“The goal of our struggle was not only to achieve a ceasefire – the main goal is to be free from occupation, from ethnic cleansing, and from the system of apartheid”
Mustafa Barghouti
Labour Outlook’s Sam Browse reports back from the Arise Festival and Labour & Palestine briefing with prominent Palestinian politician and activist Mustafa Barghouti on the ceasefire, Trump and renewing international solidarity with Palestine.
This evening, hundreds joined a call with the Palestinian activist Mustafa Barghouti to discuss ‘Palestine: the struggle for justice in 2025’.
Barghouti began by noting the dramatic images of those returning to their homes in Gaza: ‘this image of 100s of 1000s of people going back sent a powerful message that they have failed to destroy the Palestinian resistance; they have failed to take control of the Gaza strip; they have failed to take back Israeli prisoners without exchange; and they have failed in their attempts at ethnic cleansing’.
He warned, however, that ‘the next stage is very important. What we have now is a ceasefire, not the end of the war… that’s why it’s important to continue the pressure on the Israeli government which must include the end of the war – without that, the risk of losing more lives is still there.’
‘That’s why we must do everything we can to maintain the ceasefire and make sure the war doesn’t happen again.’
He pointed particularly to the ongoing attacks in the West Bank, particularly around Jenine, Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.
‘The amount of land that was confiscated by Israel since October 7th is larger than all the land confiscated in the last 20 years… They have created 50 new settlements.’
‘Israel has imposed 900 military checkpoints across the Westbank… Practically, Israel is imposing a situation where it is paralysing the whole social and economic life, and health provision in the West Bank.’
‘The law that bans the work of UNRWA is also a very dangerous matter because it could mean the complete paralysis of all support to communities in the Westbank and in Gaza. Their services are essential, so shutting them down or blocking their work will have a very serious impact on Palestinian life’.
Putting these attacks in context, he said, ‘what we are facing here is not only repression, and not only apartheid; it is a settler colonial project’ and highlighted the two main risks facing the Palestinian people, ‘the risk of ethnic cleansing and the risk of annexing the West Bank’.
He also emphasised Donald Trump’s role in the situation, including his recent remarks on what should happen next in Gaza: ‘I think we should be clear about this; things should be described as they are. What President Trump is describing is a war crime, and by such a statement he is preparing himself to be described as a war criminal.’
However, he issued a message of defiance: ‘What Israel has failed to achieve by force, Mr Trump cannot achieve by political manoeuvres.’
Of the British Government, he said ‘we need more protests; we need the British Government to say clearly and openly that they are against the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and that they oppose Trump’s plan’.
Key to that should be arguing for the self-determination of the Palestinian people. ‘The big question we are getting now’ he said, ‘is who should govern Gaza? It really is strange; it is not enough that we are already under Israeli occupation; they now want to impose another occupation.’
‘It is strange that they speak as if we, the people of Palestine, are unable to govern ourselves. We are entitled to choose our leaders in a democratic, free way.’
‘Some other countries are trying to use the need for reconstruction to impose certain political conditions on us, and that’s something we should never accept and would never accept.’
Looking to the future and what happens next, Barghouti was clear: ‘The goal of our struggle was not only to achieve a ceasefire – the main goal is to be free from occupation, from ethnic cleansing, and from the system of apartheid. Even if the war were over in Gaza, the struggle will continue, because we want to be free’.
So, let’s continue to join the demonstrations, and campaign against ethnic cleansing and the annexation of the West Bank – and for a free Palestine!
- Mustafa Barghouti is a Palestinian physician, activist, & politician who serves as General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI). He has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council since 2006 and is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council. In 2007, he was Minister of Information in the Palestinian unity government.
- You can watch Palestine: The Struggle for Justice in 2025 here.
