BuildPalestine Statement on Ceasefire Agreement

A ceasefire–albeit fragile–is an opportunity to support Palestinians in Gaza to have agency over their recovery efforts. 

Israel’s 15-month-long genocidal assault has shattered the foundations of society and life in Gaza—the reported death toll hovers around 45,000 though this number is a dramatic undercount; 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced; and over 70,000 housing units have been destroyed, not to mention hospitals, schools, universities, churches, and mosques. 

A ceasefire–though tenuous and fragile–is a welcome development that gives a moment to the people of Gaza to breathe, mourn, and return to their homes–most of which have been partially or completely destroyed. It also represents an opportunity for those in solidarity with Gaza, both in Palestine and beyond, to double down on our support of mutual aid and investments into Palestinian-led initiatives directly serving affected communities.

We also know that a ceasefire in Gaza has given cover to the Occupation to ramp up their violence in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarem. We must stay focused on raising our voices against colonial violence in Palestine, no matter where it takes place.

At BuildPalestine, our ethos has always centered on putting agency into Palestinian hands. This ceasefire represents a critical time to empower Palestinians in Gaza as much as possible to have agency in their recovery efforts. We must think and do beyond the status quo of international aid being the solution to Palestinian problems and place our trust and material support into Palestinian community leaders. 

To that end, we have rounded up a list of verified and trusted initiatives where 100% of the funds go towards families and/or Palestinian-led initiatives that directly support the people of Gaza.

    • Nourishing Hope in Gaza: This is BuildPalestine’s program where we search for, verify, and uplift crowdfunding campaigns for community initiatives making a direct and immediate impact in Gaza.
    • Haifa Association for Children with Diabetes: Help our friend Abu Kareem and his team distribute insulin to children with diabetes in Gaza.
    • Gaza Education Hub: Led by Mohammed Hajjaj, Gaza Education Hub is providing physical space and infrastructure to displaced students in Gaza to continue their studies online.
    • Colors for Gaza: Led by Wisam Abualnaja, Colors for Gaza provides space for children in Gaza to play, create, and express themselves.
    • Scholarships for Ghazza: Led by Ahmed Issa, Scholarships for Ghazza links students in and displaced from Gaza with mentors around the world to complete scholarship applications for international universities

Mutual aid initiatives to directly support families in Gaza: We believe in directly empowering families in Gaza to have agency over their recovery and rebuilding journeys. Here are programs that help allies do that in a trusted and verified way:

We also encourage you to join BuildPalestine’s online global community – Under the Olive Tree. For $12/month, you support BuildPalestine’s mission to empower and advocate for Palestinian changemakers while gaining opportunities to directly plug into their work on the ground in Palestine. 

With hope for better days ahead, let’s build,

The BuildPalestine Team