Common Defense Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas, Calls for Sustained Efforts Toward Lasting Peace
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 15, 2025
Common Defense Welcomes Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas, Calls for Sustained Efforts Toward Lasting Peace
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Common Defense cautiously celebrates the recently negotiated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as an essential initial step toward achieving enduring peace in Gaza and the West Bank. This ceasefire provides a much-needed reprieve for the people of Gaza and Israel, who can now begin to live without the immediate fear of violence. However, significant challenges remain, including ensuring access to safety, food, and clean water for all affected communities.
While families begin to rebuild their lives, Common Defense mourns the profound loss of life, including those Israeli lives lost on October 7 and throughout this devastating conflict — too many of whom have been innocent Palestinian civilians and children. Our organization extends its deepest condolences to the grieving families and emphasizes the importance of remembering the human cost of war.
Common Defense commends the tireless efforts of individuals and organizations within the peace movement, particularly the Israeli and Palestinian organizations and activists who have been at the forefront of peace work for years, like our Israeli veteran partners at Breaking the Silence, Alliance for Middle East Peace, Combatants for Peace, Palestinian Institute for Public Democracy, B’Tselem, and so many more. Within the United States and globally, millions of everyday people joined together over the last 15 months to advocate for peace through campus protests, the uncommitted movement, constituent pressure on elected officials, and broad coalitions across the social change community, these advocates succeeded in bringing the realities of the conflict and its broader context to the forefront of American political discourse. These efforts challenged those who sought to fund the war without scrutiny or accountability, amplifying the voices of the majority of Americans who believe that war is not the solution to the conflict.
We extend heartfelt gratitude to the more than 5,000 veterans who signed the ceasefire petition we launched just over a year ago and those who wrote opinion pieces or used social media to share their perspectives and expertise. As veterans of recent U.S. wars, many of these members warned that military escalation would only exacerbate the underlying issues driving this conflict. The tragic loss of over 46,000 Palestinian lives underscores the urgency of these warnings and the need for a new approach.
Common Defense reaffirms our commitment to educating our members and the broader public about the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people and the structural challenges to achieving peace. This moment of ceasefire must mark the beginning of a comprehensive effort to address these longstanding issues and to heal the wounds of war.
The entire peace movement remains steadfast in its hope that this agreement will pave the way for lasting peace, meaningful reconstruction, and a path to self-determination for the Palestinian people by ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza so that a Palestinian state can peacefully co-exist with an Israeli state. All parties involved in the negotiations must hold one another accountable to ensure that the terms of the ceasefire are upheld through every phase.
Here in the United States, Common Defense calls for an end to the attacks on the peace movement and urges rigorous scrutiny of unconditional military aid to Israel. Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the occasion of his birthday, we highlight his powerful words: “It is not enough to say, ‘We must not wage war.’ It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.” Common Defense hopes all actors in this conflict will embrace Dr. King’s vision as they navigate the difficult path toward peace and reconstruction.
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.