USPCN Statement on the Historic Ceasefire Agreement

Victory to the Palestinian people and our steadfast resistance!

Sixteen months after the beginning of the U.S.-funded Israeli genocide against our heroic and steadfast Palestinian people of Gaza, and after more than 46,000 have been killed (the number may be as many as 200,000, if indirect killings are included, according to The Lancet medical journal), plus an additional 4,000 Lebanese, a ceasefire deal has been reached between the Unified Palestinian Resistance and the zionist, colonial entity of Israel.

USPCN salutes our heroic people of Gaza, all of Palestine, and the rest of the Arab world for their grave sacrifices and incredible bravery facing one of the most brutal, sadistic, and barbaric militaries in the world – unequivocally backed by the most powerful empire in the world. Our people in Gaza have carried an unimaginable burden, and now we must collectively ensure that the sacrifices of the martyrs, their families, and all of the injured and displaced people will be a sacrifice that brings us closer to liberation and return.

This is nothing less than an historic victory for our people and our righteous resistance! Despite the zionist entity’s promises to eliminate the resistance, it has failed completely. The only “accomplishment” the terrorist Israelis have fulfilled is massive destruction and devastation to civilian lives and infrastructure.

Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the terms of the ceasefire. Israel was forced to capitulate on multiple issues that Netanyahu had consistently called, “red lines” that he would not budge on, including a complete withdrawal from Gaza, not receiving a full list of Israeli captives up front, and allowing displaced people to return to the north of Gaza. The resistance won all of these. So now the racist, Israeli right wing is in full crisis, suggesting that this ceasefire is, “a surrender to Hamas,” in the words of fascist Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben Gavir.

Not only does the Unified Palestinian Resistance live on and continue to recover and rebuild, as proven by the damage inflicted on the Israeli occupiers in the past few weeks in the northern parts of Gaza, but it also stands fierce in the face of the Western imperialist powers’ conspiracy against it. The resistance never gave in to the pressures, be they political or military, and forced Israel and its backers to accept a proposal that met the demands of the Palestine liberation movement. We commend the incredible discipline and sacrifice of the entirety of our Palestinian society. Glory to the martyrs! Long live our national liberation struggle!

International resistance

Palestinians and people all across the world will never forget the sacrifices of, and unconditional solidarity from, the people of Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. They all fought alongside the Palestinian resistance from day one, while the leaders of the traitorous and reactionary Arab regimes stood idle and watched the daily massacres. We will also remember the courageous efforts of South Africa, with its unprecedented case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as Ireland, Colombia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, and so many other nations that stood with us and pressured Israel to end the genocide through legal and diplomatic means.

The masses of the world, many in opposition to their governments’ stances, support the liberation of Palestine! We will never forget the millions of people marching in the streets of dozens of countries across six continents. Many protesters worldwide, but especially in Western countries like the U.S. and Germany, were violently repressed, beaten and arrested by their local police forces and zionist thugs.

The masses of honorable people around the world stood up and raised the call to globalize the intifada. The U.S. students’ encampment movement led by Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society, and so many other student organizations shook the world. The historic March on the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which drew almost 40,000 protesters to Chicago last August, forced the ruling party of the U.S. government to directly confront its responsibility for the genocide.

Disruptions of politicians and other zionist figures, Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, and the blocking of major highways, streets, and shipyards all across the world in support of Palestine reached an all-time high. Israel’s backers and apologists have been confronted at every turn, and corporations that support zionism collectively lost billions of dollars in sales and stock value.

Hypocritical West, downfall of zionism

The past 16 months will forever leave a stain on the so-called “international rules-based order” of Western imperialist countries, especially the U.S. government, which not only allowed the genocide to continue for almost a year and a half, but supported it financially, politically, militarily, diplomatically, and in the media. The U.S., Canada, and the EU will forever be known as the enablers of history’s first live-streamed genocide. This will be the legacy of Genocide Joe Biden, Killer Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, and their genocidal, incompetent, and cowardly Democratic Party. The hypocrisy of Western “civilization” has been exposed to the whole world. This victory by the Unified Palestinian Resistance is a clear sign that the U.S. and other Western imperialists are in a massive crisis, and we must continue to hold legislators here accountable for their public support of the genocide.

Additionally, the genocide and the sacrifices of the Palestinian people have further isolated Israel, exposing its true nature as a racist, white supremacist, zionist, genocidal, apartheid, pariah state. Economically, Israel lost billions due to the damage inflicted upon it by the Axis of Resistance in Palestine and the region. Militarily, Israel was unable to achieve any of its stated goals. The lauded Iron Dome could not withstand the attacks from the entire regions’ resistance, and it took the full force of the U.S. Navy and military technology to attempt to protect Israel.

Internally, Israel faces a crisis and many divisions, including mass hysteria and evacuations by its settler colonizers back to their original countries, and these political pressures are also factors that have helped lead to the ceasefire agreements in both Lebanon and Gaza. And globally, Israel faces International Criminal Court (ICC) and ICJ investigations. Its genocidal leaders and soldiers are panicking about warrants for their arrests worldwide, and we must hunt them down for prosecution wherever they are and wherever they go.

The word “zionist” has become a disgraceful, derogatory term, as the slogan “zionism is racism” is again at the forefront of the movement for Palestinian liberation. The people of the world are now seeing and believing clearly what was once said about the South African Apartheid regime: Israel does not have the right to exist as a racist, white supremacist, apartheid, zionist settler-colony.

Ceasefire violations

Although we commemorate today the Unified Palestinian Resistance’s leading role in stopping Israel’s military attacks, and of course continue to mourn and honor our martyrs, we must also be vigilant and cautious of the Israeli regime’s lies and deceptions. The zionist entity, well-known for breaching dozens of agreements with Palestine and the rest of the Arab world over the years, has violated the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon on a daily basis since its signing on November 27th, 2024.

We must demand that Israel abides by the terms of the ceasefire and not be allowed impunity for the violations it commits, and also be very careful of false, racist narratives that may be initiated by mainstream and legacy media to blame Palestinians for any re-escalation.

The struggle continues

Our work and our struggle does not end here. As the eyes of the world’s media may shift away from Palestine, there is still a colonial entity occupying and terrorizing and stealing our homelands. Israel and its backers must be held accountable for their actions, and they must be stopped at all costs from their threats to annex the West Bank. Gaza must be rebuilt, all the displaced and exiled must return to their homes, and all Palestinian political prisoners must be released.

We stand at a critical juncture in the region and much remains fluid and undetermined.  Political developments in Lebanon and Syria continue to change daily and will influence the future of Palestine and the entire Arab world. We must stand in defense of not only Palestine, but Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria as well, the latter of which is at a critical juncture that must be decided by upholding the Syrian people’s self-determination, as they fight to ensure the unity of an undivided nation.

USPCN calls on all of our communities and allies across the U.S. to never stop organizing, struggling, and helping to strengthen our global movement to continue pressuring all governments, corporations, and college and university campuses across the world to boycott, divest, sanction, and isolate the criminal Israeli state. We also call on everyone to defend our movement, our students, and our communities from the attacks that we will continue to face, now under another Trump administration.

Now is the time to join USPCN, and fight with us until Palestine is free – From the River to the Sea!

Until Victory, Liberation, and Return,

U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)

Wednesday, January 15th, 2025