The Masar Badil is publishing the following statement, highlighting the broad consensus and the imperative to reject all of the imperialist, Zionist and reactionary attempts to strip the defenses of the Palestinian people:

Message from the National Assembly of Scholars, Preachers, and Intellectuals of Gaza to the Leadership of the Palestinian Factions…

It is impermissible to surrender the weapons or to accept its proposal or discussion. Whoever does so has betrayed Palestine, the people, and the martyrs who gave their lives since 1948.

Every now and then, the heads of criminality and submission emerge before the Palestinian people, demanding that the Palestinian people and their resistance hand over their weapons—while the criminal enemy openly boasts of arming the Zionist settler gangs and the mercenaries who collaborate with them. The Holy Qur’an has warned against the grave danger of engaging with such an idea, and that whoever opens this door opens the door to calamity for himself and his homeland.

Allah Almighty says:

“Those who disbelieve wish that you would neglect your arms and your baggage, so they could come down upon you in one assault” [Surah An-Nisa: 102].

In this verse: the disbelievers wish that you would become heedless of your weapons and belongings. So merely being heedless of one’s weapon is forbidden in Islamic law. The meaning is: do not be distracted even by prayer, despite its elevated status, lest the enemy seize the opportunity to strike you and your society. Then how could one justify abandoning the weapon, relinquishing it, or handing it over? This is a religious and national disgrace that cannot be forgiven. The story of the Battle of the Trench and the question of Jibril (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about whether he had laid down his arms is the greatest evidence that doing so is absolutely impermissible.

Today, voices are rising to demand the disarmament of the Palestinian resistance, a strange and shameful thing to be heard from any Palestinian or even any Arab Muslim! Dignity and Palestine are not for sale or bargaining. The Palestinian people want their state, their land, and their rights. Their resistance to the occupier is a right guaranteed by all international conventions and laws. Yet some do not wish to support the Palestinian people in liberating their land and holy sites. Rather, they aim, with their failed strategic project since 1993, to dismantle the resistance and shamelessly demand that the victim, the rightful owner of the land, give up their weapon. Meanwhile, the criminal enemy is free to possess any and all weapons it desires.

For over 100 years, British colonialism and then the Zionist occupation, with blatant American support and the backing of many states, have worked to disarm the Palestinians while arming and organizing the Jewish gangs that later became the “Zionist army.” These efforts have continued with international support to solidify the occupation and prevent Palestinians and their allies from resisting it.

During the Palestinian Revolution (1936–1939), the British Mandate took steps to disarm the Palestinians; but over all these years, this project has failed. Because the rightful owner of the land is stronger than the illusion and myth of a fake state that will soon disappear, no matter how much history they falsify to justify its existence.

In light of the above, the National Assembly calls on the Palestinian factions to take the following steps:

1. The leadership of the Palestinian factions must issue a unified statement that categorically and absolutely rejects this proposal and nationally criminalizes anyone who engages with it.

2. We call upon the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to cease its reckless engagement with this topic. The weapon of the resistance is sacred and is a fundamental right of the Palestinian people since the occupation of Palestine. It shall remain so and is not subject to disposal or delegation by any individual or faction.

3. The Assembly calls upon the entire Palestinian people—all its components: scholars, preachers, intellectuals, writers, and elites—to rally around the resistance and support it until the occupier is defeated, our freedom is achieved, and our fully sovereign Palestinian state is established.

4. We call upon all factions and the general Palestinian public—its scholars, preachers, intellectuals, and elites—to recall the lessons of history and the betrayal of colonialism, and what happened when resistance movements surrendered their arms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and before that in Lebanon during the Palestinian revolution and the massacres of Sabra and Shatila.

Your weapon is your honor and the secret of your strength, on the battlefield and at the negotiation table.

National Assembly of Scholars, Preachers, and Intellectuals of Gaza
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 / 11 Safar 1447