Giulia Daniele, an Italian student and director of the soon-to-be-established Palestine Studies Observatory (OPAL), announced during a press conference the organization of a solidarity demonstration for Palestinians. This event marks the second anniversary of the extremist group Hamas’s attacks in southern Israel, which triggered the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
Daniele, also the deputy director of the Center for International Studies at the Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE), where the solidarity action took place, criticized a peace proposal under discussion in Egypt by Israeli and Hamas delegations. “The peace proposal is not one of peace because it is managed by the occupier [Israel]. We must remember what is happening in the Gaza Strip as a genocide, ethnic cleansing, and ‘apartheid’ are occurring in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,” she asserted.
The activist emphasized the need for the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas, while also highlighting the plight of “about 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, who should also be freed.”
She stressed, “We see an opening, a possibility for the release of hostages, but it is not enough to free the Israeli hostages. We are talking about 10,000 Palestinian hostages, hundreds of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons.”
Daniele referenced a report by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories since 1997, and the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, asserting that Israel does not comply with international law or respect human rights, leading to “two years of genocide.”
“We must recall all this to mark this day, these two years of genocide. We want it to stop immediately and demand respect for international law and human rights. None of us can tolerate what is happening in the Gaza Strip. These are atrocities,” Daniele insisted.
When asked why the solidarity action was held two years after the Hamas attack on Israel and if there was concern about appearing to support the Islamic resistance movement, Daniele explained that they proceeded due to “terrible violations” of international and human rights that must be denounced.
German doctoral student and coordinator of ISCTE’s Student Collective for Palestine, Sophia Kelksch, echoed Daniele’s sentiments, emphasizing participants’ ethical responsibility toward colleagues in Gaza.
“They are experiencing a ‘school-genocide.’ This means all schools, educational institutes, and universities have been destroyed. We have that ethical responsibility toward our colleagues there,” she stressed, advocating for peace talks that include Palestinian voices.
“As students and OPAL members, we support international law. This means we support freeing all Israeli hostages in Gaza and the approximately 10,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. We uphold international law and human rights,” the German doctoral student reiterated.
Hamas and Israeli delegations are engaged in indirect negotiations in Egypt regarding a 20-point peace plan proposed by Trump. This initiative followed a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last week.
The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. Among the abducted, 47 remain in Gaza, with 25 declared dead by the Israeli army.
Israel’s retaliation has caused over 67,000 deaths and approximately 170,000 injuries, mostly civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which the UN considers credible.
The Israeli offensive also devastated nearly all of Gaza’s infrastructure and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
