Gaza ceasefire: desperately needed, but lasting peace requires more

11.11.11 Welcomes the announced ceasefire in Gaza. It's about time. Amidst the dust, rubble, and human loss, there's finally a prospect of an end to the genocidal violence. Hostages can return home. Humanitarian aid can resume. The importance of this is enormous. But let's make no mistake: this is not a victory. This is what should have happened all along.

The outlines of this agreement had been on the table for two years. What's possible today was just as possible yesterday. The international community—and the United States at the forefront—had the power from the outset to stop the bloodshed. They chose not to. That's not a tragic mistake. It's a systemic, moral failure.

What happened in Gaza, and is still happening, is the systematic destruction of a people. As long as Israel can violate international law with impunity, does this ceasefire remain a guarantee for new violence?True peace and an end to the occupation seem far off. This ceasefire must not be a stepping stone to a permanent occupation of Gaza. The Trump plan offers no prospect of that. Sustainable peace requires more: she calls for strong international pressure, sanctions, breaking the cycle of impunity and restoring the international rule of law.

The alternative? A world that repeatedly watches new acts of occupation and bloodshed—and thus remains complicit.