“Our response to a ceasefire in Gaza must be to build support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions to weaken Israeli apartheid by ending British state, institutional and corporate complicity.”
By Peter Leary, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The announcement of a ceasefire deal has been greeted by Palestinians as a moment of relief. If it holds, more than fifteen months of Israel’s genocidal assault may finally be ending. The violence must stop now. On Wednesday – the very day that the agreement was announced – Israel killed more than 80 Palestinians, 30 of them after the announcement. Many more could be killed in the coming days. Amidst feelings of hope and joy tinged with fear, grief and immense sadness, we must take inspiration from the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. After more than a year of scarcely describable barbarity, this must be a moment to renew our commitment to the ongoing struggle for justice and freedom for Palestine.
For 467 days, Israel has rained destruction on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip. Homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure has been obliterated. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands have been killed as the world looked on in horror. Almost the entire population of Gaza has been violently displaced, in many cases multiple times. Refugee camps and so-called ‘safe zones’ have been targeted, Palestinian captives have been raped and tortured, children have been decapitated, and hospital patients sheltering in tents have been burnt alive by Israel.
Throughout those fifteen months, we have marched in unprecedented numbers calling for a ceasefire and an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s crimes including through the ongoing sale of weapons. We have faced down those who tried to falsely demonise our marches to build one of the largest and most sustained protest movements since the struggle for women’s suffrage and possibly since Chartism. Across the globe, many millions of people have done the same.
Almost a year ago, in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judged the case brought by South Africa against Israel for genocide to be plausible, and in July the ICJ further ruled Israel’s occupation and settlements to be unlawful and found Israel guilty of violating the international prohibition on apartheid. In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is a moment of hope, but it must not be a moment when apartheid Israel starts to try to rehabilitate itself.
History did not begin on 7 October 2023. It will not end with a ceasefire. The genocide in Gaza is rooted in decades of oppression – ethnic cleansing, settler-colonisation, military occupation and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Shamefully, a handful of western governments including Britain and the USA continue to shield Israel from accountability for these crimes. We must continue our campaigning until Israel’s system of oppression is dismantled.
This will not change without ongoing massive international pressure. Our response to a ceasefire in Gaza must be to build support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions to weaken Israeli apartheid by ending British state, institutional and corporate complicity. Across the country, campaigners are pushing local authorities to disinvest their pension funds from companies linked to Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights and international law. Just this week, Bristol City Council voted overwhelmingly to call for the divestment of any council funds from arms companies supplying Israel, and companies doing business in Israel’s illegal settlements. We need to build this kind of solidarity with Palestine in all of our communities, trade unions, political parties and university campuses.
Ahead of Sunday – when the ceasefire is due to take effect – we will be taking to the streets of London tomorrow in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Join us at 12 noon on Whitehall on Saturday 18 January as we demand an immediate end to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Palestinians, a permanent ceasefire, and an end to all arms sales to Israel.
- Join the Protest for Palestine this Saturday (January 18) at Whitehall at noon.
- Peter Leary is Deputy Director of Campaigns at Palestine Solidarity Campaign – you can follow him on x/twitter and follow PSC on x/twitter, facebook and instagram.
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