Letters | The way forward for Gaza
"The Israeli regime must now play its part by permitting members of the National Committee to enter Gaza and assume their responsibilities without further delay."
After ruling the Gaza Strip for 20 years, Hamas, a national resistance movement in Palestine, has dissolved its governing structure and agreed, for the greater good of the Palestinian people, to transfer administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a transitional technocratic body.
The Israeli regime must now play its part by permitting members of the National Committee to enter Gaza and assume their responsibilities without further delay.
While this may create an opportunity for administrative reform, lasting peace will ultimately require a just political settlement.
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The true spirit of Palestinian self-determination can only be realised through a single democratic Palestinian state, similar to the inclusive constitutional settlement that ended apartheid in South Africa and other decolonised nations.
Any arrangement that falls short of the universal values of human rights, social justice, equality, and genuine sovereignty will fail to resolve the root causes of the conflict, which include the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the expansion of illegal settlements, the blockade of Gaza, the displacement of Palestinians, the denial of their internationally recognised right of return, and the continued desecration and violation of holy sites, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Until Palestinians, the indigenous people of the land, are free to live with dignity, equality, and full self-determination in their homeland, the Palestinian freedom struggle will continue.
MOHAMED SAEED Pietermaritzburg
