Algeria: 60 years of endless support for the Palestinian cause
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Algeria has always demonstrated unconditional support for the country of Palestine and the Palestinian cause, which dates back to fighting "Israel" and helping Egypt claim back Sinai in the 1973 October War.
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Algeria's unconditional support for the Palestinian cause
On July 5, 1962, after 132 years of French colonialism, Algeria declared its independence. The Evian agreements of March 18, 1962, ended the war between France and the Algerian National Liberation Army (ALN), and a referendum of self-determination took place on the first of July, 1962.
The results of the referendum came in favor of transferring power from the French to the Algerian authorities on July 3, ending decades of occupation, settler colonialism, and massacres.
The date - July 5 - was deliberately chosen by the Algerian government in reference to July 5, 1830, when the city of Algiers was occupied by France.
The seven-year war between the French occupier and the Algerian resistance left around one million Algerian martyrs on the path of Algeria's freedom and liberation.
Endless stories about heroic epic battles by the Algerian resistance against Western colonialism can be recounted on the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence.
However, this piece aims to shed light on Algeria's endless support for Palestine, the Palestinian cause, and fellow Arab states against all forms of oppression and occupation since the north African country gained its liberation through resistance.
"We are with Palestinians, be they the oppressed or the oppressors”
To begin with, Palestinians supported the Algerian Revolution from 1954-1962 and showed solidarity through organizing fundraisers for Algeria.
Despite some Arab states shamefully signing normalization agreements with the Israeli occupation in exchange for some benefits, Algeria has strongly opposed such deals, considering normalization with the occupation as a betrayal to the Arabs and the Palestinian cause.
In the early 1970s, former Algerian President Houari Boumediene said his famous phrase, “We are with Palestinians, be they the oppressed or the oppressors.”
It is noteworthy that similar to the official Algerian stance on Palestine, Algerians, according to the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, oppose normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation with a 99% rate.
One would wonder about the secret behind Algeria's unconditional support for the Palestinian cause.
Historically, Algeria has always been advocating the Palestinian cause and supporting fellow Arab states against the Israeli occupation.
In fact, after only five years of gaining its liberation from the French occupation, Algeria supported the Arab allies against "Israel" by sending troops and aircrafts to fight alongside the Arab states in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Algerian army also played an important role during the 1973 October war.
Significantly, when Egypt signed the Camp David Agreement and established ties with the Israeli occupation, Algeria severed its ties with Egypt.
In addition, Algeria established close relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), providing it with weapons, training its fighters during the 70s, and helping the PLO obtain observer status in the UN in 1974.
After the former US President Donald Trump's administration, the UAE, and "Israel" revealed the so-called "Abraham Accords" in August, current Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stressed his country's deep commitment to the Palestinian cause, affirming that Algeria deems Palestine as a sacred cause.
Algiers also harshly criticized the normalizing states (the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan). It also paid the price for its anti-normalization stance, as the US acknowledged the Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara after years of unresolved disputes and unachievable status.
In trying to understand the reason behind Algeria's official and popular support for the Palestinian cause, Sami Hamdi, the Editor-in-Chief of the International Interest magazine, explained that “Algerians feel a deep resonance with the Palestinians who have been colonized for some 82 years and believe that whatever the difficulties, resistance will eventually succeed.”
In the same context, TRT had quoted Jalel Harchaoui, a Senior Fellow at the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, as saying that Algeria's “somewhat exceptional history makes resistance against colonial powers writ large a narrative crucially central to the Algerian state as we know it."
Algeria's participation in the 1973 October War
Aiming to restore the lands that "Israel" occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War - Sinai in Egypt and the Golan Heights in Syria - on October 6, 1973, Cairo and Damascus launched an attack on the Zionist entity. The war coincided with the holy month of Ramadan.
During that time, Algeria played a significant role in providing Egypt and Syria with Soviet weapons and bringing in troops to the Egyptian front to fight the Israeli occupation, despite its then-instable economic situation as a result of the pre-independence era of French colonialism.
In fact, then-Algerian President Houari Boumedienne reportedly flew to Moscow to secure military aid for the Egyptians and the Syrians.
In a reiteration of its role in supporting anti-colonialist movements, Algeria sent more than 2,100 troops, 815 non-commissioned officers, and 192 officers to Sinai. It also sent 96 tanks and over 50 fighters and bomber aircraft to Egypt, according to the Egyptian authorities.
Algiers also participated in the oil embargo imposed by the Arab members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the US over its support of the Israeli occupation during the war, which led to significant price hikes around the world.
On October 17, Arab oil producers decided to increase the price of oil by 17% and cut oil production by 5%, vowing to “maintain the same rate of reduction each month thereafter until the Israeli forces are fully withdrawn from all Arab territories occupied during the June 1967 War, and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are restored.”
Sharon underestimated the power of Algerian forces
In the context of the 1973 October War, the former Chief of Staff of the Israeli occupation forces, David Eliezer, acknowledged in his released diaries that "Israel" lost this war as a result of the arrogance of then-Major General Ariel Sharon, who underestimated the power of the Algerian forces and thought that they wouldn't stand a chance against the IOF forces, thinking that they would flee as soon as they set their eyes on Israeli tanks.
Eliezer said that 900 IOF soldiers were killed and 172 tanks were destroyed in just one day during the war.
On his part, the former Israeli Security Minister Moshe Dayan revealed that all the intelligence information showed that Algerians did not have weapons capable of intercepting the Israeli forces.
Dayan also said the Israelis received intelligence about a state of division between the Egyptians and the Algerians. The Israelis were surprised by the Algerian forces downing a giant US Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft by a missile, which frightened the US Staff and frustrated the Nixon administration.
The former Israeli minister said the Egyptian forces deceived the Israeli forces, making them believe that the strategic Al-Adabiya port was not fortified enough. However, the Algerian forces were in charge of protecting the port.
One cannot but hail the role of Algeria in supporting the Palestinian cause and anti-colonial liberation movements, whether on the official or popular level. Despite the geographical distances separating Palestine from Algeria, Algerians believe that the two countries share the same pain, torture, grief, sorrow, and hopefully the same liberation to be achieved in the near future.
