Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | January 17, 2025 – After 15 months of genocide by Israel, a ceasefire agreement has been officially reached. ADC welcomes the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza, and acknowledges the many challenges still ahead. One thing is abundantly clear – October 6, 2023 cannot be looked at as the status quo that Palestinians and the region must be forced to return to. As ADC stated 15 months ago:
For decades Israel has been perpetrating unspeakable crimes against humanity, collective punishment, and has sustained an open-air prison for Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip. It has allowed for the relentless and daily attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian towns and cities, and the desecration of Holy sites. Palestinian families have been mercilessly torn apart, and generations of Palestinians have grown up in the grip of violent oppression by an occupying force. To overlook or minimize these facts is to lack depth in understanding and compromise moral clarity.
As the world focuses on the pause in Gaza bombings, we remind governments that ethnic cleansing, apartheid, occupation, and annexation persist in the West Bank and East Jerusalem—making lasting peace impossible. Any outcome allowing permanent military rule over Gaza or a recolonization of Palestinian land will merely reignite the genocide. The ultimate goal must be dismantling the blockade, ending the occupation and apartheid so Palestinians can determine their own future. Peace can only emerge when liberation, justice and accountability prevail, and when the international community works to end these inhumane conditions once and for all.
The genocide against Palestinians in not over. Palestinians in Gaza face a humanitarian crisis that is a continuation of the genocide: the forced starvation, destruction of healthcare infrastructure, and environmental devastation imposed by Israel’s illegal occupation and continuous bombing will continue taking lives. The U.S. and world community must do what they can to ensure that much needed humanitarian aid is entering Gaza.
Throughout this crisis, President Biden’s administration delayed and undermined efforts to secure a ceasefire, isolating the United States on the global stage. Now, amid reports that the incoming President Trump and his team applied pressure to reach this deal, we cannot ignore the urgent need for accountability. The ceasefire does not absolve Israel of its war crimes or its systematic violation of international law, nor does it justify the U.S. rush to arm Israel without regard for internal concerns about war crimes and American legal obligations. A comprehensive review of U.S. arms transfers to Israel is imperative, and an arms embargo must be imposed to stop the relentless cycle of violence.
Finally, we remember and honor the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian lives lost over the past 15 months. We will not forget the role our own government played in carrying out the genocide, including President Joe Biden choosing a legacy of genocide over peace. We will continue to advocate for an end to the occupation, a comprehensive arms embargo, and the liberation of Palestine. Let this ceasefire be the first decisive step toward ending an era of violence, and not a mere pause that delays the inevitable.