OPT/Israel: Gaza ceasefire must be followed by steps to ensure accountability and the right to self-determination for Palestinians
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“We are thrilled to see the war stop in Gaza and continue to call for a permanent end to the genocide, occupation, and apartheid. For over two years, millions of Palestinians lived through the horrors of genocide, siege, starvation, and escalating apartheid, with no end in sight. For those held hostage by armed Palestinian groups and those arbitrarily detained by Israel, the ceasefire has come tragically overdue. The fighting must never resume. We will continue to fight for peace and justice for all; we will never stop fighting for one humanity living in peace and equality.” PEN International President Burhan Sonmez
20 October 2025: PEN International calls on all parties to uphold the ongoing implementation of the drastically overdue ceasefire in Gaza and never allow any resumption of hostilities. The international community must ensure a permanent end to the genocide in Gaza, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, unfettered access to humanitarian assistance and medical supplies to the Gaza population, and accountability over all atrocities committed across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since October 2023.
PEN International stresses the need to address the root causes of the conflict, including an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and abolition of its apartheid system in line with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, and the fulfilment to the right to self-determination for Palestinians. The organisation reiterates its call on all states to impose an immediate arms embargo on all parties to the conflict, and particularly a ban on the export of all weapons used by Israel against Palestinians. States must fulfill their legal responsibility under international law, not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT.
PEN International is concerned over the recent Israeli airstrikes and the repeated violations of the ceasefire that continues to claim the lives of more Palestinians. Brief pauses in hostilities or a reduction in the scale of the attacks, while maintaining the siege on Gaza, will only allow another phase of the genocide to advance. All hostilities must permanently stop, and all restrictions on aid and essential supplies must immediately and unconditionally end. Even with the ceasefire in effect, millions of Palestinians across the OPT, and especially in Gaza, continue to endure agonising suffering amid catastrophic conditions, including widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure essential to the survival of the entire Palestinian population, most of whom remain internally displaced and have lost their homes. The majority of the population faces high levels of food insecurity and inadequate access to electricity, water and sanitation, and medical services. The entire population has not had access to formal education for over two years, while most of Gaza’s schools, universities, libraries, bookstores, and independent cultural spaces have either been destroyed or damaged.
Israel must immediately and unconditionally allow the unhindered flow of essential supplies, including food, medicine, fuel, reconstruction materials and equipment across the Gaza Strip, as well as end all restrictions on the movement of individuals within Gaza and across the OPT. All parties to the conflict should guarantee that international media have unrestricted access to Gaza and ensure their freedom to report facts on the ground, as well as the protection of humanitarian and UN workers.
In September 2024, the Assembly of Delegates of PEN International adopted a critical resolution during PEN International’s 90th Annual Congress, condemning the alarming increase in targeted killings, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on access to information in Palestine and Israel following the events of 7th October 2023, with Israeli authorities primarily responsible for these violations. The Assembly of Delegates also called on the international community to support swift, independent, and transparent investigations into the killings of writers and journalists and work towards ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine in accordance with international law.
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