What was not achieved in fifteen months materialized within just a few hours. Last Wednesday, Qatar's prime minister and minister of foreign affairs announced a ceasefire agreement that began on Sunday. After an excruciatingly long wait, this marks the beginning of ending the bloodshed and offers the besieged Palestinian people a moment to catch their breath and heal their wounds.
Understanding the full implications of what has happened to the Palestinians in these few months may take years. Over the course of 469 days, our Palestinian people demonstrated incomparable resilience, enduring catastrophic and inhumane conditions before the eyes of the whole world.
The world bore witness to Israel's genocidal policies and the actions of the occupation. To the Palestinian people, it matters little whether this achievement is credited to the outgoing or incoming American administration. Both President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have witnessed and been complicit in the atrocities. Although President Biden made a last-minute attempt to claim this effort and President-elect Trump may seek to adopt it, what truly matters now is Israel's adherence to the truce terms and its continuity.
The Palestinian people remain cautious. It is important that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of the truce is not viewed as a general amnesty for him and his partners in crime. Instead, this moment should compel the international community to implement the decisions of the International Criminal Court and hold all perpetrators accountable.
Speaking of the day after the war, efforts to create transitional entities as alternatives to Palestinian legitimacy will undoubtedly be rejected by all factions of the Palestinian people. Success will depend on productive political dialogue between Palestinian factions and the formulation of a unified national vision that transcends narrow partisan interests. This is vital in addressing the challenges posed by the agreement, particularly in its second and third phases.
These stages will tackle complicated issues such as the governance of the Gaza Strip, Israel’s attempts to deepen the separation between Gaza and the West Bank, and efforts to undermine the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. We must stand by the efforts of all parties to stop the genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip.
The international community must double down on its support to meet the urgent humanitarian needs caused by Israel’s inhumane aggression against the Palestinians. Most importantly, the international community must work toward ending the occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate rights to self-determination and sovereignty.
Yousef Ramadan is the Ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh
