First Ceasefire, Then Palestinian Liberation

Trump’s deal does nothing to address the root cause of injustice: Israel’s brutal military rule and oppression of Palestinians.

By Jewish Voice For Peace

Today, after more than two years of the US-backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of ceasefire agreement.  And while the single most important thing right now is saving Palestinian life, Trump’s deal does nothing to address the root cause of injustice: Israel’s brutal military rule and oppression of Palestinians.

While a ceasefire does not bring an end to the genocide, right now we are holding tightly to the hope that Israel will in fact finally be compelled to the first elements of this agreement: halting the mass killing of Palestinians through bombardment, and stopping its blockade of food and medicine. And we await the moment when thousands of Palestinian hostages and Israeli hostages will be returned home to their families and loved ones.

For two years, Palestinians in Gaza have endured unimaginable hell under the Israeli state’s genocide with no reprieve.  The Israeli military has razed Gaza to the ground, destroying entire neighborhoods and cities, demolishing the centuries-old infrastructure of Palestinian life, decimating the healthcare system, water supplies, electricity grid, schools, universities and cultural institutions. We know from our own history how the trauma of this campaign of annihilation will unfold for generations.

We are clear that Trump’s plan seeks to create a new Middle East in which Israeli apartheid and genocide are normalized and integrated into a regional and global economy that maintains Palestinian subjugation. Trump’s deal also allows Israel to carry out a genocide without being held to account for its atrocities. Two years of Israeli genocide were possible because the Israeli government has never once been held accountable for decades of human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. Justice can only begin once Israeli impunity is challenged.

Even with this ceasefire in place, our movements will continue to call for an immediate and full arms embargo, and an end to the complicity of U.S. corporations that profit from ethnic cleansing.  The U.S. and Israeli governments, U.S. weapons manufacturers, and countless US institutions will continue the genocide and violent status quo of Israeli apartheid – it is our job to stop them. The millions of people who have organized for a ceasefire will not rest until we upend the financial, cultural, and political alliance that ties the U.S. and Israel’s ongoing atrocities. Our only option is to be bolder and clearer in defense of Palestinian life and liberation.