Friend,
The ceasefire is holding – but we aren’t out of the woods yet.
In Israel, Netanyahu keeps threatening to go back to war. His government is still using humanitarian aid for leverage, while Smotrich is once again promising settlements in Gaza.
In Gaza, Hamas is executing enemies on the streets. Pressure must continue on the group to fully disarm and do everything possible to locate and return the bodies of remaining hostages – a process the Red Cross has warned could take months.
Meanwhile, Trump is now threatening to greenlight a return to bombing “as soon as I say the word” if he feels this messy post-war process is dragging out. I don’t put much stock in his patience or resolve.
Together, we have to make our voices heard: There can be no return to war in Gaza. Immense pressure must continue on both sides and the president for this fragile deal to hold.
Join Our Campaign If You Agree: This War Ends Here »
Friends, watching Netanyahu spin the Gaza ceasefire as his own victory is nauseating.
In reality, he spent the better part of two years sabotaging hostage negotiations – until the US finally refused to take no for an answer.
The United States must finally also reject the Netanyahu doctrine that led us here: A doctrine that seeks to block any path to statehood by undermining Palestinian moderates and expanding settlements on the one hand, while funneling cash to Hamas to “buy quiet” on the other.
An approach of containing Palestinian aspirations instead of resolving them. “Managing” the conflict instead of ending it. In the aftermath of the past two years, that path is discredited.
Israel now faces a choice: Double down on occupation and isolation – Netanyahu’s “super Sparta” vision – or begin building a different future. One that ends this endless war and moves toward the kind of regional peace we at J Street call the 23-state solution.
Netanyahu has already spurned an extraordinary opportunity – choosing not to attend a regional summit in Egypt where he could have stood with Arab leaders ready to discuss what comes next.
The United States made this ceasefire possible. Now it must help make it last – by keeping up the pressure, rejecting efforts to bring it down and pressing for a real political path forward.
Please join our call for a lasting peace built on accountability and progress, not a return to endless war »
Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Ilan Goldenberg
Chief of Policy, J Street
