Muslim civil rights and advocacy group commends students, activists and others who opposed the genocide.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the announcement of agreement on the “first phrase” of a new ceasefire deal that would, if upheld, permanently end the genocide in Gaza and free all captives.
President Trump said on social media: “Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
SEE: Israel and Hamas agree to ‘first phase’ of plan to end fighting and release hostages, Trump says – Associated Press
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome the long overdue announcement of a new ceasefire deal meant to permanently end Israel’s genocide in Gaza, free both Israeli and Palestinian captives and allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s starving population.
“The world must ensure that the next stages of this agreement lead to the reconstruction of Gaza free from Israeli occupation or western colonial oversight, as well as a clear path to ending the broader occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people so that a just, lasting peace can be established.
“Ending the genocide does not erase the genocide. The Israeli government must be held accountable for its genocidal war crimes, including through international tribunals, and its enablers must also face accountability.
“The end of the genocide should have come long ago, but our government and many other governments did not have the moral clarity or courage to stand up to the Israeli government, the anti-Palestinian lobby groups and others who demanded unconditional Western support for these horrific crimes.
“We must work to ensure that those who enabled and supported this genocide, from lobby groups like AIPAC to former Biden foreign policy officials, never again influence our nation’s direction. The past two years of horror must mark the last chapter, not the latest chapter, in decades of oppression, conflict and tragedy.”
“We commend everyone around the world who bravely stood up against this genocide over the past two years, from the diverse collection of students who risked their degrees and their safety to launch the anti-genocide encampments, to the Palestinian journalists who risked and sacrificed their lives to expose the genocide to the few Western political leaders brave enough to call for an arms embargo on Israel, to the activists who boarded an aid flotilla to feed starving Palestinians, to the doctors who entered Gaza to save the sick and dying.
“Most of all, we commend the Palestinian men, women and children of Gaza who showed the world the true meanings of faith and resilience by refusing to abandon their land or their religion in the face of an unrelenting genocide. May God reward them for their difficulty, replace it with better, free all oppressed people around the world, and deliver justice in this life and the next.”
Earlier today, CAIR called on the Trump administration to “put American first” following a new report by the Costs of War project at Brown University that the United States spent more than $30 billion in support of Israel’s genocide and its other wars in the Middle East over the past two years beyond the $3.8 billion Israel already receives every year.
Yesterday, CAIR marked two years since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel and the start of the genocide in Gaza by reiterating its opposition to all violence against civilians, calling for America’s political leaders to do the same and saying that it is “long past time” for the genocide to end, for all hostages and political prisoners to go free, and for a credible path to establishing a liberated Palestinian state free from Israeli occupation or western colonial oversight.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com