Statement Calling for Peace in Palestine
7th October, 2024
Satoko Fujitani, President
Chie Yamamoto, General Secretary
YWCA of Japan
(tentative translation)
One year has sadly passed since the beginning of the “war on Gaza” on 7th October, 2023. None of us had thought that this military attack on Gaza would come to continue for so long. Why have we been unable to stop this war? With indignation, self-reflection and prayer, we renew our call for peace in Palestine.
■Children and Their Future are Being Sacrificed
To this date, more than 40,000 people out of Gaza’s population of 2 million have lost their lives due to the war. This number is said to rise significantly when the number of people still buried in the rubble is added. More than 30% of the dead are children. There have been newborns who died of exposure. As of June 2024, 34 people have died of malnutrition, of which 28 are children; even now, 3,000 children are facing life-threatening undernourishment. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of Gaza are faced with extremely serious famine. Schools, hospitals and UN facilities are attacked indiscriminately, each attack causing numerous deaths. Various infectious diseases have emerged between people due to the deterioration of hygienic environment. Polio, despite being preventable by inoculation, has seen an outbreak among children in August, due to the lack of vaccines and water. With the lack of medical supplies, surgeries are being conducted without anesthesia. Gaza has had to go through a winter and summer without electricity. It must not be faced with another winter in this situation. Gaza has become devoid of water, supplies and energy; infrastructure and facilities have been destroyed; and the sanitary conditions are catastrophic.
■Palestine Until 1947, and the Current Situation of “Self-Governed” Gaza and West Bank
Before the UN Palestine Division Act drew a border in 1947, Gaza was one area on the south of the Palestinian plains. Bordering with Egypt on the south, its land has been a fertile land thriving with fisheries and agriculture, as well as being a key junction of commerce and transport between the African continent, Europe and the Orient.
Still, it became a narrowly divided area which came to be known as Gaza Strip, as a result of the Palestine Division Act and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The destruction of hundreds of villages and the construction of Israel in 1948, which the Palestinians later called “Nakba” and engraved in their hearts, gave rise to the huge number of Palestinian refugees, who poured into Gaza, resulting in it becoming the most densely-populated area in the world with 80% of its population being refugees. Although Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, it was placed under a complete blockade, its economy destroyed, and its young people devoid of any options for their future. Israel committed large-scale attacks on the area repeatedly, including in 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021.
Gaza, in the ongoing war, has been forcefully divided between north and south, and its people have been forced to live in displacement while constantly facing evacuation orders which are in fact advance notices for military strikes. How much fear, humiliation and hardships have they gone through? Such barbaric attacks, flattening cities where people are still living, should not be allowed to continue.
While attention concentrates in Gaza, illegal military operations and human rights violations by the Israeli military in the West Bank is also on the rise.
The Palestinian people need freedom, dignity and peace. No life or land should be taken by use of force. Such rights are equal between all nations, areas and peoples on Earth. For Palestine, ceasefire does not mean reconciliation between actors with equal power; it is instead the bare minimum line for the preservation of basic human rights. Ultimately, the end of occupation is indispensable.
■Human Lives Should be Prioritized Before Any Claims
Israel has continued its military operations ignoring all international laws and recommendations; Palestine, including Gaza and the West Bank, has the justice to demand the end to occupation. However, the question of whichever claim is justified is by far outweighed by the importance to protect people’s lives. Especially, protecting innocent lives with no means of defense, including those of children, those living with illness or disability, pregnant women and the elderly should be considered vital. The same goes for the lives of combatants and soldiers. There must be an end to the way of the world where people’s lives and rights are deprived for the sake of the decision and interest of the nation, and the wills of those with greater force and power, regardless of how unreasonable and outrageous they are, are considered righteous.
Even at such a time as this, there are student groups inviting students both from Palestine and Israel and organizing workshops to discuss peace. There are also young people who visited the area to meet with the people of Palestine and Israel directly, and are sharing their experiences on social media. There are youths who continue nonviolent activism through boycott movements against Israel, and there are demonstrations occurring in western countries, protesting against their governments’ one-sided support for Israel. Hamas and Israel are unable to even sit at the same table for discussion. We ask all leaders for actions to protect lives, as an ultimate priority before any political negotiations.
■What We Can Do
The destruction in Gaza continues only because arms and weapons are being sent from abroad, including the United States. Japan as well is not unrelated. Each one of us is not innocent. While we keep our eyes closed on what is happening, saying this is not anything to do with us, the tax money we paid or the sales from our purchases could be turning into a bullet that takes the life of a child. What we can do now first is to learn. Then, with the awareness that we are not unrelated to things that are happening in the world, we can inform those around us about what we learned. And we can try to make our voices heard to the political decision-makers, regardless of how small our voices are.
Our indifference might be resulting in us stepping on the feet of someone in another place, who is being deprived of their rights and unreasonably tormented. Through meeting and interaction with each other, we in the YWCA wish to nurture the power to become “good citizens” who can share in the struggles over issues taking place beside our lives, and choose small steps forward for a positive change.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought limitations in the communication between us. We wish to start anew from here, creating a small-scaled peace through meeting and connecting with people, and expanding it to those around us. YWCA is an international organization with sisters around the world. We have received statements from YWCAs in Palestine and Lebanon calling for peace. We will listen to one another, and promote peace through empathy. We will join our prayer to the call from the Olive Tree Campaign by the Joint Advocacy Initiative of YWCA of Palestine and East Jerusalem YMCA, to “Keep Hope Alive”.
Since the beginning of the attack on Gaza last year, the YWCA of Japan has called for an immediate ceasefire, and organized a Christmas Silent Appeal in December where we stood in silence on the streets holding banners with the words “Silent Night for Gaza”. We have since continued to call out for immediate ceasefire wherever possible. We wish to stay connected with organizations that take peaceful and legal countermeasures against Israel, NGOs supporting Gaza, medical workers and academics, stay informed, listen to the voices of those who are working to support people at the forefront and amplify those voices, learn what support is needed, and respond with our possible means. Our wish is that we want to draw lines, which do not form international borders but create a safe space where women, children and the marginalized people can be at peace and safety.
■What We Ask from the Japanese Government and the Media
Currently in the Middle East, Israel is intensifying the attack in Lebanon, in the Southern area as well as the Capital Beirut, and the tensions are rising between Israel and Iran. If the crash of forces escalates, there is even the possibility of the use of “nuclear”.
We ask the Japanese Government to take initiative in resolving the conflict via dialogue, instead of resorting to use of force. We ask the Japanese Government to not merely follow the U.S. but take a clear stance as an individual state to adhere to the principles of the Japanese Constitution which upholds lasting peace without the use of arms. We ask the media to ensure coverage in a way that respects each individual, fair and equitable reporting without yielding to pressure, and to voice proposals for peace.
