‘People cannot just live from ceasefire to the next’: Ceasefire discourses in the Gaza War of 2014.

In a conflict as violent as that involving Israel and Palestine, ceasefires might be seen as spaces for respite and offer the potential to find ways for longer-lasting peace and justice. This however has not materialized to date. Israel, given has continually increased its occupation of the Palestinian land and military actions from Hamas have continued. In this chapter, I examine discourses of ceasefires by leaders and spokespersons of Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza War of 2014. Using discursive psychology, I show that Israelis rejected ceasefires, citing Hamas’ actions, and constructed ceasefires as coming in the way of achieving the annihilation of Hamas. For Palestinian and Hamas spokespersons, ceasefires were rejected for limiting their rights to fight the Israeli occupation, but were also welcomed to advance a more stable co-existence. Ceasefires then carry distinct implications for different parties in the conflict, which must be considered to achieve progress.