In 2023, we issued a statement condemning the rising toll of violence in Israel and Palestine and called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Since then, we have watched in horror as Israeli forces have killed at least 40,000 Palestinians in a campaign that the International Court of Justice has ruled amounts to a “plausible” risk of genocide, as well as expanding attacks to the wider region.
While we have been pleased to see the tentative agreement of a phased ceasefire, we continue to call for a permanent ceasefire and an end to arms trade with Israel. We support local peacebuilders’ demands for international justice, humanitarian support, and an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
We are disappointed by the response of international governments. In May 2024, our Local Peacebuilding Expert asked: ‘are human rights really universal?’, and the answer of many Western governments seems to be a resounding ‘no’. We call on our supporters to resist all dehumanising language and actions. And we remain alongside with those in Palestine, Israel and around the world trying to build peace in their communities. These are the voices to whom the world should be listening.
Peace Direct takes the lead from local contacts in Palestine, Lebanon and the region who tell us it is not possible to have true local “peacebuilding” in a context of such injustice and unaccountability. Nor should the cause of peacebuilding be used to normalise occupation. They ask how it can operate in a scenario of ongoing colonial occupation, or when Palestinians and Lebanese people are continually dehumanised by western governments and international media.
While we push for government action, we see hope in the NGO campaigns, student protests, boycott movements and resistance to the arms trade. Grounded in the universality of human rights and desire for peace for all, these protests are reminders of the power of both individual people and collective movements. They are all vital forms of local peacebuilding.