Ceasefire: Palestine - Israel conflict

We are utterly devastated by the horrific loss of life and suffering in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Part W advocates for the right of all people to live in peace, freedom and in safety. In this conflict, as is the case in many wars, women and children are being appallingly impacted. 

We cannot stand by in silence. 

Our heartbreak and shock can not be fitted into neat words. We have been beyond aghast at the abhorrent attack on Israeli civilians on October 7th and the conflict that has engulfed Gaza since then, killing a child every ten minutes. The unrelenting bombing, decimation of civic and social infrastructure that allows for the provision of food, water, health care and education, the loss of life in Gaza and violence against the West Bank is unconscionable.  

We stand with all those calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. 

The charity Peace Insights that amplifies the voices of local peacebuilders in conflict zones around the world, notes “Whenever there has been conflict, women and children have been known to suffer disproportionately during and after war. Women and children are often the most vulnerable and prone to being hit the hardest. Throughout history, we see examples of terrible abuses against women and children, from the 1.1 million children killed during the Holocaust to the many women and children raped or killed during the Rwandan Genocide.”

On both sides of this conflict harrowing stories of alleged rape, sexual assaults and atrocities being perpetrated against women and girls are emerging. We look to the essential work being done by the likes of Women for Women who have been assessing gaps in the humanitarian response to try and provide women-centred support where possible. 

This is a feminist issue. It is a racial issue. It is a colonial issue. It is an environmental issue. It is a spatial justice issue. 

We implore you to use your individual and collective power to call for an immediate cessation of violence. To remain informed, and to take action.

Speak out against violence, stand against genocide.

Speak out against hatred, against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Speak out against propaganda, biased media and censorship. 

Step back from hierarchies of grief and give space for mournings all those lost in this war and in all ongoing wars.

Rally together. 

Talk about what is happening to people around you. 

Amplify the voices of all those calling for peace. 

Donate to humanitarian organisations. 

Attend protests.  

Boycott companies who have businesses in or with links to the illegal settlements on Palestinian land. 

Write to your MP, and write and write and write. 

Stand together hand in hand - as women, as friends, as colleagues, as mothers, as fathers, as cousins, as aunties, as siblings, as grandparents, as allies.  

Together. Stand together and call for the repression of all people, the bombing and violence to stop. Now.

Part W // December 2023