On Jan. 19, a three-stage ceasefire deal was negotiated between Israel and Hamas after 15 months of war in Gaza. Some students, faculty members and staff members say the pressure on the University of New Mexico to divest from Israel will not slow down.
The first stage of the deal will allow greater humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza strip, Hamas’ release of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas and displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, according to The Associated Press.
Fatima Awad, a graduate student, said the ceasefire evoked a mix of cautious hope and skepticism.
“While the relentless bombing in Gaza has stopped, we must understand that many families are returning to homes that are now nothing but rubble,” Awad wrote to the Daily Lobo. “Our people deserve more than just a temporary pause in violence; they deserve a chance to return to homes and start rebuilding, to grieve for their loved ones, and to count their dead and to search for bodies still buried in the debris.”
Around 90% of homes and 80% of commercial buildings have been destroyed or damaged in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
Andre Montoya-Barthelemy is a faculty member with the UNM School of Medicine and a member of UNM Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine. He said the ceasefire is not going to slow down UNM FSJP’s organizing efforts.
“The university is the students. It is the faculty and the community members, the alumni, the staff, the people who carry our reputation out into the world,” Montoya-Barthelemy said. “We've already demonstrated that an enormous proportion of the university demonstrates compassion for the Palestinian people.”
Graduate student Mark Campbell is a member of UNM Students for Justice in Palestine. He said that although the ceasefire provides a “breath of relief,” the “fight for divestment is going to continue.”
“We're at a moment where students are demanding more from their universities,” Campbell said.
According to the AP, Israel launched a military operation in the West Bank Jan. 22 as suspected settlers attacked two Palestinian towns. This came just before Trump canceled sanctions that had been placed on Israeli settlers who were accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Reuters.
In a recent audio recording, Trump described Gaza as a “demolition site” and said he wants Egypt and Jordan to accept an increased number of displaced Palestinians to “clean out” Gaza.
Awad said the ceasefire is a welcome but “brief respite.”
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“True peace will only be achieved when the root causes of the conflict — namely the ongoing occupation, displacement and systemic injustice faced by Palestinians — are addressed,” Awad wrote.
Montoya-Barthelemy said UNM FSJP hopes the newly appointed members of the Board of Regents — replacing Chair Kim Sanchez Rael and regent Robert Schwartz — will be supportive of divestment, and that they would not support their confirmations otherwise.
He said that the current Board of Regents does not seem to have the “same willingness to engage” with how “power dynamics manifest within oppressed peoples around the world,” when compared to that during UNM’s 1985 divestment from South Africa.
“I was finally able to cry after the past 15 months and after the trauma of the encampment, terrified that we were going to get beaten up by police,” Campbell said. “It's a moment of hope, but the work isn't over yet for us. We are not going anywhere until we get divestment.”
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
