Donor pronouncements to halt “grants” and earmarked “aid” to Palestine - and the mere preoccupation with this matter while the genocidal horrors continue in the Gaza Strip - prove that the international aid system is yet another tool in the toolbox of colonial hegemony in our region, a bludgeon used to bring the Palestinians to their knees.

The discourse of “development” and “aid” is nothing more than political subordination that aims to subjugate us, discourage our struggle, and fragment its social foundation. This policy is an integral part of the Oslo Doctrine and the control systems imposed on us with the goal to maintain and entrench the occupation.

The war of extermination underway belies these institutions’ claims to an enlightened human rights discourse, revealing instead their colonial arrogance. They sympathize with the Palestinian people only when we kneel down and are broken. They are today aligning themselves with Israeli propaganda, amplifying mis- and dis-information, legitimizing genocidal ethnic cleansing, and equating between the colonizer and the colonized. It is clear now that they are willing to lend us support only as long as we acquiesce to remaining crushed and defeated by the oppressor. When our people rise to fight for their rights and upturn the scales of injustice, these institutions align themselves with the occupier.

The threats from foreign countries and elites to financially strangle community work in all areas of life if Palestinians raise their heads in opposition to colonialism is no different from Israel’s threat to cut off water, electricity, medicine, and food from the besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.

We must here clearly articulate our stance and our vision, regardless of how difficult it may be to achieve and how far-fetched it might seem to some: Our ultimate aspiration is for the inherent right, will, and ambition of the Palestinian people to have control over our own resources. The determination of the Palestinian organizations is to continue to work without dependence on aid from any quarter, free and independent in deciding how to use the resources at hand.

It is incumbent upon us now to build our inter-connected community systems and networks of grassroots initiatives, trusting in the capabilities and abilities of our communities and our youth, staying wary of the dominance of foreign financing, and dealing with international institutions on the basis of complete equality - these are the primary conditions for enabling a fertile ground for struggle against the occupation. Only through this process can we embolden and support our people’s capacity to extract miracles no matter how horrific and dark our circumstances.

When the world fails us, it is our duty to rise and forge the needed, radical change in our political and societal practices.

This is a call to all activists in all areas of Palestinian life — in the field of health, agricultural, cultural, educational, legal and human rights work. It is a call to the Palestinian collective wherever they are located for the need to work towards the goal of disengaging from and dependence on foreign aid, replacing it with mobilizing and employing resources at our disposal while nurturing the spirit of participatory work, volunteerism, and giving. This requires the establishment of daring initiatives that stem from the needs of - - and tap the capabilities and experiences of - - our people in the neighborhoods of our villages and the alleys of our camps.

The crucial task before us is to marshal our collective struggle, abilities and work towards the ultimate goal of freedom and justice.