Mothers' call for peace: Palestinian and Israeli activists together for a better future

Reem al-Hajajreh, fondatrice del movimento palestinese Women of the Sun (a sinistra) e Yael Admi, fondatrice del movimento israeliano Women Wage Peace (a destra)

This mission seems even more difficult today. With the outbreak of the open conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, the space devoted to Palestine in the media immediately shrank, obscuring a political and humanitarian crisis still in the midst of it.

"While the focus is on the war with Iran, rebuilding Gaza and saving lives is no longer a priority," says Reem al-Hajajreh, voice of the Women of the Sun movement. "Settlers are violating the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank with killings, house demolitions, land confiscation, torture of prisoners and the collapse of the Palestinian economy."

A context that once again seems to reinforce the conditions that have never allowed a real peace process. 'Negotiations were not really decisive or urgent; they were secondary, and their absence led to the failure of the peace process,' explains al-Hajajreh, who emphasises how the lack of a moderate component and the exclusion of women and civil society contributed to the sinking of the dialogue.

Then there is another obstacle that threatens to undermine the possibility of coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in the long run. As of 7 October 2023, opportunities to meet have been almost completely eliminated. The spaces are increasingly separated, even physically, and the border crossing between Israel and the Palestinian territories has become much more complicated.

"The danger of distrust, distance, and the presence of walls and barriers of separation have fuelled hatred, resentment, and aggression," al-Hajajreh says. 'The belief that there is no partner has become very strong in both societies and physical separation reinforces this perception. - yael Admi echoes her - Our partnership directly challenges this narrative: Israeli and Palestinian women meet, talk and work together through structured cross-border initiatives."

What is certain is that right now talking about peace seems more difficult than ever. The international order based on shared rules seems a distant mirage, but even in the face of a Middle East in flames, from Iran to the Gulf countries to Lebanon, the commitment to dialogue refuses to stop. 'For us, peace activism is not naive idealism,' Admi explains, 'it means insisting on political solutions even when the environment becomes more polarised and more militarised. It means creating civic pressure for diplomacy and refusing to accept that violence is the only language available'.