R1 A9: Resolution for a just and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and lasting peace in the Middle East

At its August 2024 General Assembly, FYEG adopted its first-ever common position
on Israel, Palestine, and the right to self-determination: Resolution for Peace
and Justice in Palestine and Israel. This resolution was used as the basis for
the updated unified position of the European Green Party in their congress in
December 2024. The alignment of the Greens with international law, human rights
and self-determination is common across the continent, and the acknowledgement
of the differences of the members of our political family does not prevent us
from a common understanding of what the role of the EU, European states and the
international community must be to withdraw from active support of destruction
and become a reliable ally for establishing justice and peace in the Middle
East. With this text, we build on last year’s resolution to construct a common
Young Green understanding of our vision for the future of peace and prosperity
for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples in their self-determination.

As the IDF's devastating targeted murder of Palestinians continues, which the
overwhelming majority of our member organisations consider to be an ongoing
genocide, while others consider that this statement needs to be ruled by an
international court, we stress our strong condemnation of the horrendous war
crimes mentioned in this and the previous resolution.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,
and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for war crimes and crimes
against humanity. FYEG welcomes the decision of the ICC, and strongly calls on
the EU, its member states, other European States, and the international
community to uphold the enforcement of these and other ICC warrants to maintain
the principles of international law. Regimes that refuse to enforce ICC arrest
warrants and take their countries out of the ICC to protect war criminals must
be condemned and targeted by proportional responses by our governments and the
EU.

Since our last resolution, both parties had implemented a ceasefire in Gaza. The
ceasefire was fragile and under a constant threat of being broken, especially by
far-right Israeli politicians. The start of the ceasefire was postponed, which
resulted in an additional nineteen killed Palestinians and the wounding of
thirty-six by the IDF. During the two-month-long ceasefire, thousands of people
were able to return, with the majority of them finding their homes and the
infrastructure serving their basic needs destroyed. Some of the Israeli hostages
kidnapped by Hamas were liberated; we welcome their liberation and reiterate our
call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, and condemn
the bad conditions of captivity they endured. Similarly, some Palestinians who
Israel arbitrarily detained without charges or fair trials were also freed; we
welcome their liberation and reiterate our call for the liberation of the rest
of the arbitrarily detained Palestinians, particularly minors.

We condemn the IDF, following the order of the Israeli government, for killing
more than fifty thousand people in Gaza alone by the start of the temporary
ceasefire in Gaza and for displacing nearly every resident of the Gaza Strip
multiple times. Additionally, the ongoing Israeli invasion of Syria and the
escalation in 2025 under the pretext of self-defense represent another case in a
long line of violations of international law and sovereignty, which Israel has
continually undermined with support from some Western countries.

The ceasefire did not prevent the Israeli government from maintaining and, more
concerning, expanding illegal settlements and displacing and killing Palestinian
people in the West Bank and Jerusalem, with increasing threats to a complete
annexation of the West Bank and Gaza from far-right politicians in Israel and
the USA alike. We strongly condemn that during the ceasefire, Israel used hunger
and halting humanitarian aid as leverage tools, which is a war crime, as defined
in the Geneva Conventions.
We are outraged at the Israeli government’s plan to expand the occupation to annex Gaza and ethnically displace Palestinians once again. Senior members of the government, including the Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to destroy Gaza entirely in a scorched earth tactic and to implement forced deportations of Palestinians living in Gaza. Statements such as these by senior Israeli ministers, echoed by the entire cabinet, show the Israeli government's intent to commit a crime against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute. The Israeli government has proven repeatedly that it does not respect international law and is directly complicit in war crimes against Palestinians. The Israeli government keeps maintaining the lie that it is acting to save hostages, while the families of hostages denounce the proposed further escalation of the invasion of Gaza. The USA and the Israeli government’s proposal for an international law-breaking mechanism to control humanitarian aid would give another tool for the Israeli government to blackmail, control, and oppress Palestinians, who are already suffering from the Israeli-caused famine and humanitarian crisis.

The IDF's destruction includes deliberate targeting of the environment,
including the destruction of water systems, farmland, and sanitation
infrastructure. This environmental devastation exacerbates the humanitarian
crisis.

On the 18th of March, Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza, which has led to the
IDF killing more than 1630 Palestinians and wounding thousands of people. Over
400,000 people have been displaced since Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza. We
condemn the IDF’s killing of 408 aid workers, including the recent murder of
eight paramedics, a UN worker, and six Gaza Civil Defence workers. The Israeli
government initially denied the targeted killings of paramedics and humanitarian
workers, but was forced to admit responsibility after footage surfaced, claiming
it was a mistake. Further investigation reveals that those victims were buried
in a mass grave, highlighting the lack of credibility in the Israeli
government's statements and the deliberate targeting of aid workers and
paramedics.

FYEG calls on the EU, its member states, the rest of the European states, and
the international community to take the following actions immediately to rebuild
and achieve a lasting and just peace, which is one of the first steps that need
to happen on the way to a well-being region.

• Implement permanent peace and legal frameworks for self-determination

  • Implement a permanent ceasefire that is upheld and expanded, with
    Israel withdrawing the IDF and settlers from the internationally
    recognised territories of Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, as well as
    Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem

  • Support neutral peace negotiations under the UN with the observance
    of human rights organizations to ensure fair conflict resolution
    based on the self-determination of the Israeli and Palestinian
    people

  • Establish truth and reconciliation processes to address past
    injustices, war crimes, and human rights violations, through
    reconciliation programmes based on remembrance, reparation, and
    mutual recognition

  • Guarantee the right of return for forcefully displaced Palestinians

• Provide humanitarian relief, healthcare, and resources for reconstruction

  • Rebuild essential infrastructure such as water, electricity,
    sanitation, and transportation networks

  • Restore and expand hospitals, clinics, and mental health services in
    Gaza. Train local medical professionals and ensure access to
    critical medications and equipment

  • Ensure the unrestricted movement of humanitarian organizations and
    supplies, medical personnel, and emergency responders to affected
    areas

  • Facilitate fair global grant-based funding and technical expertise
    to assist in the rapid reconstruction of civil and humanitarian
    infrastructure in Gaza

  • Provide humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, and
    shelter

• Rebuilding education and equal rights systems

  • Rebuild destroyed schools and universities

  • Provide Palestinian students with visas and legal help regardless of
    whether they want to stay or return to their homes

  • Ensure that all individuals have equal access to rights, legal
    protections, and opportunities regardless of ethnicity, religion, or
    background

  • Dismantle legal frameworks that uphold discrimination and ethnic
    supremacy

  • Implement legal protections that guarantee full equality in all
    aspects of life

FYEG calls for the USA and their fascist president to fuck off from the Middle
East. Gaza is not a free space that can be turned into another playground for
the ultra-wealthy.

FYEG calls for the international community to denounce any plans by foreign
states aimed at repurposing Gaza or other Palestinian territories for their
business ventures or other aims that are not primarily focused on restoring
stability and good living conditions for the population. For example, plans for
building a luxury resort to benefit the foreign ultra-wealthy class must be
categorically denounced, as that would amount, at the very least, to an ethnic
cleansing of the Palestinian people, and any suggestion that such an act would
be voluntary is a lie.

Netanyahu and his government have used the breaking of the ceasefire to maintain
the far-right government and to regain support from the most radical members of
the Israeli parliament. The same government is strengthening its relations with
not only the USA's political leadership, but also the far-right parties in
Europe. Netanyahu's Likud has joined the far-right Patriots.eu party, alongside
parties with known antisemitic histories.

During times when the USA is an increasingly unreliable partner working to
undermine the essential bases of international law, FYEG calls for the EU to
develop an independent voice and approach with a distinct voice, and take the
leadership necessary to achieve a permanent and just ceasefire in Gaza. The EU
and its member states must recognize the Palestinian state with its capital in
Jerusalem. The EU must act decisively to ensure lasting peace in the region and
the freedom for self-determination for its peoples. The EU must show that
international agreements and laws must be respected and that there are no
exceptions. The EU and its member states must also hold themselves accountable
by ending arms trade, security cooperation, and economic agreements that support
systems of oppression in line with the EU Common Position on arms export
controls and in compliance with international humanitarian law. Continued
military collaboration, including joint research and security contracts, makes
European governments complicit in violations of international law.

As laid out in this resolution, Young Greens across Europe call on our leaders
to be on the right side of history and, however distant it may seem, to work
relentlessly towards a just and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and lasting peace in
the Middle East. Anything less will be complicity in one of the greatest ongoing
crimes of the early 21st century.