On Thursday, October 9, 2025, we woke up to headlines of the ceasefire agreement. It was hard to hold back the tears of relief. After two years of death, destruction and loss, after far too much preventable suffering and pain, we can finally breathe a little. We can finally hope that this nightmare is over – and start thinking about repairing and rebuilding.
That morning, 50 Israeli peace activists, Jews and Arabs, representatives of dozens of organizations and movements of the It’s Time peace coalition got on a bus and drove to Ramallah.
We drove to a place where the Israeli government refuses to go, the place where our partners for peace, the alternative to Hamas and to wars, are sitting. We arrived at the Muqata’a, the Palestinian Authority headquarters, to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The visit was planned around the momentum ramping up in recent weeks with the Saudi-French initiative at the United Nations, the New York Declaration, and the recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western countries, and the publication of Trump’s 20-point plan.
We came to support these moves.
The Israeli delegation and the Palestinian hosts rejoiced together in the ceasefire, bowed our heads in face of the unimaginable suffering and loss, and agreed that we must not be satisfied with this first stage alone.
Mistakes of the past
We must not repeat the mistakes of the past and sink again into a bloody conflict and a false perception of “conflict management,” not in Gaza nor in the West Bank. We must not return to the reality that brought us to October 7, 2023. It is time to end the conflict, it is time for a just peace.
President Abbas welcomed us warmly, saying, among other things: “We want peace. We strive for a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. The declaration of a Palestinian state is the path to peace and security for both peoples.”
He welcomed the deal and the return of the hostages, and made it clear that Hamas would have to hand over its weapons and would have no place in the future Palestinian government. Abbas reiterated the commitment to reforms in the PA, under international supervision. He recalled that the PLO had recognized the State of Israel as early as 1988, and condemned antisemitism.
Abbas said in explicit words everything that Israelis need to hear from a Palestinian partner.
The delegation, for our part, read him a joint statement from those who comprise the It’s Time peace coalition:
“We, Israeli peace activists and leaders… refuse to continue the abandonment of the hostages and the ongoing loss of lives on both sides; refuse to continue to partake in the devastation of Gaza...
“There is another way... We welcome the decision to recognize a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel as part of a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that respects the rights of both peoples to live freely, without being subjugated, in independence, sovereignty and national self-determination.
“Let us work together to build a different reality, one of safety, humanity, justice and compassion.”
Destruction and death
As organizations and individuals dedicated to the struggle for peace, we know that the greatest danger is that after all the destruction and death, we’ll return to exactly the same place... If we allow ourselves to again settle for an illusion of a new status quo and upgraded conflict management, we will bring the next disaster upon ourselves.
A just peace is the only solution that can ensure the security and freedom of the two peoples who share this land.
We went to Ramallah because we believe that we have no choice but to walk the path of peace. If we do not demand an alternative, if we do not strengthen the moderate forces on the Palestinian side and promote a just and sustainable solution, we will very quickly return to the reality of regularly enduring bloody “rounds,” of continuous bereavement – until the next big explosion. If we do not offer a different vision, fear and hatred will continue to dictate the future of our children.
A direct line connects our visit to Ramallah and the political momentum of these days of a fragile ceasefire, in which – with due caution – there is once again a discourse on diplomatic maneuvers and political agreements.
Political courage required
Israel now needs political courage.
There, in the Muqata’a, we dared for a moment to imagine an Israeli leader arriving there, shaking Abbas’s hand, extending his hand for peace, speaking alongside the Palestinian president about a future of security, justice, and equality for both peoples. A leader who not only joins a regional summit for peace, unlike the current Israeli leadership, but initiates and leads such a summit alongside his or her Palestinian partner. A leader who is a partner for peace.
This is the moment for opposition leaders, for protest leaders, and for everyone who took to the streets to defend democracy and call for the return of the hostages to understand that the struggle for Israel’s future is hardly over. In many ways, it’s just beginning. We need political leaders who will lead us to a future of peace. For the future of our children, we must, at long last, choose life.
The writer is director of the It’s Time coalition.