Dallas hits the street for lasting ceasefire
Dallas, TX – On January 16 a crowd drawn from around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex convened in response to the newly-brokered and fragile ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.
Community members met at Main Street Garden Park after the announcement that the Israeli Security Cabinet would accept the latest ceasefire terms. The terms include an exchange of hostages that could release over 1500 Palestinian civilians arrested since October 7, 2023, over a first phase that will last six weeks.
The night began with speakers from Palestinian Youth Movement who proclaimed that the impending ceasefire is owed to the steadfastness and perseverance of the Palestinian people around the globe and the resistance of their supporters. It is hard not to emphasize the numbers at play, that a fighting force in the dozens of thousands, in a space like Gaza roughly the size of Philadelphia, has withstood constant siege and famine from one of the most advanced occupying armies in the world, numbering over half a million troops.
But the impending relief does not come without strings – both the genocidal Biden administration and Netanyahu have already spent 15 months stalling any relief to the Palestinian people. The incoming Trump administration had already secured their victory on the campaign trail saying they would allow Israel to “finish the job.” taking $100 million dollars Zionist billionaire Miriam Adelson.
A hostage release still relies on a 24-hour appeal period over the weekend and there are no illusions of trust where the Zionist occupation is concerned. Ultranationalists in Netanyahu's coalition have already taken to social media to openly brag about past attempts and future intentions to sabotage this agreement. Though hope is there, it must be acknowledged that it is an uneasy kind of hope.
The crowd took to the streets, chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine is almost free.” Spirits were high. Night prayer was held at an intersection before the crowd made its way back up Main Street.
Jo Hargis of the DFW Anti-War Committee addressed the crowd, stating, “Of course it took less than a day for the criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to go back on his word and hold up the deal. Of course, the Zionist occupation, once again, is murdering as many Palestinians as possible before the deal goes into effect. There are many questions about whether this agreement will go through and if it goes through, if it will be implemented.”
People cheered at the news that the occupying Zionist force and its imperialist partners in crime had publicly and repeatedly failed to accomplish its stated military objectives since the Operation Al-Aqsa flood began in October 2023.
The crowd returned to Main Street Garden Park with high spirits, but with no doubt that the struggle is not over.