Beyond Ceasefire: The Long Path to Palestinian Liberation

A ceasefire is a starting point, our work becomes more critical now that Gaza is no longer being bombed

The ceasefire in Gaza marks not an endpoint but a beginning – a crucial first step on the long road to Palestinian liberation. After 15 months of unprecedented devastation, with over 50,000 Palestinians killed, more than 80% of Gaza’s housing destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced, the very notion of “peace” has been fundamentally altered for an entire population.

The scale of destruction defies comprehension: 140 hospitals and medical facilities damaged or destroyed, over 370 schools reduced to rubble, and critical infrastructure decimated, including Gaza’s only power plant and most of its water treatment facilities. But these statistics, stark as they are, fail to capture the profound psychological trauma inflicted upon survivors, particularly the children who comprise nearly half of Gaza’s population.

For Palestinians in the diaspora, and especially those in Gaza, the wounds run deeper than physical destruction. The world’s response – or lack thereof – to the systematic destruction of their society has etched itself into their collective consciousness, much as the Nakba did for previous generations. This reality underscores why a ceasefire, while desperately needed, cannot be the end goal. True justice can only come with Palestinian liberation – a future where Palestinians can envision freedom in every direction, regardless of creed, religion, or origin.

The proposed three-stage ceasefire agreement reveals the underlying contradiction: Gaza would remain under colonial control, whether through U.S. or Israeli proxies. History teaches us the limitations of such arrangements. We need only look to Lebanon, where Israel has violated the supposed ceasefire hundreds of times and effectively annexed land by preventing residents of over 60 southern villages from returning home. This pattern of “ceasefire and repeat” has defined the Palestinian struggle: intifada followed by Oslo Accords, followed by more settlements, more uprisings, more “peace deals,” and yet more resistance.

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The immediate aftermath of any ceasefire will reveal challenges that make the path forward even more daunting. Gazans will face the monumental task of recovering their dead from beneath millions of metric tons of rubble, which itself poses environmental hazards through toxic waste and fumes. They must locate political detainees, rebuild without access to construction materials (which Israel has historically restricted under claims they could aid Hamas), and reconstruct the entirety of their civil infrastructure.

What has become painfully clear through this crisis is that the Biden administration had the power to prevent this catastrophe from day one through pressure on Netanyahu’s government. Israel’s recent agreement to withdraw fully from Gaza, without maintaining troops or security zones, raises haunting questions about the true purpose of such comprehensive destruction. The fact that Israel has agreed to allow Hamas to maintain presence in Gaza and permit residents to return to the north exposes the hollow nature of their stated military objectives. The goal, it seems, was destruction for destruction’s sake – an attempt to break the spirit of resistance that has defined Gaza for decades.

Yet history shows us that Gazans will rebuild, as they have after every previous onslaught. Even during the worst of the violence, we witnessed remarkable resilience: medical students graduated through virtual education, makeshift ambulatory services were established, and tent cities rose, fell, and rose again. The pursuit of liberation has only strengthened under the weight of this violence.

For those of us in the West, the work becomes more critical, not less, when the bombs stop falling. A ceasefire is not an invitation to look away but rather a call to intensify our vigilance. As Gaza opens up, the full extent of Israeli crimes will become visible – everything that could not be documented during the past 15 months of destruction. We must ensure that Gazans have the opportunity to rebuild on their own terms, prevent profiteering from their loss by foreign entities, and support their journey toward genuine freedom.

The children of Gaza – those who have lost everything – will carry this trauma forward. But their future need not be defined solely by resistance born of despair. If we can move beyond the limitations of a ceasefire toward true Palestinian liberation, these children might have the chance to process their physical trauma, even as the mental anguish persists. The cycle of violence can be broken, but only through the achievement of justice and freedom, not through political stagnation that leaves Gaza occupied and destroyed.

Colonial violence may persist, but the will of the occupied toward freedom has proven greater. Our role now is to ensure that this ceasefire becomes not just another pause in an endless cycle, but the first step toward genuine Palestinian liberation.

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