Regional advocacy group PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP) today said that the reported ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is a necessary step to urgently halt the bloodshed and enable a much-needed surge in humanitarian aid amid the raging famine in Gaza. PANAP also emphasized that the truce should allow Palestinians to immediately and unconditionally rebuild their agriculture and food systems to start reversing the famine and its debilitating impacts.
But it also warned that this temporary relief is still very far away from achieving lasting peace in Palestine, stressing that the Netanyahu regime must soon answer for its vicious war crimes, including its engineered famine that starved to death hundreds of Palestinian people and children, on top of tens of thousands killed by the relentless and indiscriminate bombings.
“We welcome the ceasefire and hope that it will really be implemented, including the immediate cessation of military operations amid reports of continuing Israeli attacks even after the truce was announced, the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed line, and the unimpeded entry of food and other assistance. At the same time, we must not forget that the demand for justice and accountability does not stop with the ceasefire. The Netanyahu regime and even the US, which has been forced by growing international pressure to rein in Israel and broker the truce, must answer for the genocide,” PANAP executive director Sarojeni Rengam said.
Rengam added: “Unless Palestine’s food sovereignty is ensured in the context of genuine self-determination, true peace will not be achieved. The fundamental right of the Palestinian people to food and to produce food, define their own food and agriculture systems, and reclaim their land, seeds, and water should be part of the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace.
PANAP warned that the US-brokered peace plan, especially regarding post-war governance and reconstruction in Palestine, fails to address the root causes of the conflict, namely, Palestinian liberation from Israeli occupation. It pointed out that the plan permits indefinite Israeli security control, with Israeli troops remaining in Gaza and no fixed timeline for complete withdrawal. Moreover, rather than Palestinians exercising their sovereign right to choose their own governing authorities without external interference, the plan imposes a transitional administration supervised by an international board chaired by US President Donald Trump.
“These provisions of the peace plan create favorable conditions for the ongoing subjugation of Palestine by Israel and the US. It continues to provide conditions for the genocidal weaponization of food to persist. The collective struggle for Palestinian independence and statehood remains far from over, and the world must stay vigilant,” Rengam said.