Palestinian lawyer Raji Sourani believes it’s “naive” to think peace has been achieved in Gaza

The lawyer Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, warned that it would be “naive” to think that peace has been achieved in Gaza, because there is only a ceasefire, which he hopes will be “definitive” and lead “to the recognition of the rights of the Palestinians and of the international order”. Sourani, who is giving a conference this Thursday in Malaga (southern Spain), said at a press conference that Israel “continues to kill in the north and south of Gaza” and, although the killings have decreased, the “threat” of returning to the previous situation continues. “To talk about peace, the end of the occupation must come and the blockade must end, because Israel continues to control what enters Gaza, including people, and those who have managed to escape during the war are not allowed to return,” said the lawyer, who managed to leave Gaza after surviving, along with his family, the Israeli air bombings that destroyed his house. You can also read: Wilson Cabrera announces candidacy for the Secretary General of the Modern Revolutionary Youth in SDE The lawyer, who is a member of South Africa’s legal team in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), argues that “free access to the territory, which is not possible now,” is necessary for reconstruction. Gaza “is now an uninhabitable place, and the situation remains one of genocide and apartheid in all occupied territories,” he added. “There is no water, electricity, schools, universities, or hospitals; 90% of the homes are destroyed, winter is approaching, and 90% of the population will be exposed to the elements.” “I hope I’m wrong, but the attitude remains one of ethnic cleansing,” added Sourani, who lamented the “two years of international shame” in which “genocide has been broadcast live on all screens.” He denounced that “Israel has destroyed Gaza, and the EU has supplied it with means such as weaponry to do so”, “all civilian infrastructure” has been eliminated, and “certain population such as doctors, health personnel, journalists or intellectuals have been targeted”. “Everything has been deliberate,” Sourani emphasized, who warned that 30,000 people “need immediate evacuation to receive medical care” and 250,000 “have suffered serious injuries such as amputations, need assistance and do not have it.” In his opinion, the situation did not begin with the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, but rather the “machinery of apartheid and oppression of Israel began decades ago.” Since that October 7th, “the genocide began, due to the declared intention by high-ranking Israeli officials who defined Palestinians as animals, they decided to go after all of them and it was established that there was no difference between civilians and Hamas.” He considers the support of countries like Spain “fundamental”, which have played “a very prominent role in reminding Europe of the importance of international humanitarian law and accountability” and have been “able to open a crack in the wall that separated the West from Palestine”. “In Gaza, there isn’t a single tree left, nor factories or shops, but we don’t give up, and we will always continue,” he warned.