Ceasefire Agreement
Earlier today on January 15th, 2024, a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was announced, ostensibly ending the ongoing genocidal project being executed in the Gaza Strip.
While headlines and politicians may tell us to rejoice and forget about the last 15 months, it is important to understand what is meant by a “ceasefire.” In a three-phase plan, the only aspect agreed to in principle by the two parties is the first phase, enacting a temporary ceasefire but does not end Israel’s declaration of war or secure the complete and total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Israel’s refusal to halt its declaration of war is indicative that it is compelled by the logic of settler colonial development to enact a genocide, and its willingness to temporarily halt its campaign is a sign of its internal weakness rather than an achievement of its stated objective in Gaza.
The material conditions of Gazans still suffering under a twenty-year blockade and starvation has not changed, and our struggle does not end. The reality still stands: King’s College London complicity in Gaza remains insofar as it invests its students’ tuition fees in genocide profiteers. The occupation of Palestine has not ended. The genocide of the Palestinian people has been a near-century long process since the inception of the Zionist-apartheid state and institutions of education can no longer participate in the ethnic cleansing of indigenous populations for material gain.
The last 15 months has seen mass destruction, horrors inflicted upon innocent civilians, and the systematic targeting of the helpless. For every martyr that fell in Gaza, KCL made a return on investment. Including from the murder of two King’s community members— Dr. Maisara Al-Rayyes and Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh. While we may all take a breath and understand the relief felt by the announcement of the ceasefire, we too must be steadfast in our resolve. Israel has historically never been true to its word, with its ongoing presence in Lebanon a stinging reminder that for the coloniser agreements are simply suggestions but binding for the colonised.
While the future remains uncertain, our determination to secure King’s College London’s full divestment from the apartheid state, its boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and its commitment to the rebuilding of Gaza’s education sector stays ironclad. We refuse to let the University use recent political developments to absolve itself of accountability or stall negotiations on its decoupling from genocidal state institutions, reiterating our demand to be included, as representatives of the current student body, at the negotiation table.
Our fight continues for the hundreds of thousands killed, whose corpses remain unfound under the over 42 million tonnes of rubble, whose stories have yet to be heard, and whose names yet to be remembered. The students of King’s College London refused to be pacified in the face of a genuine humanitarian catastrophe perpetrated by our institutions of social and economic governance.
We will not rest until justice is served and liberation is achieved. Resistance continues to guide our path forward - long live the intifada, and free Palestine!
