The announced ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, whose fulfilment and implementation needs to be verified, must ensure an effective end to the attacks and massacres carried out by Israel, the unconditional access of urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip - which has been prevented by Israel - and the complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from this Palestinian territory.
The agreement reached is inseparable from the persistent and courageous resistance of the Palestinian people in defence of their rights, from the widespread global movement of opposition against Israel's policy of occupation and crimes and to show solidarity with Palestine, as well as from the growing isolation of Israel and the US.
The agreement must be a first step towards a permanent ceasefire that puts an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, paves the way for the fulfilment of their national rights with the creation of the State of Palestine, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, and for a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East, which has been successively obstructed and boycotted by the US and Israel.
Solidarity with the Palestinian people must continue, demanding an end to Israel's genocide and criminal policy, a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, access to humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population - namely by UN agencies, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) -, an end to the aggression by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an end to the occupation and the creation of the State of Palestine with the 1967 borders and capital in East Jerusalem, and the fulfilment of the Palestinian refugees' right of return.
It is also necessary to affirm the demand that Israel put an end to its aggression against Lebanon and Syria and withdraw from the territories it illegally and militarily occupies in these two countries, as well as its repeated threats against Iran and Yemen.
With this in mind and as an expression of this solidarity, the PCP calls for participation in the demonstration “It is urgent to put an end to the war! All together for Peace!” which will take place today, January 18, at 15.00, starting from Cais do Sodré, in Lisbon.
