On October 15, 2023, one week after October 7, I wrote the following in an article I published: “You all may think I am crazy writing this, but believe me there will be a day after tomorrow. This horrible war will come to an end. We will all be traumatized by what we have gone through. We will see all around us the devastation, destruction, wounded people – mentally and physically, and a lot of death. We will bury our dead and we will not forget what has been done and who did it. That will remain with us for many years to come.
“These days and weeks and maybe months will reshape our narratives, and Israelis and Palestinians will never agree about what happened to us. For Israelis, the attack on October 7 was the most severe military invasion and terrorist attack in 75 years. For Palestinians, that day and the days to follow have become the harsh and acute continuation of the Nakba. These are very dark days and all of us are impacted by what is happening.
“I am hoping for what I call ‘a Belfast moment.’ Perhaps it is an incorrect term, and if so, I apologize to the people of Northern Ireland. I am referring to the time when we, the civilians, not our governments, look around us and see all the death and destruction and say: No more. ENOUGH!!!
“We have to invest our time, energy, resources, faith, and devotion not in killing each other anymore, but in building a new reality. We have to recognize that even after this horrific war, Israelis and Palestinians will remain here on this land between the river and the sea and no one here has more right to be here than anyone else. We have to look each other in the eyes and say we must all have the same right to the same rights. Then we can begin to rebuild a new reality.”
A call to young Palestinians
This Sunday, I published on my social media: “This is a call out to young Palestinians. On Saturday I met with a group of young Israelis who are members of an organization called ‘The Children of Abraham.’ They are also called the ‘Believers of the Left.’ They are religious Jews who are leftists and say that they are leftists because they are religious. They believe strongly in ending the occupation and making peace between Israel and Palestine.
“They are not just talkers – they are activists – and every week they are in the West Bank trying to protect Palestinians from violent settlers and from the army that protects the violent settlers. Wherever they go in the West Bank they stand with the Palestinians against the occupation and physically put themselves between the Palestinian residents and the violent settlers and soldiers.
“Because they strongly believe in peace between Israel and Palestine, they are looking for partners in Palestine. If you are young (in the 20s and 30s), you live in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Gaza, and you believe in peace with Israel and would like to meet young Israelis like yourself to work together to bring down the occupation and to build peace, contact me directly and I will put you in contact with members of ‘the Children of Abraham.’”
The first responses I received were from Gazans. In fact, most of the responses I have received so far are from Gazans. I am not surprised. The Gazans have suffered and are suffering more than any other Palestinians, and they are the Palestinians who understand more than any others that there is no viable armed struggle against Israel.
They know that they will not free Palestine by killing Israelis. This should be the understanding of all Palestinians – just as all Israelis should understand that there is no military solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, and with Iran and Lebanon as well.
I do believe in peace through strength – but strength is not only measured by military force with its killing power. Strength is also a factor of a strong and vibrant society with an innovative and advanced economy and a powerful academy. That kind of strength exists mostly in liberal democracies.
That is not the direction Israel is heading, but soon we will have elections and the chance to know if Israel will continue to be a liberal democracy with strength of character or a non-liberal semi-democracy that holds onto military might as the solution to every problem.
Palestinian society is far from democratic both in the West Bank and in Gaza. But Palestinians want democracy, elections, and a constitution with guarantees of separation of powers and authorities and that guarantees civil rights. Palestinians haven’t been to the polls since 2006, even though they were supposed to hold elections in May 2021. Mahmoud Abbas canceled those elections after 86% of eligible voters registered to vote and 36 lists of candidates were submitted to run in the elections.
Palestinians now have a new draft constitution, which needs a lot of work to be the constitution of a liberal democracy. I hope they will hold elections and bring a new generation of pragmatic young leaders who will reshape Palestinian political life. They will be holding municipal elections in the West Bank and in Deir el-Balah in Gaza on April 25.
While a majority of Israelis and a majority of Palestinians say they want to live in peace, both sides have difficulty finding a partner for peace on the other side. Looking at potential leaders in both societies who may be elected, it is difficult to identify any who present themselves as leaders who will bring peace to their people.
What they need to do is understand the most basic equation: Israel will only have real security when the Palestinians have real freedom, and the Palestinians will only have real freedom when Israel has real security. That is what this whole conflict rides on now.
The best place to find hope for Israel and Palestine is in the same place that brought us the official end of the war in Gaza and the return of the Israeli hostages – President Donald Trump. Points 19 and 20 of Trump’s 20-point plan are still our best hope facing the fear and hatred between Israelis and Palestinians.
Point 19: While Gaza re-development advances and when the Palestinian Authority reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people. Point 20: The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.
We have two years and nine more months of Trump being in the White House. Trump remains the only person in the world who can impose anything on any government of Israel – whether it is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or anyone else. Israel and the Palestinians are more dependent on the United States than ever before.
Trump was dragged into war in Iran by Netanyahu, and he is beginning to pay a political price for that in the US. His best recourse may be dragging Israel and the Palestinians into peace. While Israel and many Palestinians may scream and protest, the best chance we have had at reaching peace since 1993 is Trump. That is my message to him and my best hope for the two peoples of the Holy Land.
The writer is the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization and the co-head of the Alliance for Two States.