On Wednesday 15 January, I received a happy message from Gaza from the family we are in touch with.
‘We don’t know if we are in a dream or reality…. The ceasefire will stop… We are crying with joy… Have my wife, children and I been spared from this war…. Will we return to our city and our home? It is true that it is destroyed, but we miss it…’
They also wrote:
‘Joy prevails in the tents of the displaced.’
In the evening, they sent me a video of people dancing, with a cute little boy clapping his hands and jumping up and down. The family was distributing vegetables to other vulnerable families in Gaza before the war broke out. The war resulted in them losing their home and having to flee several times. The woman gave birth to a baby in the middle of the war. They also narrowly escaped death from a bombing that took place near them.
I therefore hope and pray that the deal will go through despite the fact that it has yet to be approved by the Netanyahu government. A ceasefire and humanitarian aid are so desperately needed for the people of Gaza as well as the people of Israel. The hostages still alive are obviously longing to return home. The Palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of the deal also yearn for their freedom.
As Sigrid Kaag points out on the NOS website, money is needed to rebuild Gaza. She expects it could be as much as $100 billion in the long term.
Furthermore, I support Jewish Israeli Alon-Lee Green, director of Standing Together. He was recently featured in the Dutch current affairs programme Buitenhof together with Palestinian Rula Daood. Alon-Lee Green organises large-scale Palestinian-Jewish protests in Israel for peace and humanitarian aid in Gaza and for the release of hostages. In a video on LinkedIn, he recently called for a full deal.
‘Yes to a full deal – leaving no hostages behind. Yes to ending the war – without another bomb in Gaza. Yes to peace.’
To achieve peace, it is important for local people from grass roots organisations – such as Standing Together, Women Wage Peace, and Women of the Sun – to be heard. They know their country’s language, culture and history. Professor Séverine Autesserre therefore talks about the importance of local people in the driver’s seat in her book The Frontlines of Peace. She also stresses the importance of a culture of peace.
I hope the truce goes into final effect on Sunday, that it goes well and, above all, that there will be real, lasting peace. Last December, the UN General Assembly decided that there will be a high-level conference on reaching a two-state solution to the Israel Palestine conflict. The conference will be held from June 2 to 4 this year in New York.
If peace is achieved in the Israel-Palestine conflict, it will also contribute very positively to peace with the people of Yemen and the relationship with Iran.
Let us hope that world leaders now and also then will work for a fair and lasting peace: A World In Which All Children Can Play.
May-May Meijer, chair Peace SOS
Photo: People from Gaza celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire, still from the video January 15th, 2025
Note: This article was published in Dutch under the title ‘Laat staakt-het-vuren in Gaza Duurzame Vrede worden’ on the Joop BNNVARA website on 17th January 2025.