The current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has become the focus of many people’s attention, but after a full year of the most severe tragedies and humanitarian hardships facing the Palestinian people, voices are rising calling for an immediate end to the bloody events in the Palestinian territories, as they constitute the nucleus of clouds of a potential comprehensive war that portends a dangerous escalation in the region. Voices are also rising calling for support for the Palestinian people in regaining their legitimate rights.

In the Gaza Strip, this narrow Palestinian coastal strip, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and injured more than 9,700 others, with many still under the rubble. Since October 7, 2023, civilians there have been living a miserable and hopeless life, in an endless nightmare in which they groan under the clutches of death and destruction as a result of being subjected to airstrikes and violent missile attacks, not to mention the continuous displacement of thousands of residents from time to time under evacuation orders, according to which they move from one area to another and even to unsafe places, where they live in plastic tents, under the burden of fear and disease on one meal a day that does not satisfy hunger, if they are lucky.

For 12 months now, 90 percent of civilians in the Gaza Strip have been suffering from conditions of siege, closure, and the denial of adequate humanitarian, food, and medical aid, as well as the ongoing killings and destruction of homes, infrastructure, and vital facilities by the Israeli army. The situation in the West Bank is no less tragic, with deadly and destructive operations continuing, some of them on a scale not seen in the past two decades.

It goes without saying that the international community, in various forums, including the United Nations General Assembly, is paying attention to supporting the Palestinian people in regaining their legitimate national rights. However, a feeling of frustration and despair arises when looking at the tragic situation of the Palestinian people, whose right to remain on their land has not yet been properly respected, let alone their right to development and other human rights, which have already become out of reach.

The main reason for the dangerous escalation lies in the failure to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.

For decades, the Palestinian people have been suffering from a recurring injustice due to systematic violations of their rights, which calls attention to the need to address the root causes of the conflict and implement the rights of the Palestinian people in order to achieve peace at the regional and international levels.

It is important to know that it is now very important to intensify international calls for an immediate ceasefire. We are talking about a permanent truce, not a temporary truce limited to days like the truce that was implemented in November of last year or the truce of hours that the Gaza Strip witnessed during the polio vaccination campaign.

Let’s be clear: the people of the region, who are suffering from the repercussions of the situation in the Gaza Strip, are looking forward to a cessation of hostilities, especially the Lebanese, who feel panic and fear with every Israeli raid as they struggle to emerge from a severe economic crisis; and the Yemenis, who suffer from political division amid fears of wider retaliatory raids by Israel and its allies, the United States and Britain.

In order to realize the right to development of the Palestinian people and the affected peoples in the region, an independent Palestinian state must be established. In this regard, Israel must respond to the calls and demands of the international community to achieve peace and development, and abandon the policy of excessive use of force and violence. Such a policy has proven to be a failure, as it harms not only the Palestinians, but also the right of Israelis to security and development.

The United States, which claims to be a sponsor of the Middle East peace process and a defender of human rights, must stop its blind bias towards Israel and stop reading Middle East issues through its geopolitical considerations and special interests. It should also work sincerely to achieve a permanent truce between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and immediately begin implementing the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy resolutions.

In this path, we trust that the countries of the world that support peace will not delay in providing support and assistance to the Palestinian people in regaining their rights that have been usurped since 1948 after achieving a real, permanent truce.

It is time to end this conflict as soon as possible, and find a radical political solution that respects and guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people and the rights of other peoples affected by the repercussions of the current conflict.