We see today moving scenes from Gaza of Palestinians celebrating another ceasefire announcement – the second this year. The promise of a reprieve from the daily bombardment of the Israeli army elicits jubilation. Just to sleep at night without fear of being bombed is something Gazans have been denied for two long years of genocide.
A ceasefire deal has been brokered by the Trump regime, with the backing of the regional powers. This fiendish narcissist, who, like his predecessor, is responsible for carnage in Gaza, is eager to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – for which the Israeli Prime Minister sickeningly nominated him. Unsurprisingly, Israel has continued its bombardment of Gaza right up until the ratification of the ceasefire, with 11 killed and 49 wounded in the last 24 hours.
Trump’s proposed rotten deal
The first part of this deal will involve the handing over of the remaining Israeli hostages within 72 hours, and a partial withdrawal of the Israeli Occupying Forces from some areas it militarily holds in Gaza.
Overall, Trump’s initial proposed deal is a rotten one. Palestinian fighters from Hamas and other groups, who over the last two years have courageously resisted the invasion of the Strip by the world’s fourth largest military (and one of the best resourced with high-tech weaponry), are expected to hand over their weapons. At the same time, the flow of arms to the genocidal Zionist State, which has bombed at least five other states in the past month, will continue unabated.
The only timeline given in the deal is for the release of Israeli hostages. No such guarantees will be given for the release of the 10,000 Palestinian hostages languishing under a regime of torture in the Israeli prison system.
If Trump gets his way, Gaza will be ruled by an imperial and grotesquely named “Board of Peace”, with Trump himself as chair, and including arch war criminal Tony Blair. The Palestinian people will have no say in the running of the Strip.
There is nothing offered about Palestinian self-determination. There is no mention of the West Bank whatsoever. The 20-point plan gives only the vaguest of promises:
“While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
Of course, Israel and the United States will be the adjudicators of whether these ‘conditions’ are in place, which will mean that even the most limited form of Palestinian statehood will never be on the agenda.
Many of these parts of the Trump proposal are simply just that—they are proposals that, in many parts, are simply unacceptable to Hamas. He is now hoping that the announcement of the ceasefire can put pressure on Netanyahu, who will try to do everything to break the agreement and end the ceasefire as soon as possible.
Historic solidarity movement
The ceasefire comes in the wake of massive mobilisations against the genocide across the world – a historic movement in solidarity in Palestine. Tens of millions have marched in cities and towns globally.
In the last weeks, Italian workers have engaged in two general strikes. Last Sunday, 250,000 people marched in Amsterdam, which is 30% of the city’s population. Palestinian academic, Mouin Rabbani, spoke of the historic nature of this demonstration on X and the shift it represents in the consciousness of ordinary Dutch people:
“I grew up in The Netherlands. During my youth it was easily the most pro-Israeli country in Europe. So pro-Israeli that visiting Palestinians would say it was easier to reason with Israelis than the Dutch about the Middle East.
…a demonstration one-tenth this size would have been inconceivable in The Netherlands. It would also have been largely populated by Arab and Muslim immigrants.
Yet on Sunday, as confirmed by the police, a quarter of a million Dutch citizens, of all backgrounds, of all stripes and colours, turned out to draw a “Red Line” against the Gaza Genocide.”
Along with the courageous actions of those who participated in the recent flotillas, this has mounted significant pressure on imperialist governments. Polls in the US show a massive decline in support for the Israeli State, especially among young people and notably among Jews.
Step up the pressure
Palestinian activist in Ireland, Zak Hania, summed up the situation:
“We, the Palestinian people, know all too well this regime’s pattern of betrayal – its repeated breaking of pledges and refusal to honour any agreement. This entity was founded on our blood and has sustained itself through massacres and terror. We welcome any immediate halt to the killing, but we will not be fooled or lulled into trust. A pause in the bloodshed does not end the crime. Our struggle will continue until every perpetrator is brought to justice, and this apartheid, genocidal regime is dismantled. We will not rest. We will not relent. We will see justice done.”
In the coming weeks, we must continue to put pressure on the states and companies complicit in the genocide. We need to follow the example of the Italian workers and organise industrial action and walkouts in schools and colleges. We must “block everything with Palestine in our hearts”.
What has happened in the past two years is a crime that will be remembered for generations to come, not just by Palestinians, but by the working class and young people who have stood with them in the face of this horror.
It has exposed the rotten nature of the Zionist settler colonial state. No justice for the Palestinians will come as long as it remains in existence – it must be smashed. This state is part of the edifice of exploitation and oppression that capitalism and imperialism have built in this region and beyond.
This system too must be gotten rid of. There is an urgent need to build a powerful, revolutionary socialist force that organises for the change we need.
