Effective solidarity in action is now what matters most, writes Sofiah Macleod.
At the time of writing, there is a fragile and relative quiet for Gazans. Even now, as the ceasefire largely continues to hold, Israel retains control of 58% of Gaza, continues to bomb at will, and restricts aid into Gaza.
As soon as the ceasefire took effect, thousands of displaced Palestinians started the long walk toward what is left of their homes. Despite the scale of the devastation and destruction by Israel, and the threat of further Israeli attacks and displacement, we see images of Gazans clearing rubble and building shelters, determined to remain on their land. Yet again, Palestinians show us what resilience means.
As part of the ceasefire deal, 1,968 Palestinian political prisoners were released; 195 unnamed bodies were also returned to Gaza by Israel, mutilated, tortured, some with hands and feet bound, unidentifiable by their families. Over 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners, men, women and children, remain in Israel’s torture cells.
In the Occupied West Bank, Israel is escalating its ethnic cleansing and appropriation of Palestinian land. Israeli military and settler killing and attacks on Palestinian farmers, towns and communities are escalating, while the Israeli parliament indicated its initial approval for the formal annexation of the Occupied West Bank.
After two years of mobilisations against the genocide, the challenge for the international solidarity movement is to continue our work to hold Israel accountable for their crimes, and our governments, institutions and corporations accountable for their complicity, and to send a strong and unconditional message of solidarity to the Palestinian people. The depth, diversity, creativity and politics of the movement are as never before, and those thousands and millions who marched, and were moved to organise in their communities and workplaces, see much more clearly the connections between the Palestinian struggle and our own struggles at home; struggles against state devastation of support and services for our communities, corporate greed, the far right and government repression.
The problems we face are the same as before the ceasefire, however long that holds. The British government continues to be complicit and at times an active participant in Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing. The prospect of Tony Blair overseeing the rebuilding and governance of Gaza is just one red flag in plans being drawn between Trump, Israel and the West. Even though the Scottish Government has pledged action, and SNP MSPs voted for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel (BDS), they appear to be satisfied that supporting the recognition of a Palestinian state is enough. Corporations based in Scotland continue to profit from their involvement and complicity in Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, and trade unions continue to hold back from initiating effective action.
With a Scottish Parliament election around the corner, there is a danger that the Palestinian struggle is used only to win votes. Our job is to boycott and isolate the apartheid state of Israel, and there are too many who are still afraid or unwilling to see that task through until Palestinians achieve their freedom, equality and justice. We should not underestimate the impact of anti-Palestinian racism, which is sometimes unconscious but always costly to the Palestinians and their struggle.
The ceasefire is an opportunity for some of us to restore and refresh our efforts, but not for too long, because the Palestinian people are under an existential threat. Right now, our role through international solidarity is as critical as ever before, and committing to BDS means seeing it through in practice, in action. It means never compromising the Palestinian struggle and their demand for an end to the occupation, for equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and for the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.
Sofiah MacLeod is co-convenor of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign Co-Convenor.