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HUMANITY MUST NOT END IN GAZA

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Naples  ||  | 04 October 2025
Iniziative (EN) - Maison de la Paix (EN)

While Italy prepares for the national demonstration for Gaza, which will start at the Pyramid and end at Piazza San Giovanni, I read an article by my dear friend Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, which I agree with word for word.
In the text, he writes:
"Humanity must not end in Gaza. It is truly difficult to believe that human beings can inflict such suffering on other human beings, on more than two million people who have already suffered, who have died, who are suffering from a lack of rights and basic necessities. No one is stopping this absurdity, which robs both those who suffer and those who cause it of all dignity. After this total destruction, who can justify so much bloodshed and suffering? Will what is built on suffering and death have solid foundations? It is impossible to understand such relentless persecution of innocent, defenceless, unarmed people."
He continues: 
"There can be no understanding and no justification for such inhumanity, for complicit silence, for words of circumstance. It was time to disarm the fratricidal hands and stop the fire. At this moment, I have only questions for humanity, which has defeated its own nature and does not respond to the fundamental needs of justice and truth. I hope that the international community has asked itself these same questions while we silently, helplessly and astonishedly witness this further massacre and inhuman destruction."

After reading Ibrahim's words, I wanted to look back over the last forty years of commitment with the Fondazione Mediterraneo and the United States of the World to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the recognition of two peoples in two states: a phrase that many – excuse me – today like to “rinse their mouths” with.
But no, we have been working since 1985 with painstaking dedication, achieving significant results, which were then rendered futile by the mediocrity of some senior officials or the limitations of extremists, on both the right and the left, in Palestine and Israel.
I opened the Foundation's archive and quickly extracted a bunch of images that capture significant moments in the move towards peace between Israel and Palestine and the resulting “two peoples in two states” agreement.
Yasser Arafat, visiting our headquarters in Naples twice, expressed his approval of our work, which was later confirmed by Abu Mazen during his historic visit to our headquarters in April 2013.
First Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 and then Shimon Peres on several occasions (he was also the first Secretary-General of the United States of the World) confirmed the right path to peace, with two peoples in two states.
In 1997, the President of the Italian Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, speaking at the Forum we organised with three thousand participants to strengthen the peace process between Israel and Palestine, expressed his appreciation for the work carried out since 1985. Similarly, King Felipe VI of Spain, formerly Prince of Asturias, has supported us in our efforts since his youth.
These efforts were ratified by our institution's international scientific council, composed of prominent figures including Tariq Ramadan, Bishara Kader, John Esposito, Wassyla Tamzali, Predrag Matvejevic’, Nullo Minissi, Walter Schwimmer, Khaled Fouad Allam, Igor Man. 
And then there were the appeals to the UN (with then Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali), to Iran (with President Khatami visiting our institution), to the Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, and to the Foreign Ministers of Spain and Austria, Miguel Àngel Moratinos and Ursula Plassnik.
In short, a dedication to Palestine and Gaza and, in general, to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has developed with courage, competence, passion and dedication through significant moments: such as the awarding of the Special Edition Mediterranean Prize to the students of Gaza and the launch of the “Peace Boat for Gaza”.
We do not know what the developments will be in the peace plan launched by Donald Trump.
We are simply aware that there will never be peace without justice and truth: both on the part of Israel and Palestine. We will devote all our resources to this cause. For life. For peace.