the security services of the PA to prevent future attacks against Israel.  Abbas, who has repeatedly declared his principled position rejecting armed struggle, also assisted Israel in this process of systematic disarmament.

Throughout these seventeen years, the efforts of the colonial authorities to abort any possible resistance activity (in coordination with the PA) have led to the virtual disappearance of an independent armed presence in the West Bank. 

This was a golden period of settlement expansion and land annexation, while the army was free to enter into areas of alleged PA sovereignty to pursue wanted Palestinians, successfully arresting them after they had evaded Israel for years during the heyday of the Second Intifada. This onslaught was meant to “clean up” the West Bank of the last remnants of armed struggle.

The symbol the Palestinian people need

The West Bank today is radically different from how it was only a year ago. In recent weeks, hardly a day has gone by without a shooting operation on Israeli military targets or settlers, and hardly a day has passed without Israel’s assassination or arrest of scores of Palestinians.

Abu Raad represents the symbol Palestinians need for this new stage. The father of two martyrs who were executed by Israel, he has risen to the occasion by speaking unflinchingly in favor of the heroism of his sons, becoming a revered public figure. 

Fathi Khazem flanked by Jenn militants while speaking at a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Jihad movement, Jenin, October 6, 2022. (Photo: APA Images)

If that wasn’t enough, he also defied the Israeli military order to turn himself in, and when he went out to speak to the throng of mourners gathered outside his home after Raad Khazem’s assassination, his defiance and stoicism made him an instant target. 

But there is also another important factor behind Abu Raad’s notoriety to his colonial enemies — he was formerly employed in the PA security services, meaning that he was part of the machinery that the Israelis and Americans had envisioned would prevent any future Intifada. Yet his new social role, and the persona of resistance and revolutionary resistance he has embodied, is the complete opposite of the intended result intended by Israeli and American designs. History is not without its ironies. 

As a former PA security employee, Khazem also becomes a figure of unity, and his appeals to his erstwhile colleagues in the PA security services to fight the Israeli army enjoy an authority that only Khazem can uniquely command.

Khazem’s entreaties have not fallen on deaf ears either. Israeli media reports indicate the increasing participation of members of the PA security apparatus in shooting operations. This represents a security nightmare for the army, which has bet on the PA’s continued cooperation with Israel insofar as security coordination is concerned, in order to maintain Israel’s cost-free occupation.

More importantly, Israel’s recognition of the power of Palestinian symbols drives it to eliminate and silence them, because one of the most important factors preventing the resurgence of resistance is not only the absence of arms — but the absence of living examples that inspire new ways to resist. 

Ibrahim al-Nabulsi was also a symbol, despite never having lived through the fighting of Operation Defensive Shield. Videos of him while armed and encouraging resistance went viral locally, as he quickly became a persona with which Palestinian youth strongly identified. He inspired an affinity the likes of which no PA official has been able to muster. Naturally, he became a target of the occupation as well.

The Israeli media’s response to Fathi Khazem’s rising prominence is telling. Israel Hayom published a full report on Khazem, titled “The Birth of a New Hero,” commenting on his ability to command the respect of the broad Palestinian public, which “sees him as a leader.” The report goes on to note that “[Palestinians] have not seen such a person who would dare to challenge Israel and the Palestinian Authority in such a bold and open way.”

Abu Raad is now a moving target, and time will tell what Israel has in store for him. One thing, however, is certain — regardless of what Israel may do, whether arrest or assassination, Fathi Khazem has established a new example for what it means to challenge the colonizer.


Ahmed Abu Artema
Born in Rafah, Gaza Strip, in 1984, Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian refugee. An independent Gaza-based writer and political activist, he has written the book “Organized Chaos” and numerous articles. He is one of the original founders and organizers of the Great March of Return.


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I would only disagree in that Abbas has no right to claim that his position against armed Palestinian self-defence is ‘principled’ in any way.

If a zionist, someone with no right to be there, invades your home, you can and should force them out by any means necessary.

“the absence of living examples that inspire new ways to resist.” 
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Determined resistance, armed with photographable placards in English, could rearrange the table.