Bulletin No40 Novembre 2023 Finally an embryonic Ceasefire
A truce of a few days has just been announced by the Israeli government and the Palestinian armed organizations (at least five, it seems). Qatar and Egypt were mediators. What does this agreement say?
A four-day ceasefire is agreed by both parties. It involves stopping all military operations of the occupying army throughout the Gaza Strip, as well as stopping the movement of its vehicles entering the Strip.
Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid and fuel will be allowed to enter all regions of the Gaza Strip, without exception, in the north and south.
50 Israeli prisoners, women and children, Palestinian fighters will be released in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and children, held by the Israeli army.
Air movements will be suspended in the south for the four days and limited to six hours per day in the north (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
During this period, the occupying army undertakes not to attack anyone in all regions of the Gaza Strip and to ensure the freedom of movement of people from north to south via the Salah Ed-Din road.
What can we think about it?
First of all, we must rejoice at this cessation, even momentary, of the massacre. The truce, however short-lived, indicates that the Israeli government had to give in to pressure. These are international pressures, demonstrations, port blockades, actions by different South American countries and the closure of the Israeli embassy in South Africa. There are also internal pressures, particularly around the issue of Palestinian prisoners. Since the beginning of the offensive against the people of Gaza, it was understood that their liberation was not the priority of the government or the Israeli army. Questioned in October by BFM TV, Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, spokesperson for the occupying army, preferred not to answer two questions: “ Are you going to recover the hostages? » and “ Should the Israeli population prepare for the sacrifice of these hostages?” ". Furthermore, information published only in the Israeli media on the reality of what happened on October 7 and the following days indicates that some of the Israeli dead were killed by the army in the kibbutzim and the following days. air force when it comes to rave parties . Netanyahu's idea was to limit as much as possible the number of prisoners, which are, as we can clearly see, for the Palestinian fighters, a powerful means of pressure and negotiation.
However, for several weeks, pressure had been mounting against the government, accused of not caring about the fate of the “ hostages ”. More broadly, demonstrations took place against the way of “ defending oneself ” chosen by the government and the army.
Finally, it is not impossible to think that if, on the massacre of civilians side, the Israeli operation perfectly achieved its goals, on the strictly military side, Palestinian resistance is far from having been eradicated.
Fundamentally, the political question remains unresolved, which is our support for the Palestinian people, the end of the colonial and apartheid regime, the right to a state, the right of refugees to return and, immediately, a ceasefire.