I’ve wrestled with what to say at this urgent, long-awaited moment that has often seemed out of reach over the past fifteen horrible months.
One question I wrestled with was: What can I share with readers that might even remotely capture the meaning and depth of a clear agreement to stop the mass slaughter of Palestinians?
I did not suffer. My house is intact. My family and I are alive and well. We are warm, together and safe.
So, the other pressing dilemma I faced was: Is this my place to write at all? I believe that this space should be reserved for Palestinians to reflect on the atrocities they have suffered and what is to come.
Of course, their voices will be heard here and elsewhere in the days and weeks ahead. My vote, in this context, has no significance and, under these difficult circumstances, verges on being irrelevant.
However, if you, and the Palestinians in particular, oblige me, this is what I have to say.
I think there are four words that each, in their own way, carry some significance to Wednesday’s happy news that the guns are about to fall silent.
The first and perhaps most appropriate word is “relief.”
There will be plenty of time and opportunity for the “experts” to draw up predictable scorecards on the “winners” and “losers” and the broader short- and long-term strategic consequences of Wednesday’s deal.
There will also be plenty of time and opportunity for more “experts” to consider the political consequences that Wednesday’s agreement might have in the Middle East, Europe, and Washington, D.C.
What concerns me, and I suspect what concerns most Palestinians and their loved ones in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, is that peace has finally arrived.
How long will this last is a question better asked tomorrow. Today, let us all enjoy the satisfaction that is the fruit of peace.
Palestinian boys and girls dancing comfortably. After months of grief, loss, and grief, joy returned. The smiles are back. Hope is back.
Let us enjoy a satisfactory amount of comfort, if not pleasure, in it.
There is relief in Israel as well.
The families of the surviving captives will soon be reunited with the brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, whom they longed to embrace again.
There is no doubt that they will need care and attention to heal the wounds of their minds, souls and bodies.
This would be another very welcome peace dividend.
The next word is “gratitude.”
Those of us who watched, day after horrific day – disenfranchised and helpless as the cruel apartheid state methodically reduced Gaza to dust and memory – owe our deepest gratitude to the brave and determined helpers who did their best to mitigate the blow of the crisis. The pain and suffering of the besieged Palestinians.
We owe our lasting gratitude to countless anonymous people, in countless places across Gaza and the West Bank, who, at grave risk and at the expense of many promising young people, put the well-being of their Palestinian brothers and sisters before their own interests. king.
We should be grateful for their selflessness and courage. They did their duty. They have entered the danger zone. They didn’t back down. They stood firm. They held their ground. They repelled the mongers of death and destruction who tried to erase their pride and dignity.
They reminded the world that humanity will triumph despite the occupier’s efforts to crush it.
The third word is “recognition.”
The world must recognize the steadfast resistance of the Palestinians.
The occupier’s goal was to break the will and spirit of the Palestinians. This has been the occupier’s intention for the past 75 years.
Once again, the occupier failed.
The Palestinians are tireless. They, like their brothers in Ireland and South Africa, are immovable.
They refuse to be driven from their land because they are connected to it by faith and history. Their roots are very deep and indestructible.
Their fate will be decided by the Palestinians – not invading armies led by racists and war criminals who cling to the antiquated idea that might is right.
It will take more time and patience, but I am convinced that the sovereignty and salvation that the Palestinians have won with blood and heartache is nowhere near the distant horizon.
The last word is “shame.”
There are politicians and governments who will forever wear the shame of allowing Israel to commit genocide against the people of Palestine.
These politicians and governments will deny it. The evidence of their crimes is clear. We can see it in the pictures of the horrific scene in Gaza. We will record every name of more than 46,000 Palestinians who are victims of their complicity.
This will be their worn-out legacy.
Instead of stopping the mass killing of innocents, they enabled it. Instead of preventing famine and disease from claiming the lives of infants and children, they encouraged it. Instead of turning off the tap on weapons, they handed them over. Instead of shouting “enough,” they urged the killing to continue.
We will remember. We will not let them forget.
This is our responsibility: to make sure they never escape the shame that will follow each one of them like a long, distorted shadow in the late-day sun.
Shame on them. Shame on them all.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
