Updated 2024-08-24
Ceasefire Now Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 30,500 Palestinians, including more than 13,000 children, and injured more than 71,000 since October 7th. The only way to end this current conflict that is threatening to grow across the Middle East is with diplomatic solutions. The violence must stop, hostages must be freed, innocent captives must be released, and humanitarian aid must flow freely. Ceasefire now! 76/536 Members of Congress fully support a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities* 76 Democrats 0 Republicans 0 Independents https://ceasefireaction.com/
2024-08-23 Israel offers new proposal for the Philadelphi corridor to Hamas Egypt is set to deliver Israel’s latest Philadelphi corridor proposal to Hamas after Israel submitted a revised plan on Thursday as efforts to secure a ceasefire deal to halt the fighting in Gaza continue, a diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said.
The new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of where Israeli troops would be deployed, reduces the number of troops and military posts along the strategic corridor bordering Egypt from Israel’s previous position, the Israeli source said. Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map days earlier and declined to transfer it to Hamas, calling it a non-starter.
The Philadelphi corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt- that the IDF currently controls.
The deployment of Israeli troops along the Philadelphi corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas. Israel has demanded maintaining control of the border zone, whereas Hamas has said Israeli troops must withdraw from the area. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-offers-new-proposal-for-the-philadelphi-corridor-to-hamas/ar-AA1pk1oY?
2024-08-22 Exclusive-Israeli demands for troops in Gaza blocking truce deal, sources say Disagreements over Israel’s future military presence in Gaza and over Palestinian prisoner releases are obstructing a ceasefire and hostage deal, according to ten sources familiar with the round of U.S.-mediated talks that concluded last week. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/exclusive-israeli-demands-for-troops-in-gaza-blocking-truce-deal-sources-say/ar-AA1pfNmm?
2024-08-21 As Gaza War Is Largely Ignored on DNC Stage, Doubts Grow over Blinken’s Claims on Ceasefire Talks The Israeli military has ordered new forced evacuations in parts of central Gaza, signaling the expansion of ground operations and the latest displacement of Palestinians, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times over the course of Israel’s war on the territory. At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, pushing the official death toll past 40,200. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since October without securing any breakthrough for a ceasefire deal. In Chicago, where Democrats are gathered for the DNC, Gaza has been mentioned only in passing from the main stage of the convention. The party’s official platform adopted this week does not call for an arms embargo on Israel and reasserts unwavering U.S. support for Israel. “There’s been an almost competition between Democrats and Republicans on ‘how much can we show Israel that we support them and that we have their back?'” says human rights lawyer Zaha Hassan, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and previously the senior legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for U.N. membership. “Why should Israel ever compromise its positions if they know that by holding out, they’ll get more goodies from the U.S.?” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEop0c70Jxw
2024-08-20 Hostage’s mother claims Mossad chief told her deal ‘impossible’ because of politics Testifying before an independent civilian commission of inquiry on Tuesday, the mother of one of the 105 hostages remaining in Gaza claimed that Mossad director David Barnea had told her that a hostage deal is impossible to achieve in the current political reality. The Mossad later denied he had said this.
Recalling what she described as a private discussion with the intelligence chief around May, Einav Zangauker quoted Barnea as saying that “unfortunately, in the current political constellation, a deal to release the hostages is impossible.”
Barnea “explained this was because of politics,” she told the so-called civil commission of inquiry in Tel Aviv — possibly referencing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unwillingness to risk his government, which his far-right coalition partners have threaten to topple if he agrees to what they have characterized as a “reckless” deal.
Zangauker has been a leading critic of Netanyahu’s government, protesting and intensely lobbying members of his cabinet to support a deal to free her son Matan Zangauker and the rest of the hostages still held by Hamas.
With Netanyahu repeatedly putting off the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures of successive governments’ failures to prevent the October 7 attack, several groups representing survivors of the Hamas massacre and the families of those killed recently announced the formation of the independent probe, which they have said is aimed at “reaching the truth and preventing the next disaster.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hostage-s-mother-claims-mossad-chief-told-her-deal-impossible-because-of-politics/ar-AA1p7te5?
2024-08-19 Blinken Heads to Israel for Gaza Cease-Fire Push as IDF Slaughter Continues Israeli airstrikes wiped out an entire family in al-Zawayda and killed 10 Syrian refugees in Lebanon as Hamas poured cold water on President Joe Biden’s claim that a cease-fire is “closer than we’ve ever been.”
In a separate statement, Biden said that a U.S. negotiating team presented a “comprehensive bridging proposal” offering “the basis for coming to a final agreement on a cease-fire and hostage release deal.”
“I am sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel’s security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement, and to underscore that with the comprehensive cease-fire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process,” the president added. https://www.commondreams.org/news/blinken-in-israel
2024-08-19 Palestine Post: Khury Petersen-Smith on ceasefire talks underway We start our recurring Monday Palestine coverage discussing the latest news from the region with Khury Petersen-Smith, Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he researches U.S. empire, borders, and migration. We discuss the latest ceasefire talks underway in Qatar, while the US continues providing arms and military aid, the wider https://kpfa.org/episode/law-disorder-august-19-2024/
2024-08-13 Former Israeli Peace Negotiator Daniel Levy: U.S. Is Part of “Axis of Zionist Extremism” The United States, Qatar and Egypt are urging Israel and Hamas to hold a new round of negotiations to finalize a ceasefire deal in Gaza. However, Hamas is urging mediators to enforce the ceasefire terms proposed by President Biden in May that Hamas already agreed to and that Israel rejected. Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project and a former Israeli peace negotiator under Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin, says U.S.-led efforts for a ceasefire are likely to fail as long as the Biden administration remains unwilling to pressure Israel. “It’s quite clear Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire deal,” says Levy, who adds that the Washington playbook of unlimited support for Israel and threats to keep other regional actors in line could pull the U.S. into a wider Middle East war. “America is playing the role as a member of the axis of Zionist extremism.” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO8OwqMDDAU
2024-07-26 US Doctors Back From Gaza Push Kamala Harris, Joe and Jill Biden for a Ceasefire We speak to two doctors who are part of a group of 45 U.S. doctors, surgeons and nurses who have volunteered in Gaza since October 7 and wrote an open letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an international arms embargo of Israel.
The group includes evidence of a much higher death toll than is usually cited: more than 92,000 people, which represents over 4% of Gaza’s population. The doctors write, “With only marginal exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both. Israel’s continued, repeated displacement of the malnourished and sick population of Gaza, half of whom are children, to areas with no running water or even toilets available is absolutely shocking.”
The conditions in Gaza are “unacceptable,” and “people know this is wrong but no one is speaking up,” says Dr. Thalia Pachiyannakis, an obstetrician and gynecologist who volunteered at the Nasser Medical Complex. “We all saw evidence of a death toll that is certainly much higher than what is reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health,” adds Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon who volunteered at the European Hospital. https://truthout.org/video/us-doctors-back-from-gaza-push-kamala-harris-joe-and-jill-biden-for-a-ceasefire/
2024-7-30 Whoever Wins in November, Our Movement Must Make Palestine Nonnegotiable While the world has become transfixed by the unfolding political crisis in the U.S. presidential election, Israel continues to lay waste to Gaza, expand settlements in the West Bank and massacre Palestinians in skyrocketing numbers.
In this exclusive interview for Truthout, Eman Abdelhadi — an academic, activist and writer who thinks at the intersection of gender, sexuality, religion and politics — discusses the ceasefire negotiations, Israel’s ongoing genocidal war, the Palestinian resistance, the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and the tasks of the Palestine solidarity movement.https://truthout.org/articles/whoever-wins-in-november-our-movement-must-make-palestine-nonnegotiable/
2024-07-11 Netanyahu “Trying to Do Everything to Prevent a Deal,” Says Ex-Israeli Peace Negotiator Daniel Levy Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy discusses ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued hostility to compromise and the Biden administration’s ineffectual mediation. Contrary to its claims of brokering peace, the U.S. “will continue to send the weapons” Israel uses to devastate Gaza, unremittingly fueling an increasingly unpopular war, says Levy, who is now president of the U.S./Middle East Project. Democracy Now! is an independent global newshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pfJzZ2xAkU
2024-05-25 Hamas official rejects talk of new negotiations with Israel Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that there is no need for new negotiations with Israel, amid Israeli media reports that there is an intention to renew Gaza truce talks. In a phone interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Saturday, Hamdan said that the immediate requirement is for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and for all aggression to stop.
“We do not need new negotiations,” he said, adding that Hamas has already agreed to a ceasefire proposal that Israel has rejected. “There is no guarantee that it [Israel] will accept new proposals to go to negotiations … If there are no serious guarantees, this means giving Israel more time to continue the aggression,” he added. Earlier this month, Hamas approved a proposal for a ceasefire in the seven-month Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt although Israel said the proposal falls short of its demands .https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/25/hamas-official-rejects-talk-of-new-negotiations-with-israel
2024-04-26‘No doubt’ Netanyahu preventing hostage deal, charges ex-spokesman of Families Forum Haim Rubinstein claims Israel rejected early Hamas offer to free all civilians if IDF didn’t enter Gaza, lays out PM’s alleged political meddling that led him to quit last month
On Sunday, Rubinstein began meeting with relatives of the abductees. One of those he met was Moshe Or, Avinatan Or’s brother. “Moshe told me something that still echoes in my ears, to this day,” Rubinstein recalls. “He told me, ‘We don’t need anything. They’ll be back within two days.’ I said I didn’t believe that would be the case.” By the end of that day, Rubinstein had an initial list of some 250 hostages and missing people, and he put together a list of their relatives so that he could stay in touch with them.
Rubinstein resigned last month as the Forum’s spokesman. This is the first time since that he’s agreed to share his almost six-month-long experience – and to explain why he felt he had to leave the Forum that he had co-founded.
“We left the meeting very disappointed because Netanyahu talked about dismantling Hamas as the goal of the war. He didn’t promise anything regarding the demand to return the hostages. He merely said a military operation in Gaza was needed to serve as leverage for the hostages’ release.
“We later found out that Hamas had offered on October 9 or 10 to release all the civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the Strip, but the government rejected the offer.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/no-doubt-netanyahu-preventing-hostage-deal-charges-ex-spokesman-of-families-forum/amp/?
2024-03-25 US Abstains as UN Security Council Demands ‘Immediate Cease-Fire’ in Gaza “This resolution must be implemented,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “Failure would be unforgivable.”
The U.S. on Monday declined to veto but still abstained from a United Nations Security Council on Monday to adopt a resolution demanding an “immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan” in the embattled Gaza Strip, a move that came amid an ongoing Israeli genocide in which more than 114,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and hundreds of thousands of others are starving.
The Security Council voted 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining, to approve a resolution for the cessation of hostilities during the Muslim holy month after member states overcame a sticking point over the removal of the word “permanent” from an earlier draft version. Instead, the resolution calls for an “immediate” cease-fire.
“Humanity prevails. Humanity always prevails,” Palestine’s U.N. mission said on social media following the vote. “Today’s historic vote by the Security Council for a #ceasefire and an end to Israel’s crimes is a first step towards justice. The resolution is binding.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-n-cease-fire-resolution?
2024-03-25 UN Security Council passes resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire The UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after the US did not veto the measure in a shift from its previous position. It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. It is the first time the council has called for a ceasefire since the war began in October after several failed attempts. The move by the US signals growing divergence between it and its ally Israel over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68658415?
2024-03-05 Groups Forge Emergency Coalition to Pressure US on Gaza Cease-Fire “It is long past time for the United States to use its leverage and uphold U.S. law to end Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza and have this war come to an end.”
A broad coalition of advocacy groups on Tuesday launched an emergency online campaign to pressure U.S. lawmakers to support an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Demand Progress, Oxfam America, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Win Without War, Common Defense, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and 23 partner groups started CeasefireAction.com, which includes a searchable database of each member of Congress and where they stand on the cease-fire issue, as well as a tool for contacting lawmakers to urge them to publicly support a cease-fire. https://www.commondreams.org/news/cease-fire-now?
2024-03-05 Biden Expresses Hope on Cease-Fire Talks, but Hamas Appears to Reject Latest Offer President Biden said Tuesday that talks on a possible six-week cease-fire in Gaza are “in the hands of Hamas right now.” He spoke just before a Hamas leader in Lebanon appeared to reject a proposed deal the United States is backing, insisting that Israeli hostages would be released only after a cease-fire was in place and Israeli forces have withdrawn.
Mr. Biden said that the Israelis had “been cooperating” in the indirect negotiations, which are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt, and that “a rational offer” had been made. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/05/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news?s
2024-02-16 UE, Six Other National Unions Launch Ceasefire Effort UE is one of seven national unions which announced the formation of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire (NLNC) today, along with over two hundred local unions. The aim of the network is to “end the death and devastation” in the Middle East, and to expand support for the ceasefire among unions nationally. Together, unions calling for a ceasefire represent over 9 million union members — more than half the labor movement in the United States. The NLNC launch comes on the heels of a statement calling for a ceasefire released by the AFL-CIO last week – the largest federation of unions in the United States. https://www.ueunion.org/political-action/2024/ue-six-other-national-unions-launch-ceasefire-effort
2024-02-16 Black and Brown Coalition for Palestine Frank Chapman is Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression . Hatem Abudayyeh is National Chair of the United States Palestinian Community Network . They join us from Chicago to discuss the city council vote calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Mayor Brandon Johnson cast the tie breaking vote which passed the measure. They are here to update us on events in Palestine and in Chicago. https://blackagendareport.com/black-and-brown-coalition-palestine
2024-02-07 ‘Our Conditions’ – Full Text of Hamas Response to Ceasefire Proposal The original Paris ceasefire proposal, at least in the view of Washington, seemed largely interested in helping Israel escape its military and political predicaments in Gaza. Though it contained many mutually agreed-upon provisions, by both sides, it lacked a comprehensive and detailed view of the Gaza war and its causes, in addition to guarantees that Israeli would not resume its genocide whenever it suits its interests.
Below is the official Hamas response to the ceasefire agreement proposal. It was initially published by the Arabic newspaper Al-Akhbar. It was translated and provided by the Resistance News Network Telegram Channel. It is published in full without any editing from its original translation by the RNN. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/our-conditions-full-text-of-hamas-response-to-ceasefire-proposal/
2024-02-07 Israel-based civil society and human rights organizations call for a ceasefire We, the undersigned Israel-based civil society and human rights organizations, call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and demand the immediate release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. An immediate ceasefire will prevent further loss of civilian lives and facilitate access to vital aid for Gaza to address the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe there.
We thus call on all parties to reach an immediate ceasefire and we call upon Israel to allow unfettered entry and delivery of humanitarian aid and goods into and throughout Gaza, as directed to do so by the International Court of Justice. Hamas must unconditionally release all people taken hostage on October 7. We call on the international community to uphold its legal obligation to restore respect for international humanitarian law and protect civilians. The international community must ensure that all those responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law be held accountable. These steps are vital for ensuring human rights and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. https://www.btselem.org/press_releses/20240207_israel_based_civil_society_and_human_rights_organizations_call_for_a_ceasefire
2024-02-06 Qatar says Hamas response to truce proposal ‘generally positive’ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/6/qatar-says-hamas-response-to-truce-proposal-generally-positive
2024-02-01 Hamas unlikely to reject ceasefire but will demand Israeli withdrawal -source Hamas is unlikely to reject a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received from mediators this week, but will not sign it without assurances that Israel has committed to ending the war, a Palestinian official close to the talks said on Thursday. Qatari and Egyptian mediators presented Hamas this week with the first concrete proposal for an extended halt to fighting in Gaza, agreed with Israel and the United States at talks in Paris last week. Hamas has said it is studying the text and preparing a response. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hamas-unlikely-to-reject-ceasefire-but-will-demand-israeli-withdrawal-source/ar-BB1hBEdH?
The resolution calls for a “negotiated bilateral cease-fire” that would be guaranteed by the international community, including the U.S. and other countries that are supporting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. “A cease-fire agreement must include the immediate provision of desperately needed food, water, medical care, clothing, emergency shelter, and other humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the release of all hostages abducted by Hamas from Israel on October 7,” reads the statement.
The resolution also reaffirms “the AFT’s support for a two-state solution,” condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia, and demands that all people should be “safe to express dissent” in the United States. “The conflict should not be used as an excuse to wage political attacks on American colleges and universities, or as a pretext to undermine necessary efforts to increase diversity, promote equity, and advance inclusion,” reads the union’s statement. https://www.commondreams.org/news/union-ceasefire-2667126890
2024-01-22 Labor unions are making unprecedented calls for a ceasefire in Gaza Before dawn broke on Jan. 14, hundreds of labor organizers and activists convened at the Port of Oakland for a protest to prevent ships carrying weapons bound for Israel from leaving the docks. Activists from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which co-organized the event, kept the momentum going all day. In the afternoon, 200 workers reportedly refused to cross the picket line to help load the ships.
“The labor movement has the power to disrupt supply chains,” said Zachary Valdez, a union steward with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110 based in New York. “Workers can shut everything down.” The action was an impressive show of solidarity between the labor movement and the Palestinian cause, one of a number of actions in the Bay Area and across the country co-organized or supported by unions in recent months, including teach-ins and other civil disobedience efforts. https://prismreports.org/2024/01/22/labor-unions-unprecedented-calls-ceasefire-gaza/
2024-01-22 SEIU Becomes Largest US Union to Demand Gaza Cease-Fire With over 25,000 Palestinians killed so far in the U.S.-backed Israeli assault of the Gaza Strip, the Service Employees International Union on Monday became the largest union in North America to join a growing coalition of labor groups calling for a cease-fire.
“SEIU’s almost 2 million members believe that wherever violence, fear, and hatred thrive, working people cannot,” said Mary Kay Henry, the union’s president, in a statement. “We condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and hate in all its forms around the world. Our union includes many members and their families—Palestinian and Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian—who have been impacted by the recent violence.” “As a union family strongly committed to justice and democracy, we believe all people across the globe deserve to live safely and free of fear, with dignity and respect for their human rights, as well as access to food, water, shelter, medicine, and other necessities,” she continued. “SEIU members understand that working people often feel the impact of war most deeply and bear the brunt of its terrible consequences.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/union-ceasefire
2023-12-28 Cease-Fire Now! What I Said to the UN Security Council Not many people have the opportunity to provide an oral and written statement to the United Nations Security Council. I had my chance on December 11, 2023, when I was asked as a retired U.S. Army colonel and a former U.S. diplomat to speak on weapons transfers in the Russia-Ukraine war. I introduced myself as a U.S. taxpayer who was fed up with my tax money being used by the powerful and wealthy U.S. arms industry authorized by the U.S. government for sale to countries that are killing innocent civilians.
My statement to the Security Council was simple. Wars will never end as long as weapons transfers into the conflict area continue. I noted, as the Security Council well knows, that civilians will be the primary victims of the transfer of weapons. I cited the two wars to which the U.S. is providing weapons: Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/un-security-council-cease-fire
2023-12-25 Israeli War Cabinet Meets to Consider Egyptian Proposal to End War in Gaza https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-dismantles-tunnel-network-that-served-as-hamas-command-center-51c017d4
2023-12-25 Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war and create transitional Palestinian government Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a cease-fire, a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said Monday.
The proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel’s professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel’s insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Israel’s War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Egyptian proposal was an ambitious bid not only to end the war but also to lay out a plan for the day after. It calls for an initial cease-fire of up to two weeks during which Palestinian militants would free 40 to 50 hostages, among them women, the sick and the elderly, in return for the release of 120-150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the Egyptian official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks.
At the same time, negotiations would continue on extending the cease-fire and the release of more hostages and bodies held by Palestinian militants, he said. Egypt and Qatar would also work with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to agree on the establishment of a government of experts, he said. The government would rule Gaza and the West Bank for a transitional period as Palestinian factions settle their disputes and agree on a roadmap to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, he added. In the meantime, Israel and Hamas would continue to negotiate a comprehensive “all-for-all” deal, he said. This would include the release of all remaining hostages in return for all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza and the Palestinian militants’ halting of rocket attacks into Israel. Close to 8,000 Palestinians are held by Israel on security-related charges or convictions, according to Palestinian figures. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/egypt-floats-plan-to-end-israel-hamas-war-and-create-transitional-palestinian-government/ar-AA1m0AHv?
2023-12-19All the Reasons Israelis and Palestinians Need a Cease-Fire in Gaza—Now! What follows is an issue by issue look at why a ceasefire is necessary to save innocent Palestinian lives, release Israeli hostages, prosecute the perpetrators of October 7, and follow international law. There is no military solution — this was true in Afghanistan and Iraq and it is true in Gaza. It is not possible to destroy Hamas militarily. Going to war against a small group of militants doesn’t work — with nearly 20,000 Palestinians killed, it still appears as of this writing that Israeli forces haven’t killed any top leaders of Hamas. Such military action only breeds greater resistance.
Hamas isn’t only made up of its military wing. It has a political wing that carries out Islamic education, social welfare, and other functions. And while its religious focus is not particularly popular, it is perceived by Palestinians across Gaza as the only Palestinian force standing up to Israeli occupation, apartheid, and the 17 years of siege Israel has imposed on Gaza since before October 7.
Destroying Hamas would require the destruction or expulsion of much of the population of Gaza (and even then, the group and its ideas would likely continue in exile). https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/cease-fire-in-gaza-now
The executive council of 1199SEIU, a union that represents more than 450,000 healthcare workers from five states and Washington, D.C., said all parties involved “must commit to negotiating a permanent, just resolution to this conflict which will enable Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and build a future.”
“1199SEIU calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, to allow for urgent humanitarian relief amid the collapse of the territory’s health and other infrastructure,” said the executive council. “International humanitarian law and the laws of war must be upheld without exception, which include the inviolability of healthcare facilities. War crimes committed by one side of the conflict cannot and do not serve as justification for crimes and breaches of the Geneva Conventions by the other.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/health-union-ceasefire
2023-12-09 Aid groups warn of starvation in Gaza after U.S. vetoes cease-fire call Palestinians in Gaza are facing mass starvation amid a punishing Israeli offensive that has “stripped families’ options for survival,” aid groups warned Saturday, a day after the United States vetoed a U.N. cease-fire resolution that the groups said would have facilitated the delivery of food and other emergency supplies.
The warnings over spreading hunger — from the United Nations, international aid agencies and Palestinian relief workers in Gaza — compounded fears for civilians already grappling with fierce fighting, heavy Israeli bombardment, the collapse of the health system and repeated displacement.
The draft resolution, backed by a majority of the U.N. Security Council, demanded an immediate halt to hostilities, the unconditional release of all hostages and humanitarian access in Gaza. The U.S. move to veto the resolution, which it called “rushed” and lacking in consultation, drew swift condemnation across the region, including from human rights groups, American partners in the Middle East and relief groups working in Gaza.
After the Security Council failed to “provide respite for civilians in Gaza,” London-based humanitarian organization Save the Children said in a statement Saturday that it has “continued to hear harrowing accounts of families going multiple days without food, shelter, water and access to healthcare.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/aid-groups-warn-of-starvation-in-gaza-after-u-s-vetoes-cease-fire-call/ar-AA1lgg1V
2023-12-08 ‘Disastrous’: US Vetoes Cease-Fire Resolution at UN Security Council “The Security Council was again prevented from rising to this moment to uphold its clear responsibilities in the face of this grave crisis threatening human lives and threatening regional and international peace and security,” said the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. Nicolas de Rivière, France’s permanent representative to the Security Council, who voted in favor of the cease-fire, argued that there is no “contradiction in the fight against terrorism and the protection of civilians, in strict respect of international humanitarian law.”
The U.S. has now vetoed U.N. resolutions to hold Israel accountable for its policies in Palestine 45 times, human rights lawyer Noura Erakat said. Former U.N. human rights official Craig Mokhiber—who resigned in October over the U.N.’s response to the war in Gaza—noted that U.S. blocked the resolution on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the U.N. Genocide Convention. https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-vetoes-cease-fire
2023-12-08 US vetoes UN resolution backed by many nations demanding immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Friday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Supporters called it a terrible day and warned of more civilian deaths and destruction as the war goes into its third month.
The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. The United States’ isolated stand reflected a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel’s monthslong bombardment of Gaza. France and Japan were among those supporting the call for a cease-fire. https://www.yahoo.com/news/un-chief-many-nations-demand-202238429.html
2023-12-08 Arab Leaders Push US to Support Gaza Cease-Fire as UN Vote Nears Arab leaders made a last-ditch effort to get the US on board with a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip hours before the United Nations Security Council planned to vote on the issue, as Israel pushed deeper into the south and alarm grew over a burgeoning humanitarian crisis.
US officials made clear they wouldn’t support a cease-fire, saying a halt to the fighting wouldn’t lead to a lasting peace. But they declined to say if the US would kill the cease-fire resolution by voting against. Instead, the US could abstain and allow the resolution to pass without Washington’s endorsement. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/arab-leaders-push-us-to-support-gaza-cease-fire-as-un-vote-nears/ar-AA1lcVIS
2023-12-05 “There Simply Is No Safe Place in Gaza”: Aid Groups Demand Ceasefire as Israel Intensifies Its War The World Health Organization is warning the crisis in Gaza is getting worse by the hour as Israel intensifies its ground and air assault across all parts of the Gaza Strip, including surrounding the Jabaliya refugee camp and bombing Khan Younis, where many had fled to from the north. With Israel’s attack killing close to 16,000 Palestinians, Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council describes the “hectic, chaotic, desperate” conditions on the ground and says she can barely get in touch with her colleagues in Gaza, let alone coordinate a humanitarian response to the destruction. “If they can’t get in touch with each other, our operations come to a standstill,” says Low. “We desperately need a ceasefire in order to be able to finally address these dire needs.” https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/5/no_safe_zones_in_gaza
2023-12-05 Humanitarian Groups Demand Ceasefire as Israel Intensifies Genocidal War on Gaza The World Health Organization is warning the crisis in Gaza is getting worse by the hour as Israel intensifies its ground and air assault across all parts of the Gaza Strip, including surrounding the Jabaliya refugee camp and bombing Khan Younis, where many had fled to from the north. With Israel’s attack killing close to 16,000 Palestinians, Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council describes the “hectic, chaotic, desperate” conditions on the ground and says she can barely get in touch with her colleagues in Gaza, let alone coordinate a humanitarian response to the destruction. “If they can’t get in touch with each other, our operations come to a standstill,” says Low. “We desperately need a ceasefire in order to be able to finally address these dire needs.”https://truthout.org/video/humanitarian-groups-demand-ceasefire-as-israel-intensifies-genocidal-war-on-gaza/
Fresh off historic contract victories, the United Auto Workers on Friday became the largest U.S. union to endorse a cease-fire in Gaza as Israel resumed its bombardment of the Palestinian territory following a weeklong pause. The UAW’s cease-fire call makes the 400,000-member union part of a growing segment of the American labor movement that is pushing for a negotiated end to the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, where U.S.-backed Israeli bombing has killed more than 15,000 people in less than two months. https://www.commondreams.org/news/uaw-cease-fire-gazahttps://www.commondreams.org/news/uaw-cease-fire-gaza
2023-11-30 International Trade Unions Urgently call for Ceasefire in Gaza amidst Ongoing Human Rights Violations Delegates at 31st World Congress of Public Services International (PSI) which took place in Geneva on October 14 – 18, 2023 took a strong and clear position when they voted to support Resolutions 48 The war in Israel and Palestine and 32 For a Free and Sovereign Palestine State. The resolutions are a call to action that reaffirm PSI’s affiliates’ commitment to justice, human rights, and the self-determination of all people. These resolutions follow the resolution on Palestinian solidarity: Support for the Boycott Disinvestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) passed at PSI’s 2012 global congress in Durban, South Africa. https://publicservices.international/resources/news/international-trade-unions-urgently-call-for-ceasefire-in-gaza-amidst-ongoing-human-rights-violationshttps://publicservices.international/resources/news/international-trade-unions-urgently-call-for-ceasefire-in-gaza-amidst-ongoing-human-rights-violations?
2023-11-25 Biden Fears That The Gaza Ceasefire Will Reveal The True Scale Of Carnage The White House is worried that the public will become more aware of facts and truth.
Politico describes the deal as “the administration’s biggest diplomatic victory of the conflict” and reports that White House officials are calling it a “vindication” of Biden’s decision making. Which is an entirely inappropriate level of verbal fellatio for an achievement as minimal as not murdering children for a few days.
“And there was some concern in the administration about an unintended consequence of the pause: that it would allow journalists broader access to Gaza and the opportunity to further illuminate the devastation there and turn public opinion on Israel,” Politico reports. https://progressivehub.net/biden-fears-that-the-gaza-ceasefire-will-reveal-the-true-scale-of-carnage/
2023-11-22 Detroit City Council passes ceasefire resolution In a strongly worded resolution, the City Council here called for an “immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire” to “protect and save human lives.” The action on Tuesday followed weeks of organizing, attending council meetings, phone-calling, and letter-writing by peace activists to pressure elected city council representatives. The resolution states that the Council “condemns all acts of violence aimed at Israeli and Palestinian civilians and mourns the loss of all civilian lives and hostages” and that the Council recognizes that “a lasting resolution can only be achieved by peaceful means and diplomacy.” It goes on to call for the release of hostages and unconditional passage of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Detroit’s ceasefire resolution comes on the heels of similar resolutions passed in Dearborn and Hamtramck. Those Michigan cities, along with Ypsilanti, are home to the largest Arab American population in the state. Detroit is the largest in a growing list of U.S. cities that have called for a ceasefire via city council resolution. Other cities which have passed ceasefire resolutions include Atlanta; Providence, Rhode Island; Akron, Ohio; Richmond, California; and Wilmington, Delaware.
Councilwoman Santiago-Romero explained that she is “focused on a solution,” and that is “the immediate cease-fire and release of all hostages, and allowing for the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.” The resolution, she said, is “calling that all parties work toward peace.” https://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/2023/11/detroit-city-council-passes-ceasefire.html
2023-11-21 Becca Balint, First Jewish Congressmember to Back Ceasefire, Expresses Support for Rashida Tlaib Dozens of members of Congress are now calling for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities in Israel and occupied Palestine. We speak to Democratic Congressmember Becca Balint of Vermont, the first Jewish member of Congress to join these calls. “The horrific violence has to stop. Hostages must be released. We have to end the suffering in Gaza. Palestinians and Israelis both deserve safety and security. And now more than ever, I believe that we need a true, negotiated ceasefire to get to a two-state solution,” Balint says of her position. We also discuss her friendship with fellow Democratic congressmember and the only Palestinian American in Congress, Rashida Tlaib. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/21/becca_balint_gaza_israel_ceasefire
2023-11-21 CeaseFire Congressional Status Ro Khanna is backing a ceasefire. 43 members of Congress are now calling for a ceasefire. Polls have shown 2/3 of Americans supporting a ceasefire, including ~75% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans. 8% of Congress (zero Republicans) now back a ceasefire.
2023-11-20 Merkley Just Second US Senator to Demand Gaza Cease-Fire U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley on Monday became just the second member of the Senate to demand a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, over six weeks into Israel’s brutal bombardment and ground operations that have killed over 13,000 Palestinians, including 5,500 children.
The Oregon Democrat’s move, which he explained in a lengthy post on Medium, follows a cease-fire call from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the number two Senate Democrat, earlier this month, and demands from a couple dozen Democratic House members.
Merkley, who first visited Israel in 1978, wrote that by his fifth visit earlier this year, “far-right extremists were now helping to drive Israeli government policy,” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having “formed a government with Bezalel Smotrich as minister of finance and Itamar Ben-Gvir as minister of national security.”
“Under such a government, attacks by Israel’s settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have become more frequent and violent, often condoned by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),” he pointed out. “Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (PA), which had worked closely with the IDF to prevent violence by Palestinians, was losing its legitimacy.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/jeff-merkley-gaza-ceasefire
2023-11-17 Health Care Workers Demand a Ceasefire in Gaza At dusk on November 3—hours after Israel bombed ambulances outside Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, killing 15 and injuring dozens more—a crowd of people in hospital scrubs, many draped with keffiyehs, gathered outside New York City Hall. Workers from across the city joined the rally, organized by the new national group Healthcare Workers for Palestine, to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation. They gathered to mourn the deaths, show solidarity, and make demands of their union leaders: protect us from retaliation for expressing our political views, and make a strong statement in support of Palestinians. https://labornotes.org/blogs/2023/11/health-care-workers-demand-ceasefire-gazahttps://labornotes.org/blogs/2023/11/health-care-workers-demand-ceasefire-gaza
2023-11-17 Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren demands Israel ‘stop the bombing now’ after being hounded by pro-Palestinian mob while eating dinner Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren called for Israel to cease bombing Gaza shortly after she was confronted by a pro-Palestine activist while out eating dinner with friends amid the ongoing conflict in Israel. A video showing the interaction was posted online by Jewish Voice for Peace Boston on November 10. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/democrat-senator-elizabeth-warren-demands-israel-stop-the-bombing-now-after-being-hounded-by-pro-palestinian-mob-while-eating-dinner/ar-AA1k5unX
Howard is the acting president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Local 59. On October 25, her chapter voted at a general membership meeting to pass a resolution urging an immediate cease-fire, rejecting violence against civilians on all sides and condemning “the role our government plays in supporting the system of Israeli occupation and apartheid, which lies at the root of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.” https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/labor-teachers-union-ceasefire-gaza-israel/https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/labor-teachers-union-ceasefire-gaza-israel/
2023-11-15 Rabbis for Ceasefire: Jewish Leaders Organize to Halt Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza We speak to Rabbi Alissa Wise, an organizer with Rabbis for Ceasefire and the founding co-chair of Jewish Voice for Peace’s Rabbinical Council, about Tuesday’s “March for Israel” in Washington, D.C., that was covered widely by the mainstream media and platformed antisemitic Christian Zionists. Wise sees a deep connection between Jewish religious principles and anti-Zionist activism and says accusations that anti-Zionists are antisemitic are a cynical strategy used to “shield Israel from accountability.” She says Israel cannot be uniquely exempt from political and humanitarian critique. “Israel is not a Jewish person. Israel is a state. God forbid we should not be able to cry out when states are committing horrific genocidal violence in the name of Jewish people.” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpOOaC_HxOo
2023-11-15 AOC Leads New Cease-Fire Push as Gaza Children Suffer Twenty-four House members led by Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, and Betty McCollum sent a letter to President Joe Biden Wednesday renewing calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The letter writers emphasized in particular how Israel’s ongoing bombardment has impacted Gaza’s 1 million children. The attack has killed 4,506 children and injured at least 7,695, while at least 1,755 are missing, most likely trapped beneath rubble. Israeli soldiers and settlers have also killed at least 51 children in the West Bank in the last 39 days.
“We are profoundly shocked by the grave violations of children’s rights in the context of armed conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the representatives wrote. “International norms require that all parties to an armed conflict protect children and prevent the commission of grave violations against them, including killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, recruitment and use of children, abduction of children, and denial of humanitarian access.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-cease-fire-gaza-children
2023-11-13 Largest US Medical Lobbying Group Shuts Down Resolution to Back Cease-Fire in Gaza The AMA has a responsibility to uphold the well-being of healthcare workers and minimize human suffering, and it is clear that these values are not being upheld,” said Healthcare Workers for Palestine.
“Shame on the American Medical Association.” That was one American nurse’s response to the news on Sunday that the powerful medical lobbying organization had shut down members’ call for a public statement that would declare the AMA’s support for “a cease-fire in Israel and Palestine in order to protect civilian lives and healthcare personnel.”
Since the finalization of the statement and the meeting, MedPage Todayreported, at least 60 medical workers had been killed by Israel’s bombardment, which targeted at least six hospitals in that period. In recent weeks, doctors and nurses who have refused to leave their posts despite the repeated airstrikes and Israel’s ground attacks have resorted to performing Caesarean sections on pregnant women and other major surgeries without anesthesia, have been unable to properly sterilize medical instruments, and have been buying laundry detergent and vinegar to clean wounds due to the lack of supplies and electricity.
Despite the fact that Israel’s onslaught has seriously endangered doctors and nurses and left them unable to perform their duties, the AMA’s Resolution Committee recommended the statement not be reconsidered and said it did not meet the organization’s criteria for speaking out about an issue affecting the healthcare community. https://www.commondreams.org/news/ama-ceasefire-resolutionhttps://www.commondreams.org/news/ama-ceasefire-resolution
2023-11-12 ‘We Are Being Killed Here, Please Do Something’: Nurses and Doctors Plead for Gaza Cease-Fire “We are nearly sure that we are alone now,” said a Doctors Without Borders surgeon at Gaza’s largest hospital. “No one hears us.” “We are being killed here, please do something,” the nurse wrote. “The shelling is so close, my kids are crying and screaming in fear.”
Doctors and nurses in the Gaza Strip issued urgent pleas for a cease-fire as Israeli forces encircled and attacked the territory’s largest hospital, trapping thousands of displaced people and threatening the lives of medical workers and patients. One Doctors Without Borders nurse texted his colleagues from the basement of al-Shifa Hospital early Saturday, writing that “four or five families”—including his own—were sheltering there amid heavy bombardment and fighting around the facility. https://www.commondreams.org/news/doctors-nurses-gaza-cease-firehttps://www.commondreams.org/news/doctors-nurses-gaza-cease-fire
2023-11-12 Only Israeli military failure will stop the genocide in Gaza Thus far, Israel has imposed a comprehensive siege on the Gaza Strip, depriving an entire society of all essential supplies except oxygen; razed entire towns and neighborhoods to the ground; and in the space of one month, killed more than 10,000 people and wounded perhaps three times that number, more than a third of them children.
It has done so as part of a bombing campaign that demonstrably has no legitimate military purpose or objective, and whose transparent purpose is terror, revenge, physical destruction, and the punishment of an entire society. Nor has the bombing campaign degraded the military capabilities of the Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip in any meaningful way. By its own count, Israel has killed more UN employees than Palestinian military commanders.
If the volume of Palestinian death, destruction, and suffering indeed played a role in the calculations of Western governments, it would have already done so. It hasn’t, and independently of other developments, it won’t. As Israeli forces directly and repeatedly shell schools, hospitals, refugee columns, UN facilities, self-proclaimed safe zones, and all forms of civilian infrastructure, most Western governments continue to proudly stand in full solidarity with Israel’s government. Pope Francis is virtually the only Western leader who hasn’t made the pilgrimage to Netanyahu. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/11/only-israeli-military-failure-will-stop-the-genocide-in-gaza/
2023-11-10 Global Cease-Fire Call Grows as Israel Wages ‘War Against Hospitals’ in Gaza “Children in Gaza are hanging by a thread,” said a UNICEF director, calling for attacks on healthcare facilities to stop immediately and the urgent delivery of supplies to hospitals. As Israeli forces waged what al-Shifa’s director described as a “war against hospitals” in Gaza on Friday, United Nations officials, human rights groups, and doctors demanded the protection of medical facilities and renewed calls for a cease-fire.
“Half of the Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary healthcare centers are not functioning at all,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the U.N. Security Council. “Those that are functioning are operating way beyond their capacities. The health system is on its knees, and yet somehow is continuing to deliver some lifesaving care.”
Since the Hamas-led attack on October 7 that killed around 1,200 Israelis, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) assault of Gaza has devastated civilian infrastructure, displaced about 70% of the strip’s 2.3 million residents—about half of whom are children—and killed over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,500 children. Tens of thousands more are injured or missing. https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-bombs-hospital-in-gaza
They can’t go on like this. No one in Gaza can go on like this. We need an immediate ceasefire.https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/why-us-must-support-immediate-ceasefire-gaza
2023-11-09 ‘No Possibility’ of Gaza Cease-Fire, Biden Says as 500+ Former Staffers Demand One “As the president of the United States, you have power to change the course of history, and the responsibility to save lives right now,” the staffers wrote.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that there is “no possibility” of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, a remark that came as hundreds of his former 2020 campaign staffers released an open letter urging him to support a cease-fire or be complicit in genocide. Asked about the chances of a cease-fire in Gaza as he left the White House for a trip to Illinois, the president responded, “None.”
Biden said he has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a “pause” of longer than three days, but Netanyahu has thus far refused. Earlier Thursday, the White House announced that Israel has agreed to allow daily four-hour pauses in parts of northern Gaza, which is currently encircled by Israeli troops. https://www.commondreams.org/news/no-possibility-of-gaza-cease-fire-biden-says-as-500-former-staffers-demand-one
The American Postal Workers Union on Wednesday became the largest U.S. union to call for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, joining a growing labor movement mobilization against Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave.
Leaders of the APWU, which represents more than 200,000 U.S. Postal Service employees and close to 2,000 mail workers in the private sector, said in a statement that their union is “shocked and saddened by the tragic and ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/postal-workers-gaza-cease-fire
2023-11-08 Hillary Clinton: Israel, Palestinians Need New Leadership for Peace “I think there needs to be new leadership of the Israelis and the Palestinians in order to have any chance at some kind of peace deal, especially a two-state solution.” Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talks about the Israel-Hamas war. She speaks with John Micklethwait via video conference for the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. (Excerpt)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iorNGSeazk
2023-10-28 San Francisco protest calling for ceasefire in Gaza shuts down US 101 Central Freeway A large group of several thousand protesters marched up to the Central Freeway in San Francisco around 4 p.m., stopping Saturday afternoon traffic for about an hour, while calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The recent deadly conflict is entering a fourth week of massive death counts, endless bombardments and international furor. The protest started earlier in the day at 1 p.m. at the Embarcadero. It was sponsored by a coalition of organizations, including the Arab Resources and Organizing Center, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Jewish Voice for Peace – Bay Area. The rally and march lasted several hours. https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/10/28/san-francisco-protest-calling-for-ceasefire-in-gaza-shuts-down-us-101-central-freeway/?
2023-10-26 Amnesty Demands Immediate Cease-Fire in Gaza as Israel Readies ‘Cataclysmic’ Invasion Amnesty International on Thursday became the latest human rights group to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, imploring all nations to demand an end to the deadly violence as Israel launched raids in the northern part of the Palestinian territory and continued bombing ahead of an expected ground invasion.
In a statement, Amnesty warned an invasion could have “cataclysmic consequences for Gaza’s civilians,” who are already suffering an appalling humanitarian crisis with no end in sight as Israel restricts the amount and kind of aid allowed to reach the enclave. https://www.commondreams.org/news/amnesty-cease-fire-gaza
2023-10-20 The Case for a Ceasefire It is beyond our power to bring back those innocents whose lives have already been lost, but we can work to prevent the calamity that will surely follow if Israel continues to retaliate as it has so far. We have each been disappointed by the reaction of many who identify as progressives in recent days. First and foremost, there is the leadership of the Democratic Party, which has offered unqualified support for the Israeli military response. Though we can’t say we are surprised by this, the abandonment of Palestinian civilians to their fate under the rubble strikes us as a profound betrayal by a party that had been moving, albeit very slowly, in the right direction.
The activist left did not rise to the occasion either. Some organizations of the American left, as well as prominent writers and thinkers, have made unaffordable errors in promoting rallies sponsored by the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER coalition, and playing defense for indiscriminate violence perpetrated by Hamas, including the taking of civilian hostages. These actions only set back the cause of Palestinian liberation. A serious and moral struggle for Palestinian rights must be rooted in a simple fact: Arab Palestinians and Jewish Israelis will continue to live together in the land between the river and the sea, and all are entitled to freedom, dignity, and equality.
Where, then, should the left go from here? We are clearly outnumbered in Washington. But we are not voiceless. There are a few honorable members of Congress who have been calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages. A senior State Department official has already resigned in protest of the administration’s total support for the Israeli military response amid low morale and growing dissent in Foggy Bottom. Rep. Ro Khanna’s political director publicly resigned after the congressman refused to support a ceasefire. A letter signed by Jewish and Muslim staffers on Capitol Hill demands equal recognition of Palestinian humanity. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-case-for-a-ceasefire/
2023-10-20 Demand a Cease-Fire in Gaza – Shir Hever pt 1 Israeli-born political economist Shir Hever joins host Paul Jay to discuss the urgent need for a cease-fire, humanitarian aid, and a negotiated end to what’s becoming a genocide. https://theanalysis.news/demand-a-cease-fire-in-gaza-shir-hever/
2023-10-20 Israeli Journalist Amira Hass, Daughter of Holocaust Survivors, Calls for Gaza Ceasefire Now legendary Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who has reported from the occupied West Bank and Gaza for over 30 years, she discusses attending Wednesday’s historic protest in Washington, D.C., led by American Jewish groups, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the events leading up to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the ongoing hostage situation, and what could come next. “How can they say Israel is not responsible?” asks Hass, who says the government has continued its policy of apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians despite decades of international pressure to end the conflict. “Israel did everything possible to foil the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.”https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/20/israeli_journalist_amira_hass_daughter_of
2023-10-19 Hundreds of US Congressional Staffers Sign Open Letter Demanding Gaza Cease-Fire Citing the “catastrophic suffering” inflicted upon the people of Gaza by Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Palestinian territory, hundreds of Muslim and Jewish U.S. congressional staffers on Thursday signed an open letter urging lawmakers to demand a cease-fire as the war approaches the two-week mark.
“We feel compelled to raise our voices in this moment,” the staffers wrote. “Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians—half of whom are children—in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world. This is especially urgent with antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide, which instigated the brutal murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child, Wadea Al-Fayoume.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/congressional-staffers-letter
2023-10-19 U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Calling for “Humanitarian Pause” of Gaza Assault The United States has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian pause to Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip and its 2.3 million inhabitants. The resolution, sponsored by Brazil, called for full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for U.N. agencies to deliver lifesaving aid to the besieged territory. It included a condemnation of Hamas’s attacks on Israel and demanded “the immediate and unconditional release” of hostages. On Wednesday, 12 of the Security Council’s 15 members voted in favor of a humanitarian pause in Gaza; Russia and the U.K. abstained; while the United States used its privilege as a permanent member of the Security Council to exercise its veto. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/19/headlines/gaza_death_toll_nears_3_800_as_israels_siege_and_bombardment_enters_13th_day
2023-10-18 “Stop the War”: Israeli Peace Activist Whose Parents Were Killed in Hamas Attack Calls for Ceasefire We speak with Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon, whose parents Bilha and Yakovi Inon were killed in the surprise attack by Hamas militants on October 7 that killed over 1,300 people in Israel. He wants the war to end. “Let’s call for peace. Let’s call for hope. Let’s call for a complete ceasefire. Let’s call for building bridges,” says Inon. “We must build the future, and this future must be based on equality, on partnership, on peace.” https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/18/israeli_peace_activist_parents_killed
2023-10-17 Congressional Ceasefire Statement These 7 signed the Ceasefire statement Barbara Lee (CA-12), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), and Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04)
“We remain outraged by the horrific terror attacks carried out by Hamas against Israeli civilians. We are also deeply alarmed by the rising civilian death toll in both Israel and Gaza, including nearly 1,400 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians. This is a moment that calls for moral and strategic clarity. That is why we believe that the United States must help achieve an immediate ceasefire, or at minimum, a temporary cessation of all hostilities that stops the threats to civilians in Israel and Gaza.
“Let us be clear: our call for a ceasefire should not be mistaken as a lack of support for the protection of the people of Israel. To the contrary, it is because of our dedication to the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians that we seek a path forward without further escalating the toll of civilian dead and injured.
“A cessation of hostilities will allow for the negotiation of the immediate and safe return of all hostages, including Americans, and the delivery of essential humanitarian aid under international auspices. Hamas can and must be stopped and the security of Israel must be guaranteed without the killing of thousands more Palestinian and Israeli civilians. There is a different path. In this devastating time, the United States must lead the way forward.”2023-10-16 Ceasefire Now Resolution urges support for an end to violence in Israel and Occupied Palestine. Today, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), André Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) announced a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible. A copy of this resolution can be found HERE. https://bush.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-bush-tlaib-carson-lee-ramirez-lead-colleagues-in-call-for-immediate-ceasefire
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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
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