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What’s happening in Palestine as politicians sign up for ‘Board or Peace’?
While international attention has focused on the launch of the proposed “Board of Peace”, killings and arrests have continued across Gaza and the occupied West Bank:
- Medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital said four people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza City.
- The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said 11 bodies and seven wounded people were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 48 hours.
- The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that an infant died from hypothermia in central Gaza amid an ongoing cold snap.
- Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir approved gun licences for Israelis in 18 additional illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
- Israeli forces detained Palestinians during raids near Jenin, Nablus and Hebron, as military operations in parts of the West Bank continued.
- Israeli settlers entered the evacuated settlement of Tarsala, south of Jenin, under military protection, while dozens also raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
How are Palestinians reacting to the ‘Board of Peace’?
Manal al-Qouqa, a displaced mother in Gaza said the “so-called peace council they talk about does not exist in reality”.
“Every time they announce something regarding the Palestinian people, our suffering only increases,” she said.
“What peace are they talking about, when on the ground there is neither peace nor security? We are living a real tragedy. I wish it were like the 1948 Nakba that we once lived through – this is a new, modern Nakba, advanced in every aspect of life. There are no basic necessities for living.”
Suhail al-Hanawi, another displaced Palestinian said Netanyahu and Trump, both part of the board, “are the ones behind wars worldwide”.
“Regarding the Board of Peace and us, the displaced in the camp, there’s nothing tangible that makes us feel that anything will actually be fixed or that our suffering will be eased.”
The body of three-month-old Palestinian baby Shatha Abu Jarad, who died of cold weather according to medics, is carried by her uncle at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
‘No one consulted us on Board of Peace’: Palestinian NGO chief
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, says Palestinian civil society and official bodies are nowhere to be seen at discussions surrounding the newly formed “Board of Peace”.
“We were surprised, as Palestinian actors on the ground, after 10 years of work, and especially the last two years of work in Gaza, that no one consulted us about the plans for Gaza and its future,” he said before warning that, while leaders focus on ceremonies, conditions inside the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate.
“At the time these leaders are holding ceremonies, Israel is using this period to continue its actions in Gaza.”
Shawa called on the US to exert real pressure on Israel to lift the blockade and allow crucial goods, particularly construction materials, into Gaza to enable early economic and social recovery.
