The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for almost two months, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness is pleading with the relevant parties to look for a long-term resolution.
As the UN General Assembly adopted a nonbinding resolution advocating for a “humanitarian truce” in the Gaza-Israel conflict on October 27, Holness’s government came under heavy fire. Holness brought up the issue on Sunday at the 80th annual conference of the ruling Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), which was held at the National Arena.
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The PM stated, “We remain convinced that this (permanent solution) can only be achieved by a negotiated two-state solution enabling the Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and dignity.”
After Hamas gunmen infiltrated into southern Israel on October 7 and killed at least 1,200 people while capturing about 240 captives, the current Gaza-Israeli conflict broke out. The prime minister has said almost little since then. Since then, the United Nations and Gaza’s Health Ministry report that Israel has continued its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing an estimated 15,000 Palestinians, including nearly 6,000 children, destroying entire neighborhoods, and uprooting about 1.8 million of the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.
Holness stated that the combat had stopped for four days after Hamas promised to free Palestinian detainees’ hostages in exchange for more aid—such as gasoline, food, and medication—entering Gaza.
According to Holness, “Jamaica supports the cooperative system of nations, and we will do our part to make the world a better place”. He declared that the government will stick with this strategy, “whether it’s support for disaster recovery for our neighbors as we did in Dominica and the Bahamas or in supporting peacebuilding in Haiti”.
Holness mentioned, “Jamaica is consistent in its support for the universal respect and adherence to the principles of international law and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations. We condemn all forms of terrorism and support the right of nations to defend themselves and pursue their security while preserving the rights of innocent civilians to live in peace and dignity”.
“We are deeply concerned at the rising human cost in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and we welcome the current pause in hostilities,” he remarked.
