Israel and The Occupied Palestinian Territories archive

From the field: Change depends on people

Ten peacebuilders in Israel and Palestine are asked: ‘What is your motivation to work towards peace?’ This is an insight into motivations of ten committed peace activists on both sides of the conflict at a specific moment in time. Read more »

Commentary: Global call to action to stop the violence in Israel-Palestine

Kai Brand-Jacobsen, Director of Department of Peace Operations (DPO) – PATRIR, gives immediate actions you can take to help bring about an end to fighting and create the conditions for a just peace for all the people of Israel-­Palestine Read more »

Interview: Israel-Palestine: The Other Voice

The Other Voice is one of Israel/Palestine’s most unlikely peace groups, bringing together those living on the fault line of the conflict between Gaza and the surrounding Israeli towns. In this video, local correspondent Susanna Bennett, speaks to Erik and Roni, who are part of the core group of 20 volunteers who keep Other Voice going. Read more »

Interview: Wi’am: Helping the people of Bethlehem see Stars not Bars

Conflict breeds conflict and Israel’s occupation of Palestine has consequently increased violent disputes within everyday Palestinian society. The strains of conflict create a potent mix of societal problems. High unemployment, land confiscation, checkpoints, economic deterioration, and a stagnating peace process combine to create a perilous mix of tensions. The holy town of Bethlehem has felt this growing despair. Domestic violence has increased, drug abuse is rising amongst the young and the Separation Wall has severed vital economic links with Jerusalem; unemployment is now at 23%. Wi’am is a Bethlehem based NGO that has evolved to mitigate these social problems. They mediate in community conflicts to stop them escalating by using a traditional Arabic process of reconciliation called Sulha. Read more »

Interview: Looking ahead to 2018 with OneVoice

One Voice describe themselves as “an international grassroots movement that amplifies the voice of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians, empowering them to propel their elected representatives toward a two-state solution”. Over 650,000 people, with close to equal numbers of Israelis and Palestinians, have pledged their support to their work. Read more »

Interview: The Parents Circle and Israeli-Palestinian Reconciliation

In this video, Siham Abu Awad discusses how her life changed when her brother Yousef was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. Her political activist mother, who’d spent four years in jail, brought her and her remaining brothers to Parent’s Circle, a remarkable organisation that brings together bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families. Read more »

From the field: Rabbis for Human Rights and The Struggle for Justice in East Jerusalem

Video report on the work of the Israeli peacebuilding organisation, Rabbis for Human Rights in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. Here they have been campaigning for the rights of Palestinians evicted from their homes. Read more »

From the field: Humans Without Borders: One Woman’s Quest to Overcome the Divides of Occupation

Shaare Zedek Medical Centre is in a suburb of Jerusalem and one of three Israeli hospitals where Palestinians are permitted to go for treatment. The lobby is filled with a presentation on the history of Israeli medicine, the cafes full of visitors and patients. On the fifth floor in a small waiting room in the pediatric dialysis department sit seven Palestinian families. They travel from across the West Bank – Hebron, Jenin, Bethlehem – three times a week so their children can receive life saving dialysis. Read more »