The six-week ceasefire agreement, approved by the Israeli security cabinet today, will see the release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, reports Marco Marcelline
Credit: Emad El Byed via Unsplash
Waltham Forest community groups and MPs have welcomed the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is due to come into effect on Sunday (19th January).
The six-week ceasefire agreement, approved by the Israeli security cabinet today (17th January) will see the release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention.
Israel has been at war with Hamas, the militant governing body of Gaza, since around 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack on 7th October 2023. Israel’s heavy retaliation, which UN experts and Amnesty International have called a “genocide”, has left more than 46,000 Gazans confirmed dead.
The estemeed medical journal Lancet however reports that the real figure could be much higher, with it estimating that 64,260 Palestinians died in the first nine months of the war alone.
In a statement provided to the Echo, Leyton and Wanstead MP Calvin Bailey said he “welcomed” the ceasefire agreement, adding that he hoped it would bring “an end to the suffering of so many and the release of all the hostages”.
Bailey continued: “We need to support the Government’s efforts to ensure this ceasefire agreement is implemented and maintained, and to ensure a flood of life-saving aid can get into Gaza. This is an essential opportunity to start the hard work of building a lasting two-state peace.”
Iain Duncan Smith, Chingford and Woodford Green MP said: “I am very pleased that there is now a ceasefire. We hope that the ceasefire is maintained and that it does lead to a full and lasting peace. The people of the region need peace to bring their lives back together again”.
The Waltham Forest Council of Mosques however said a ceasefire did not necessarily mean peace in the region.
A spokesperson for the organisation told the Echo: “As we approach nearly 500 days of murderous onslaught by Israel, the illegal occupier, a ceasefire, although a welcome respite for the oppressed Palestinians, will not stop the trauma and deterioration of life in Gaza.
“The world has witnessed the imputiny given to Israel as it deliberately destroyed schools, hospitals, homes to block any chance of life returning to anything resembling normality.
“After a true ceasefire and end to the siege, the illegal occupation by Israel must end – the root cause of all this trouble – and accountability for those orchestrating this genocide. Only then can we expect real peace.”
Waltham Forest has seen dozens of protests by pro-Palestine activists since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. Tens of protesters demonstrated outside former MP John Cryer’s office in November 2023 urging him to back a vote, while hundreds have signed petitions and joined protests urging Waltham Forest Council to divest its pension fund from Israeli-linked companies.
Activists have also targeted Barclays branches in the borough due to the bank’s financing of companies that manufacture weapons for Israel. More recently people took to the streets of Leytonstone to protest after Calvin Bailey MP “denied genocide” was taking place in Gaza.
Tensions have played out in the borough over the Israel-Hamas conflict. In January last year, a Leyton primary school made national headlines when uproar erupted amongst its large Muslim parent body after an eight-year-old boy was ordered to remove a Palestine badge from his uniform. Barclays Primary threatened to shut if alleged “serious threats” to its senior staff continued.
Meanwhile, Labour offices were targeted specifically by individuals angry about the party’s response to Israel’s actions in Gaza. One man was sought by police for a hammer attack on Stella Creasy’s Walthamstow office in June. Graffiti found on the pavement outside read: “F*** your weasel words this is genocide. Labour child bombing liars. 2001, 2003, 2024.”
Earlier that month, police investigated anti-Israel graffiti that had been daubed on the Chingford Labour Party office.
Speaking in parliament this week, Creasy raised the plight of Walthamstow resident Sharone Lifschitz whose father Oded, 85, is the oldest Israeli hostage in Gaza.
The retired journalist was taken by Hamas fighters from the home he shared with his wife Yocheved near the Gaza border on 7th October. Yocheved was released sixteen days later as part of the first hostage deal between Hamas and Israel.
Creasy asked Foreign Secretary David Lammy if he could honour Oded’s dedication to peace in the region by working with the Department of Health to “ensure that Palestininan children are given the medical help and support they desperately need”.
Are you a Waltham Forest resident with family in the region and want to share your thoughts on the ceasefire deal? Get in touch: [email protected]
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