After two years of a devastating conflict that has shocked the world’s conscience – and which a UN Commission of Inquiry has significantly assessed to legally amount to the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza – LPHR welcomes a ceasefire agreed today. We note a previous ceasefire in January collapsed catastrophically. We nonetheless hope this one holds and proves to be day one of a long sustained recovery. There is every reason to be cautious in expressing this hope – particularly given significant gaps and ambiguity in the so-called ‘peace plan’ accompanying this ceasefire – but it is the vision of sustained peace that must prevail.
In response to the beyond-catastrophic situation in Gaza, LPHR maintains there is an overwhelming imperative for the international community to pursue transformative change grounded in international law. The central principle underpinning the future of Gaza must be the respect and fulfilment of all fundamental human rights for its civilian Palestinian population. This must be inextricably coupled with the necessity to give effect to the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination throughout Palestine – encompassing the entirety of the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza – as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 2024 advisory opinion.
The unwavering pursuit of legal accountability and justice for those responsible for the most serious international crimes is also imperative. As repeatedly warned by LPHR for over a decade, and horrifyingly borne out for the past 24 months, the absence of legal accountability for serious violations of international law will only embolden their future repetition. The securing of legal accountability and justice is a vital component and best guarantee for a sustained peace.
LPHR is relentlessly maintaining its own precise contribution to accomplishing this core objective. And we shall continue to urge the UK government, both privately and in public, that it must ensure the full and necessary application of international law as the basis for resolving all fundamental issues relating to the present and future of Palestine and Israel.