Islamic Resistance Path: Beginnings Leading to Great Victory
The First Bullet, 1982
On Resistance and Liberation Day, "Alintiqad" Reminiscence publishes the beginnings of the story
The horizon was black, and clouds bearing hatred were starting to appear in the distance. The howling of war instruments echoed everywhere. The enemy was coming; death was coming.
The ill-willed people thought that none had the courage to refuse the progressive destiny and that no arms could bear weapons. However, this land had been fed with the love of Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him), martyrdom, and Karbala, and it bore the capacity to withstand any oppressive enemy and fight it for the sake of justice. Thus the bullet of righteousness was shot.
The black turban glowed, challenging the blackness of extreme oppression and haughtiness. And the grand victory that awesome Sayyed had achieved years earlier was spreading trophies of honor everywhere.
Long before now, his words had reached all ears, touched all hearts, and made all minds understand:
""Israel" is a cancerous gland that must be exterminated..." He said this to youths who adored him and awaited that unique chance so that they pioneer achieving this call - the promise.
Early they attained awareness, and early they took the initiative. Thus was a brilliant outcome that would enlighten all days and grow more radiant along with generations.
It was the Resistance that was rooted in a fertile land as the victory dawn of the Islamic Revolution had come. The Resistance grew stronger to confront the coercive enemy, and the outcome was fruitful, whereby most of the land was liberated, and the Nation exulted upon the grandest victory among all nations.
It has been a long, hard path of good giving, fruitful outcomes, and liberal goodness along with days.
It's the Islamic-Resistance, whose victory teaches people morals, and that is today celebrating a new id of victory and liberation.
So how did this Resistance commence? Which environment fostered the shining of the Resistance sun? And how could the Resistance withstand the Zionist enemy, conquering it like none had ever expected?
Here below are the incidents of the very beginnings as told by one of the leaders who have taken the Resistance path ever since its beginnings and still embrace it with perfect care... By Mahmoud Rayya
Years passed by, and hearts had been yearning for that Sayyed in Jamaran, who was concerned about the events on that land; he had long been calling for supporting its people so that they free themselves from the loathsome Zionist Occupation.
Every word that great Leader said would echo in Mount Amel, Bekaa, Beirut Southern Suburb, and Beirut. The listeners would be lovers of the Leader; they adored the martyrdom path set by Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him), and they were anticipating the moment they could answer their Imam's call to fight the vicious enemy.
Upon what Imam Khomeini (Sacred is his secret) would constantly repeat, Imam and Sayyed Moussa Sadr (May Allah return him safe) would issue similar calls of "fighting "Israel" with teeth, nails, and bodies."
In 1982, the Zionist invasion took place to awaken the unaware people and remind them of the call they had received to fight "Israel" while it was still along the borders; however, "Israel" had now reached the inside of their country and had begun to invade Beirut, too.
The adorers of Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him) and the path-takers of Imam Khomeini and Imam Sadr had been awaiting the chance to meet the enemy face to face, for they had known a lot about the enemy's crimes, brutality, and greed, in addition to the enemy's scheme that they wouldn't allow to get achieved anyway. Now the Zionist invasion had taken place, and the Occupation forces had been dispatched on all Lebanese lands. The battle had been practically set, and a new era of history had begun, whereby the godly chance the believers in the jihad path had long been awaiting came now.
Those believers knew how Imam Khomeini viewed the Zionist entity, for even before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he had emphasized the necessity of fighting the Zionist enemy, and he had delivered tens of speeches to the Muslims, particularly the Lebanese ones, candidly calling them to confront this enemy.
Hereupon, the launching of the Islamic Resistance was not a reaction to the Zionist invasion. The Resistance had been an existing force thanks to Imam Khomeini's intellect and his call to fight "Israel", also upon the presence of people who adopted such intellect and had been awaiting the right chance to apply their commitments and what they believed in.
The invasion...The Confrontation...
Not many choices were left for people when the invasion took place, for the southerners became unable to move around the place, and those in Beirut could no longer move to the South to fight the progressive enemy. Although some had indeed tried to venture to the confrontation frontiers, it didn't work.
Such facts stimulated these persons' psychological readiness and encouraged them to confront the enemy, especially when were armed... Hence, who wanted to fight had a close chance now to achieve their will.
These believers were encouraged and ready for any emergency. And after they had awaited the chance to confront the enemy, it came now as the Occupation army carried out a military drop in Khaldeh Region.
So once this happened, the military forces present in Beirut commenced setting logistic preparations and equipment to confront the invasion of the capital after the Khaldeh Battle.
After the Khaldeh Battle
Through the Khaldeh Battle, the fighters could exterminate the force on the ground, captivating the enemy soldiers' corpses and driving the halftrack safely to Ouzai Region. The fighters stressed that they didn't belong to any discipline and that, instead, they were the followers of Imam Khomeini. (The Battle details are included in another episode of this edition.)
The prevailing atmosphere implied that none wanted to fight in Khaldeh, which was falling into the hands of the enemy military. On the contrary, through this honorable battle, a little group withstood this military and caused it grave casualties.
Newspapers and magazines were published, carrying news of the confrontation, the involved fighters, and the seizure of the half-track. Therefore, who wanted to fight "Israel" could now view Khaldeh Region as the point that gathered all of these capacities.
There, all who wanted to fight the Zionist enemy began to gather - even the ones who didn't belong to any existent military discipline or constitution.
Fighting "Israel" no longer represented defeat and death; instead, that confrontation altered that combat into victory, and people's condition shifted into a different one. Khaldeh Region was now the kiblah (direction) of enthusiastic youths, and it was crowded with fighters.
As a matter of fact, the fighters' presence in Khaldeh Region created a kind of communication between them, and the situation was similar to what is nowadays called "positioning". Guard points extended from the sea through Khaldeh, until Choueifat in the southern frontier facing the Occupation forces.
At this stage, the Occupation forces commenced performing violent bombardment operations against Khaldeh Region. However, those forces did not perform any other maritime or land operation after the first drop, which led to a military disaster on the ground.
While performing airstrikes, the enemy aircraft targeted a shelter where a big number of fighters had been centered; thus, some of them were martyred, and others were wounded.
After these raids, precautions were made, and the number of fighters began to decrease. Only little gatherings, headed by self-martyrdom spiritualists, would then be deployed around the place.
The Zionists did not progress along the coastal line; instead, they commenced setting fixed sites, and things were almost altered into fixed axial confrontations. Hereupon, the fighters altered their movement into attacks and decided to perform striking operations against the enemy sites set in Khaldeh Region.
The fighters then performed night raids against the advanced Zionist sites and attacked the enemy forces. Several clashes broke out, and outstanding operations were performed; as a result, several enemy soldiers were wounded. A number of the brothers - the fighters - were wounded, too... the enemy had been anticipating everybody's escape, but it was stunned by the operations of the fighters who attacked the sites where the enemy troops had been centered.
After these operations, the Occupation forces attempted to progress along the coastal way; however, these attempts were encountered quite powerfully. So the enemy leaders resorted to a new tactic, which was going the other way round the mountainous locations. For more than twenty hours, the forces present in that region encountered the progressive enemy forces that extended to Khaldeh from Bshamoun. That was after the fighters had violently encountered the military forces in Bshamoun.
Defensive-Line Formation
As the Khaldeh Battle ended, the fighters retracted to Ouzai, Burj al-Barajneh, and Laylake.
The confrontations in Khaldeh and the subsequent developments began to create atmospheres changing the map of the existent powers.
The youths, who were inspired by their symbol, Imam Khomeini, and who had been enthusiastic about fighting the "Israeli" enemy even before the invasion, now adhered to supporting this defensive line and staying at its different military points.
After all this "positioning" in Khaldeh, the number of these youths increased to include tens of them; together, they developed more solidarity.
These youths, in addition to who joined afterwards, were deployed along the line of confrontation with the enemy, which extended from Ouzai to the Port Region in Ouzai. They encountered several attempts of breaking into the confrontation line by the enemy. And so the fighters did in Burj al-Barajneh, Cocodi, Laylaki, and Hay al-Sillum.
The pioneering fighters would visit different mosques to explain the dangers of confrontation with the enemy and ask, "Who wants to fight "Israel"?"...
Thus, mosques became the primary center to keep up with whoever wished to confront the enemy. Besides, the mosques provided atmospheres of spirituality that focused on jihad for God's sake.
As a matter of fact, these young men's need for logistics created the need for communication between the different groups and the supply of a certain command to handle this. Therefore, a pyramidal structure was formed in order to handle all efforts required by such command.
On the other hand, some people were interested in keeping up with the World Cup football matches being held then.
Establishing the Resistance
It is undoubted that the resistance, which confronted the Zionist enemy once the latter invaded Lebanon, was of several roots since there existed several ideological and political perspectives of the resistant squadrons.
In fact, the answer to the question, "How was the Islamic Resistance established?" is that the Resistance was established upon a legitimate rule and upon commitment with Imam Khomeini's fatwa, sayings, and decision. Hereupon, neither was the Resistance a conditional movement that sought achieving temporary purposes, nor was it a reaction to a certain event. It has rather been a movement of worship, having as foundation the legitimate rule set by the Muslim's Wali (Patron), Imam Khomeini, whereby this rule fostered the psychological and religious motive to resist the Zionist Occupation.
The confrontation in Khaldeh gave way to the believers to translate their commitment into practical work on the ground.
Regardless of their belongings, all who wanted to fight the enemy set their hopes on these devoted fighters.
The actual defensive line for Beirut was formed starting from Ouzai Beach until the Port Beach, and the people of the capital returned to Beirut to reinforce this frontier.
This wide deployment made the prominent figures that showed an ultimate capacity of tolerance and handling developments through their work bear the responsibility of conducting the work. And they sustained the path of the Islamic Resistance; some were martyred and ranked among the special martyrs, whereas some further sustained their jihad role against the Zionist enemy.
By this stage, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Forces had arrived in Bekaa Region; hence, the brothers -the Guards- contacted the Resistance men, who had formed the frontier of confrontation with the enemy.
Paralleling this contact, the public movement began to take pleasant forms: Parents were encouraging their sons to join the posted soldiers along the confrontation line; young men were innovating means to get to the line from different regions - particularly from Bekaa. They wanted to share the confrontation in Beirut and even in the South. Hereupon, the significance of the Resistance commenced gaining credibility as hundreds of youths - the Resistance's human resources were martyred.
First-Operations Stage
Upon the approximately eighty-day siege of Beirut, the brothers' solidarity developed, and whoever remained in the confrontation field showed special firmness and steadfastness in spite of all difficulties.
Still, during the siege, the features of another stage could be seen in the offing.
As Beirut was besieged, the fighters transferred the excess arms and ammunitions to the South so that the fighters there could commence performing military operations. Also, other young men headed to their southern villages to prepare arms depots and set convenient atmospheres (for the operations).
As Beirut was besieged, many operations against the "Israelis" began in the South, targeting "Israeli" patrols and centers; however, the Resistance didn't issue statements declaring responsibility for these operations and gain its right as respects the announcement of its accomplishments through media.
The fighters' primary concern was to achieve several purposes all together:
• First: proving to the "Israelis" that they were facing a force (the Resistance) and that the region, including Beirut Southern Suburb wasn't going to surrender
• Second: keeping the fighters and reinforcing their jihad determination
• Third: avoiding the restriction of the battle in Beirut and extending it to other areas
• Fourth: laying the foundations for future operations, for there had been no absolute resolution so far; the enemy had occupied all of the Lebanese territories, and it was a must to confront it on the entire occupied lands.
• Fifth: making use of the chance that the Zionist enemy hadn't made any precautions, and that the enemy's security had slacked off since the enemy thought the whole region was under control. Besides, the enemy had less caution as regards the fighters' moves to transfer the greatest possible amount of arms to the South and to start setting for delivering the biggest possible coup to the enemy.
As they carried out their daily military activity, the fighters could view these purposes clearly, and they would work on achieving them upon their understanding that a new era had been set by Imam Khomeini (May Allah Sanctify His Secret), and that era meant war on the "Israelis... This war had just begun at this stage, and it wouldn't be over unless the occupied lands were perfectly liberated.
The people who were surrounded in Beirut, the ones who had commenced their jihad movement in the South, and the ones who had prepared themselves in Bekaa and attempted to move to the confrontation fields constituted the first nucleus of the Resistance, which began to form a path of military constitution.
Martyr Ahmad Qasir's Operation
The Zionist invasion had begun shadowing the region, and many were frustrated, for they thought that the "Israeli" era had begun and that the "Israelis" would dominate our region forever.
On the other hand, there were Resistance men setting a new era on the basis of a long battle with the enemy. That meant gathering the greatest possible efforts in the South and sending human and logistic support required for setting off on this path.
It was time for work, and preparation commenced to set this round of the struggle by delivering the biggest possible coup to the enemy.
It was required that the enemy felt helpless to protect its deployed soldiers along the Lebanese territories. Also, it was required that a message be delivered to the Nation and the Lebanese people, stating that this enemy was weak and helpless and, thus, not only could it be confronted, but also it could be defeated and caused casualties. Well, this was required so that people would awake from their shock and feel that their will was stronger than the Zionist enemy's hegemony.
It was required that a message be delivered to the enemy, stating that the fact that the enemy forces had reached the capital did not mean that the enemy had abolished the (people's) strength of refusing its settlement scheme, for this strength was rooted in the earth and could not be abolished - no matter what hardships existed.
Furthermore, it was required that the fighters, who were patient and steadfast as they fought, inspired that their resistance didn't go in vain and that the big coups would be delivered to the enemy, starting with the conduct of a strategic operation based on self-sacrifice martyrdom. Such fact would open the door for all who wanted to share the battle against the enemy.
The operation against the Zionist military governor's headquarters wasn't performed merely upon making use of the chance of the presence of a Zionist military gathering that could be struck, and, thus, causing the enemy grave casualties... The issue was not casual, and the fighters had seriously been looking for the place, for what was required exceeded the achievement of a normal purpose. The issue had been planned well so that the beginning (of the coups) would include a grand job - a massive one that would alter the military balances... Self-Sacrifice Martyr Ahmad Qasir performed his operation.
In fact, this operation brought everybody back to their spirits, and the prevailing atmosphere meant refusing the Occupation. Our operations and others' increased. In a short period, the operations performed by the other parties and forces were multiplied. Thus, the required purpose was achieved: setting a resistance that would go on until the Occupation was eradicated.
"Alintiqad" Reminiscence, May 24, 2002
