Make the pause permanent.
Justice for Palestine.
The good news this morning is that Hamas and Netanyahu have come to an agreement on a five day truce and an exchange of prisoners.
You can read the details elsewhere.
But the bad news for the Palestinians is that a truce is not peace and an exchange of captives is not justice.
Worse, Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that any deal would not even mean the end of the war.
Meanwhile the leaders of BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – have called for an “immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza.
In his opening statement at their meeting, the current BRICS chair, President Ramaphosa of South Africa, said that Israel’s actions “are in clear violation of international law” and that the “collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by Israel “is a war crime … tantamount to genocide”. Ramaphosa also said Hamas had “violated international law and must be held accountable”.
Since Israel began its war on Gaza millions of people around the world have protested and demonstrated for justice for Palestine and a ceasefire.
As much as the media and the uncritical defenders of Israel have tried to suppress the peace movement and paint peace advocates as anti-semites, the peace movement has only grown.
The anti-semite slur has been contradicted as many Jews (including me) have taken to the streets and halls of Congress to demand a ceasefire.
Joe Biden, whose administration has continued the policy of supplying billions in weapons to Israel, must change his support for Netanyahu and press to make peace permanent.