Morgan Coghill Statement On Gaza “Ceasefire”

Individuals and governments around the world are celebrating the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, promising an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza and the safe return of the remaining Israeli hostages to their families. While any step toward ending the genocide in Gaza is worth welcoming, peace requires more than a stop to the bullets, bombs, and rocket fire. Without urgent, independent humanitarian and medical aid flowing, more Palestinians will die, even if not one more bomb is dropped. To this end, we must reinstate funding for the UNRWA. Real peace means the manufactured famine ends, the thousands of Palestinian hostages held by Israel are returned to their families, and Palestinians have the right to self-determination, safety, and dignity. A return to pre-7 October notions of normalcy is unacceptable. 

Time and time again, Israel has agreed to ceasefires in bad faith, only to break them on the weakest of pretexts. To Netanyahu, peace negotiations amount to no more than power plays. The world must not see this latest agreement as cause to look away from the lives that continue to be destroyed. We are bound by international law to do everything in our power to prevent and end any genocide or other crimes against humanity. Our job now is to stabilize peace and secure accountability for war crimes from the Israeli leadership that ordered them, and from American politicians, including my opponent, who ran cover for them in both words and votes.

No matter how polished the statements from our political class, people will remember who backed AIPAC’s corrupt talking points while countless Palestinian lives were lost. We will also remember who stood up for life and international law. In the name of justice, our campaign will continue to organize, document, and remind our neighbors of the many ways our elected leaders have failed us over the course of the last two years of destruction, and the Nakba that has persisted for nearly eight decades.