16/01/2025
Fellow Citizens at home and abroad,
I was personally elated yesterday to learn from a news item citing Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh ‘Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani’ stating that a ‘ceasefire has been reached between Israel and Hamas of Palestine’.
This is probably the best news the world has heard in the New year–a perfect New Year present to all of us peace loving global citizens’.
This is because, if the peace deal holds–which is what we all pray for–it could end the senseless and needless deaths of Palestinians and Israelis alike and restore political stability, humanity and sanity in the Middle East.
In this 15 months of active fighting and war, we have witnessed the death of more than 46,006 Palestinians and 109,378 wounded mostly women and children.
Conversly, this war has killed more than 1,200 Israelis and wounded over 5,431 when Hamas launched its attacks on Israeli soil on 7th October 2023.
Therefore, we must applaud and give credit to all peace negotiators from the state of Qatar, the Republic of Egypt, the United States of America, the Palestinian Authority and of course Israelis that have spent sleepless nights trying to find a solution to end this carnage.
This is an important milestone for all affected conflict parties and a commendable achievement for peace in the world! This is an important reminder that all differences among human beings or countries can be resolved through dialogue.
Conflict resolution as well as settlement through diplomacy around a table of mediation is always the best option than taking up arms, igniting war and causing bloodshed.
As you are all aware, there are no winners in any war: it is a zero sum game.
Therefore, I urge you all to join hands and pray for the people of Palestine and Israel that this time around, gunfire ceases, PEACE PREVAILS, and the conflict does not recur. It is also my prayer that the peace momentum in Israel and Palestine can extend to Sudan, Somalia, the DRC and other parts of the world ridden with conflict.
MAY THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE PEACE DEAL HOLD!
Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu
Sixth President of the Republic of Zambia
PF President
Tonse Alliance Chairman
UKA President