Today as I write, a new ceasefire agreement was reportedly reached to end 15 months of brutal conflict in the Gaza Strip. According to NBC News, this hard-fought deal includes the release of dozens of prisoners held by Hamas and Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. While it marks the first significant pause in violence since the collapse of the December 1 ceasefire, my mixed emotions underscore the complexity of this moment.
I welcome any relief for Gaza’s beleaguered population. The agreement, which supposedly compels Israel to withdraw from densely populated areas in Gaza, offers hope for temporary reprieve. For Palestinians enduring ceaseless bombardment, even a fleeting silence is precious. However, the echoes of history caution against premature optimism.
Hamas official Basem Naim lamented that this deal could have been reached months earlier, a stark reminder of the cyclical futility in negotiations often overshadowed by ulterior motives. President-elect Donald Trump, now a fervent voice in the global conversation, has been quick to celebrate this as evidence of his supposed diplomatic genius. But his track record, marked by staunch support for Zionist expansion, casts doubt on his sincerity. Bragging rights over temporary ceasefires are no substitute for justice or stability.
My personal pain adds another layer to this skepticism. Two of my family members were killed in the 9/11 attacks, a tragedy for which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility. The subsequent American alliance with groups like Al Qaeda’s offshoots, in pursuit of broader geopolitical goals, remains one of my greatest sources of anger. When the U.S. and Israel back factions like Al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, ostensibly to counter Iranian and Syrian influence, it feels like a betrayal of my loved ones’ memories. Worse still, it perpetuates the suffering of countless innocents across the Middle East.
This brings me to Syria and President Bashar al-Assad. Critics often deride him as a tyrant, but Assad has proven to be a bulwark against the chaos unleashed by groups like Al Qaeda. I cannot ignore the 2006 Lebanon ceasefire’s aftermath, where factions backed by the West, including Al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham under Abu Mohammed al-Julani, gained ground. Assad’s resistance to such forces had preserved what remained of Syria’s sovereignty and provided a rare counterweight to Zionist and Western hegemony in the region.
And now, the 2024 Lebanon ceasefire deal, of which Israel has violated several times during Al Qaeda’s al-Julani’s conquest, serves as a haunting precedent for what could follow in Gaza. That agreement, brokered just months ago, sought to halt escalating clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border but left Hezbollah and Syria vulnerable to opportunistic maneuvers by Zionist Western and Gulf-backed factions. In the power vacuum created by the ceasefire, Al Qaeda seized the opportunity to intensify their insurgency against Assad’s government. The deal not only failed to secure lasting peace but also directly contributed to Assad's weakening grip in key regions, with extremists gaining ground as Western powers turned a blind eye—or worse, tacitly supported their advance. This betrayal underscores the danger of ceasefires that prioritize short-term optics over long-term justice, often paving the way for the erosion of sovereignty and the emboldening of reactionary forces.
In Gaza, as in Syria, real justice cannot come from deals brokered under duress or with ulterior motives. Ceasefires may temporarily halt bloodshed, but they often pave the way for deeper entrenchments of occupation or embolden reactionary forces. It is only through steadfast resistance—embodied by leaders like Assad—that the tide can turn.
For now, I mourn the lives lost and the suffering that continues. I also celebrate the Gazans’ temporary relief, even as I harbor profound doubts that this peace will endure. The powers that uphold the status quo, from Washington to Tel Aviv, have little interest in genuine liberation for Palestine. If justice is to prevail, it will require courage, vision, and an uncompromising stance against the forces of oppression.
Assad has demonstrated that resolve. His fight against Al Qaeda and its affiliates offers a model for defying the hegemonists and asserting sovereignty. The world would do well to recognize that justice does not come from temporary agreements or self-serving proclamations. It comes from the determined pursuit of a freer, fairer world—a pursuit that Assad, for all his flaws, embodies in ways Western leaders conspicuously fail to match.
