Don’t Be Fooled: Panetta’s “Pause” Letter is Not a Call for A Ceasefire
We denounce the letter recently co-authored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta which supports “a temporary pause in fighting.” The co-signers of this letter have collectively received over $5.7 million from AIPAC and this letter is designed to signal the Democrats’ intention for a ceasefire, while allowing Israel’s massacre of Palestinians and potentially expanding the occupation of Palestine.
You can’t negotiate a peace deal if you can’t name the problem
In keeping with the U.S. government’s position until this point, the letter condemns Hamas, but not the violence of Israel. The murder of approximately 1200 in Israel on October 7th was an undeniably terrible act of violence, but there is no mention at all here of the over 30,000 Palestinians who have been murdered since October 7th or the ICJ’s ruling that this plausibly constitutes a genocide.
Occupation is not liberation
Though the erasure of the deaths of Palestinians is a discouraging and disingenuous framework for peace negotiations, perhaps the most troubling part of the letter is the vision of so-called peace that is laid out. This includes an occupation of Gaza by “a provisional recovery administration” organized by Israel and the US.
Panetta’s letter states:
Ultimately, the terror infrastructure Hamas built, and the devastation wrought by the war Hamas started with its barbaric attack on October 7th, must be replaced with vibrant neighborhoods, quality schools, modern hospitals, and thriving industries providing quality jobs. To achieve this outcome, the United States must work with Palestinians, Israelis, Egyptians and our allies to create a provisional recovery administration to secure Gaza until a permanent government can be established.
This paragraph implies that there were no vibrant neighborhoods, quality schools, or modern hospitals in Gaza previous to October 7th, just terror infrastructure. This was not true, but now much of the previously existing civic infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel’s bombardment. For example, as of January 16, only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remained semi-functional. And of the 737 schools that were functioning in 2018, all of them had shut down by November 6th, 2023. People in Gaza do not have access to medical care or education because they are being bombed, not because they previously lacked the infrastructure. By suggesting that all of Palestine was terror infrastructure the letter not only justifies the violence against Gaza, but it also suggests that Palestine needs US and Israeli intervention. This is a chillingly familiar colonial argument that represents the Palestinians as uncivilized terrorists in need of outsiders to enlighten and govern them. If the “provisional recovery administration” is formed in collaboration with Israel, it sounds a lot like the attempted elimination of a Palestinian state and the further expansion of Israeli occupation.
A temporary ceasefire is just a P.R. stunt
The letter explicitly asks only for a temporary ceasefire. We had a temporary ceasefire at Thanksgiving and it looks like we may have another one just in time for Super Tuesday. Call us cynical, but these seem like ways to allow Americans to temporarily forget about the violence in hopes that something else will distract us. The letter also claims that this will “create a space for people to eventually return to their home communities, turning attention to recovery in the region.” It does not mention that as of December, 70% of homes in Gaza had been destroyed. How will people return to those homes?
Who paid for it?
This letter is completely in line with AIPAC’s desires. And that is no surprise given that according to the publicly available FEC receipts, the signers of this letter have collectively received $5,715,862.82 from AIPAC, either directly from the AIPAC PAC or earmarked as an AIPAC donation by individuals. Rep. Jimmy Panetta has received the largest single donation of any of the signers at $143,000 and a cumulative total of $338,304.
At best, the terms of negotiation laid out in this letter are designed to fail and to give the Democrats some plausible deniability whilst continuing to support genocide. At worst, this is a declaration of intention to continue that genocide and occupy all of Gaza.
By accepting AIPAC money and signing this letter, Panetta is culpable. Vote against this genocide. Vote Sean Dougherty for Congress in D-19.