Terror and occupation in Palestine demand a swift and peaceful solution

Every life lost in the Gaza Strip challenges the very notion of civilization and makes critical thinking imperative for understanding the senselessness of neocolonialism, war, and the occupation of territories today. Palestine and Israel not only have the right to exist as sovereign nations, but they must also learn to coexist while respecting the self-determination of peoples, within a framework of democracy and social justice.

The current escalation of violence is not the beginning of the conflict, but rather the result of fifty-six years of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, in blatant violation of international law and treaties signed between representatives of Israel and Palestine, all with the support of the United States and Western powers. This repeated violation of international law breeds various forms of violence and perpetuates the conflict, to the detriment of civilian lives, especially those of children, young people, and women.

The Palestinian population endures daily violence from the State of Israel, which demolishes the homes of protesters, imprisons them under its own laws applying "enemy justice," and expels them from their land to make way for Israeli settlements—acts of dispossession directly condemned by international law. The dehumanization of the other as an "animal," as the Israeli defense minister put it, the supposed punishment, and the mass destruction teach no lessons; rather, they deepen the structural causes of the conflict and violence, further diminishing the possibility of any understanding.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed massive demonstrations in major cities around the world, expressing rejection of the displacement of over a million people in Gaza, the blockade of basic supplies, the relentless bombing of homes, hospitals, and civilian targets, as well as the use of chemical weapons—war crimes that cannot be tolerated. Global awareness is growing regarding the need to resolve the conflict and isolate the warmongering fundamentalism on both sides.

The escalation of the conflict challenges the capacity of the global community, the multilateral system, and global conflict resolution mechanisms, testing their actual ability to guarantee global peace.

The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) condemns war and advocates for peace, using knowledge and critical thinking to guarantee a conflict-free Middle East. This path requires creating the conditions for the coexistence of the two nations, Palestine and Israel, by ending occupations and the use of war. We condemn the escalation of the conflict and join the hundreds of millions of voices worldwide demanding a ceasefire in this region and concrete guarantees that all humanitarian aid will reach the Palestinian territories as a prelude to a peace with social justice.

CLACSO Steering Committee