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A reprieve for Gaza

Editorial Board
Friday, Jan 17, 2025

Israel’s near 15-month-long genocide of the Gaza Strip may finally be over as the Zionist state and Hamas agreed to a six-week ceasefire on Wednesday (January 15). Set to begin on Sunday (January 19), a day before US President-elect Donald Trump’s formal inauguration, the deal will reportedly see the release of dozens of Israeli hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the entry of much-needed aid supplies and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. At least, this is what has been agreed to on paper. Israel’s cabinet is still yet to approve the deal, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is baselessly accusing Hamas of backtracking on the deal when the real hold up is his hesitancy to push it through cabinet – all while Israel continues bombing Gaza. Israel has killed at least another 73 Palestinians since news of the deal filtered through, adding to the almost 47,000 innocent souls it has massacred. Some feel the deal could implode within six weeks, after the first phase is over.

What all this means is that the ceasefire agreement is far more tentative than many are perhaps willing to countenance. But who can blame those who have suffered genocide, mass displacement and starvation for embracing any sign that their suffering might end. There are few in living memory who have had to endure what the Palestinians have over the last 15 months. And it is their resilience that is the main factor in driving events towards a ceasefire. No matter what the Israelis threw at them, the Palestinians refused to give up their demand for freedom. And while this ceasefire still leaves that demand as far as ever, it shows that the Zionist colonial project will not have everything its own way. Over the course of its genocide, Israel almost plunged the whole Middle East into a wider war. In doing so, it has managed to cripple Hezbollah and the downfall of the Assad regime has gifted it with the removal of an enemy. However, its core war aims in Gaza remain mostly unfulfilled. Hamas endures and the Palestinian desire for freedom has not been blunted but only strengthened.

Most tellingly, Israel has lost much of the international support that it had built up over the decades. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant. Meanwhile, the arrest of an Israeli soldier in Brazil last month shows just how decisively international opinion has turned against anyone having anything to do with the Zionist state. Only the core allies of the US-led West remain with Israel, with the former’s veto powers preventing a ceasefire from materialising much sooner. All this being said, the road to justice for Palestine still remains a very long one. The threat of the genocide resuming is still there and even if the ceasefire endures it does nothing to address the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian land or stop Israel from expanding its illicit seizures. This must be the next step in Palestine’s road to justice and, thankfully, this step now has the firm backing of international legal opinion via an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice finding Israel’s occupation to be unlawful. The Palestinians may have been handed a reprieve but this ceasefire might just be a chance for Israel to recuperate from all the pressure it has faced. This cannot be allowed to happen. No one must forget the 47,000 dead and the fact that Israel committed a genocide. It must not be allowed to rest on occupied land. Nor must those who financed and armed its massacre be allowed to bury their role under this ceasefire. The fight for Palestine and justice continues.