Immediate ceasefire and lasting peace in Palestine and Lebanon!

We call for an immediate ceasefire and building lasting peace in Palestine and Lebanon

Since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, Israel has responded with completely disproportionate use of force that goes beyond self-defence. Israel and the actors it fights, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, have created a large humanitarian crisis, and are constantly escalating the conflict. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided in their court ruling on 19 July 2024[1] that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, beginning in 1967 and continuing to this day, is illegal and against the Geneva Convention and needs to stop. They also ruled Israel needs to pay reparations for the losses of land and property of all Palestinians or their descendants. It has come to a point where the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants[2] on 20 May 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, for their respective war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Military domination will not manage to destroy Hamas and Hezbollah, will not release the Israeli hostages in Gaza, and will not create a lasting peace. The only solution forward is to create a ceasefire agreement, respect it, and use it to negotiate and build a lasting peace. Hamas has already accepted a ceasefire agreement in May this year[3]. Hezbollah has also called for a ceasefire[4]. Now it is Israel that needs to agree to it. All parties must lay the foundations for lasting peace, aided by the United Nations and the international community.

Therefore, we as Global Young Greens,

  • Condemn the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on 7th October 2023;
  • Condemn Israel’s disproportionate attack on Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, the targeting of civilians, and United Nations and NGO humanitarian staff;
  • Condemn Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians, personnel and assets engaged in humanitarian assistance, hospitals and medical personnel, first aid responders, journalists, denial of humanitarian relief, and torture and sexual violence against detainees, all of which are prohibited under international law;
  • Ask for the Israeli government and Iran to accept ceasefire agreements immediately. Hamas and Hezbollah have already made steps towards ceasefires;
  • Ask for all countries to support the International Court of Justice’s case on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, as proposed by South Africa;
  • Request that all countries immediately cease delivering arms to any of the belligerent parties in this conflict, e.g., Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran;
  • Support strengthening the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and expanding the mandate of the latter to help create and protect the peace in the region;
  • Urge for international sanctions against central actors in the Israeli army and government that commit war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
  • Support the arrest warrant of the International Court of Justice on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, and the remaining Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, published on 20 May 2024[5];
  • Call for international humanitarian support to Gaza, Lebanon, and refugees outside these countries.
  • Call for supporting refugees fleeing the conflict with all means necessary, providing safe passageways from conflict zones and to safe areas and countries.
  • Call for an immediate end to police violence and state oppression in forms such as, but not limited to, deprivation of legal rights against racialised activists, Palestinians, Lebanese, and Jewish people around the world.
  • Call for immediate halting of the ground invasion and retreat of the Israeli army from Gaza and Lebanon.
  • Supports the International Court of Justice ruling on compensation for all property and land Palestinians have lost since 1967.
  • Urge for the end of illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, or any other land that does not constitute the State of Israel as of the 1967 borders, and for the evacuation of all current illegal settlements.
  • Call for a two-state solution, with the independent countries of Palestine and Israel, based on the 1967 borders, or for full equal rights for all Palestinians and Israelis in a single state.

[1] Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 | INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE. https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176. Accessed 12 October 2024. 

[2] Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine, International Criminal Court, 20 May 2024, https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state. Accessed 12 October 2024.

[3] Ebrahim, Nadeen. «Hamas Has Offered a Ceasefire Deal. Here’s Why That Won’t Bring an Immediate End to the War in Gaza». CNN, 6 May 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/06/middleeast/hamas-ceasefire-offer-gaza-war-mime-intl/index.html.

[4] Lawati, Abbas Al. «Hezbollah Publicly Endorses Lebanon Ceasefire Efforts for the First Time as Israel Ramps up Offensive». CNN, 8 October 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/middleeast/hezbollah-endorses-lebanon-ceasefire-first-time-israel-war-intl/index.html.

[5] International Criminal Court, op. cit., 20 May 2024, https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state. Accessed 12 October 2024.

References

Ebrahim, Nadeen. «Hamas Has Offered a Ceasefire Deal. Here’s Why That Won’t Bring an Immediate End to the War in Gaza». CNN, 6 de maio de 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/06/middleeast/hamas-ceasefire-offer-gaza-war-mime-intl/index.html.

Lawati, Abbas Al. «Hezbollah Publicly Endorses Lebanon Ceasefire Efforts for the First Time as Israel Ramps up Offensive». CNN, 8 de outubro de 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/middleeast/hezbollah-endorses-lebanon-ceasefire-first-time-israel-war-intl/index.html.

«Palestina må avkolonialiseres». “Palestine Must Be Decolonised”. Green Party Norway (MDG), (In Norwegian) https://mdg.no/politikk/resolusjoner/vedtak/ls24-palestina-avkolonialiseres. Accessed 16 October 2024.

Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 | INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE. https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176. Accessed 12 October 2024.

«Verdenssamfunnet må gripe inn i Midtøsten». “The World Community Needs to Act in the Middle East”. Green Party Norway (MDG), (In Norwegian) https://mdg.no/politikk/resolusjoner/vedtak/ls24-libanon-israel. Accessed 16 October 2024.

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