Nizar Banat: The Martyr of Truth
On the fourth anniversary of his martyrdom, we honor the Palestinian activist and thinker who was murdered in 2021 during a violent raid by PA security forces at his home in al-Khalil. His death remains a stark reminder of the price he paid for defending truth against normalization, sectarianism, and defeatism.
Nizar Banat’s martyrdom epitomizes unwavering heroism and enduring resistance in the pursuit of Palestinian liberation. His life and sacrifice affirm that the struggle against internal betrayal and external oppression demands uncompromising resistance and steadfast unity.
Banat dedicated his life to defending the Palestinian cause against reactionary forces aligned with regimes that support the Zionist agenda. He relentlessly exposed elements within Palestinian society he described as "compradors of idiocy, compradors of NGOs, compradors of sectarian strife, and compradors of defeatist thought." His famous declaration—"Either you are a zionist or you are not a zionist"—captures his belief that any compromise weakens the fight for freedom. His clear, fearless language continues to inspire those who pursue Palestinian liberation.
Defending the Axis of Resistance
Banat rooted his vision in the strength of the Axis of Resistance, uniting Palestine with key allies—Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah—to counter Western imperialist and Zionist aggression. He stressed that genuine alliances are essential to preserve the integrity of armed resistance, warning that a breakdown in unity would render the struggle futile. As he remarked,
"First we destroy our relationship with Syria, then Iran, and then we go like ‘well we cannot defeat Israel through war, war is futile and destructive, and no one supports us.’"
Syria, once a vital bulwark against Zionism, fell in December 2024 following a US-Zionist-Turkish-Qatari coup that ousted its pro-resistance leadership and installed former al-Qaeda leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (now rebranded as HTS)—a development Banat would have unequivocally condemned.
Fervently defending Iran's pivotal role, Banat stated, "Iran is the only country in the world that has a permanent clause in its budget, from the budget of Iranian people’s bread, that pledges support to the Palestinian revolution, regardless of its orientation: whether it was Fatah, the PFLP, the communists, anyone! It never intervened in our ideological conceptions of resistance."
He further challenged sectarianists and normalizers by asking, "They say that Iran exploits the Palestinian cause to spread Shiism. If so, why would it bother with 42 years of sanctions? Several hundred million dollars confiscated, and yet it still takes from its people’s food to support and sustain Palestinian resistance."
Banat also extended unwavering support to Hezbollah. Martyred Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah described him as "a bold, brave, and oppressed fighter, thinker, and martyr… bold, brave, clear, and strong in his positions on resistance and Palestine until the moment of his martyrdom." Together, these alliances formed a powerful axis committed to armed resistance and the preservation of dignity against both external domination and internal betrayal.
Rejecting Normalization
Banat dismantled the propaganda tactics of normalizing careerists and liberal Zionists who pushed for concessions and watered-down solutions. He warned that passivity does not earn respect, asserting, "The world stands with [us] today because [we] have that rocket."
He condemned the normalization industry for infesting Palestine with compromise-promoting agents. By exposing careerist informants who gaslight Palestinians about their traitorous behavior—and by reprimanding self-serving figures like Saeb Erekat for spreading corruption at the expense of the Palestinian cause—Banat underscored that liberation is not achieved through negotiation with an occupier or alignment with a liberal Zionist framework reminiscent of South African apartheid, Gandhi's India, or a mere struggle for “rights and equality.”
His fierce opposition to normalization also informs our critique of careerist politicians in the U.S., such as AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani, who exploit the Palestinian cause for personal political gain while normalizing the Zionist entity through statements like "Israel has the right to exist" and dismissing the heroic Al-Aqsa Flood operation as a "horrific war crime"—a Zionist talking point designed to delegitimize Palestinian resistance.
A Call for Muslim and Arab Unity
Beyond his incisive strategic analyses, Banat’s legacy is a passionate call for unity among Arab nations. He urged Sunni Arabs to overcome the historical humiliation and inferiority complex imposed by past Turkish dominance and by the influence of U.S. and Gulf monarchies. He warned that without independent political planning, Arab nations risk becoming mere pawns in external agendas. His stirring exhortation to "become a man and fight" endures as a rallying cry to reject passivity and defeatism, emphasizing that only proactive armed resistance can lead to true Palestinian liberation.
Remembering Banat’s Legacy
Nizar Banat was assassinated for refusing to compromise in the face of both internal betrayal and external pressure. His legacy endures in the hearts of those fighting for the liberation of Palestine, sustained by the clarity of his convictions, his steadfast call for alliances with Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah, and his insistence on unity and proactive resistance. We honor him for the revolutionary spirit he embodied—a spirit that fuels both admiration for the Palestinian cause and a resolute commitment to anti-imperialist resistance. His incisive words and unwavering resolve remain vital today.
Rest in power, Nizar Banat. Your legacy of unyielding resistance and revolutionary truth lives on in every brave heart that continues the struggle to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea.
