Anti-Israel activists welcomed the Wednesday announcement of a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, issuing statements and organizing rallies promising that a cessation of hostilities would be followed by continued efforts to destroy the State of Israel.
Branches of the People's Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and affiliates of the Shut it Down For Palestine coalition announced coordinated "Gaza will rise" protests on Thursday across the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom to continue "to drive the struggle for liberation forward."
"Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow," social media graphics for the protests declared, a slogan echoed with slight variation Wednesday by different anti-Israel organizations.
Advertisements for the protests, set to be held in places such as London's Trafalgar Square, the US State Department building in Washington DC, and the Ottawa Human Right Monument, said that it would take a long time to return Gazans to their homes, rebuild the Strip, and hold "Zionists and war criminals to account."
"The Ceasefire in Gaza is a victory for the Palestinian people and the global struggle for liberation," the People's Forum said Wednesday on X/Twitter. "The struggle against imperialism and Zionism has advanced, and there is no going back. This ceasefire is just the beginning. The struggle to end the occupation and achieve full independence for the Palestinian people will continue with unwavering determination. A new phase in the struggle begins now, and we will not rest until total liberation — from the river to the sea."
Students join the anti-Zionist statements
National Students for Justice in Palestine also said on social media Wednesday that a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle had begun as Gazans sought to return home, rebuild, and to secure a "fully liberated Palestine, from her river to her sea." NSJP said that activism had to continue on campuses for full cutting of ties to Israeli affiliates, and advocacy would go ahead to secure an arms embargo and an end to the military blockade of Gaza. PSL also said on social media that the boycott efforts and work to end all US aid to Israel had to continue.
"A ceasefire has been reached starting January 19, but the fight for a free Palestine must continue!" PSL said on X/Twitter Wednesday.
NSJP praised Gazans for refusing to collaborate with Israel and for continuing to support Hamas and other terrorist organizations until the deal. Within Our Lifetime Chair Nerdeen Kiswani also stated that Gazans refused to be separated from "our resistance" instead choosing to endure a supposed genocide to achieve their objectives.
"Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow. We honor the steadfastness, determination, strength, resilience, and courage of the Palestinian people. This is a victory for resistance and those who refused to abandon the path of liberation," said WOL. "We applaud a ceasefire as an effort to preserve the lives of Palestinian people, and we will continue the struggle for complete liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea. Since the beginning, we have made clear that a ceasefire is only a first step in the struggle for true justice against the imperialist Zionist and US war machine."
WOL called for donations to its fundraiser on Wednesday to help Gazans with medical supplies, food, and clothing during the respite.
"Gaza has won, Palestine has won, resistance has won," Kiswani cheered on X Wednesday. "Imperialism and Zionism has lost, the Democratic Party has lost, the future of the Zionist state continues to be eroded. Everyone who participated, aided and abetted this genocide will continue to pay the price."
PYM said on Instagram Wednesday that Palestinians had prevailed against supposed Israeli military objectives of splitting Gaza in two and constructing Israeli settlements in the territory to expel "their occupiers once more" and would obtain the release of 1,000 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons.
"Zionism and imperialism will fall because ideologies predicated on genocide, displacement and domination are incompatible with the forward march of humanity and will always be met with resistance," said PYM. "That is why we say that liberation is not only possible, it is inevitable. Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow."
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network also claimed that the Israeli military had not achieved a single military objective, praising terrorists as "heroic fighters" and " great heroes of humanity" for supposedly defeating the IDF.
"Glory and victory to the resistance, from Palestine to Lebanon and Yemen and everywhere in the region," said the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-linked activist group. "The final defeat of Zionism and imperialism is coming. And Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea."
— CODEPINK (@codepink) January 16, 2025
Code Pink said that it would continue to make demands, including cutting US aid to Israel, as well as further release of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, the right of return for all Palestinians, and the removal of Israeli troops from Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
"A free Palestine from the river to the sea," Code Pink said on Instagram. "Ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow."
Gazan journalist Bayan Abusultan roused outrage on social media on Wednesday when she said that she didn't believe she would live to see a ceasefire deal, and that the next day would be the one "Israel ceases to exist."
"We share our partial joy with the Yemeni and Lebanese people," she said, "and we dream of the great joy on the day the country is liberated from the river to the sea."