Choosing the Side of Humanity

The Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the longest-running military confrontations in modern history, stretching across generations and intensifying anew on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel. Since then, the conflict has escalated dramatically, drawing in regional powers and transforming the entire Middle East into an increasingly volatile zone. Despite moments of temporary ceasefire, the fighting has persisted. Most recently, on June 13, 2025, Israel launched a direct strike on Iran — further evidence that the conflict is not only unresolved but rapidly expanding. At the heart of this intractable crisis lies a fundamental political impasse. For the Israeli government, Palestine is bound to Jewish historical identity, viewed as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people — a conviction deepened by the trauma of the Holocaust and the postwar displacement of Jews. For the broader Arab world and the Palestinian national movement, however, Palestine is inseparable from Arab history and identity, a land inhabited and cultivated by Palestinian Arabs for generations and unjustly taken from them.

The Arab-Israeli conflict continues to send powerful shockwaves through the region and across the globe. Massive protests have erupted in cities worldwide, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a long-term political solution. But is the end of the conflict truly possible? In the midst of ongoing violence, there are individuals — Palestinian and Israeli — who refuse to surrender to despair. These anti-war activists are working across divides, urging their communities to move beyond hatred and vengeance. They advocate for mutual recognition, for understanding each other’s historical trauma and current suffering, and for learning how to compromise. In this article, we present two such voices: a Palestinian and an Israeli anti-war activist. Each offers a perspective rooted in experience and struggle, and each seeks a way forward toward coexistence, justice, and peace. 

Eszter Koranyi, Israeli Executive Director for Combatants for Peace 

‍— Tell me more about the Combatants for Peace organization. What is the history of the group? What are its main activities?

— Originally, it was a group of Palestinians who took part mostly in the first Intifada and Israeli soldiers who did reserve duty. Towards the end of the second Intifada their eyes somehow opened up. There was also a letter by Israeli pilots saying that they would not fly over Gaza bombing civilians, since they didn’t consider it a form of protecting the country, but just a muder of innocent people. The Palestinians saw this letter, and they started to meet. They just sat in a room and started to talk about what they did and how they thought that what they did was not the way to reach peace and an end to the occupation. 

One of our main tools is still personal stories. We all grow up with a certain narrative and that narrative usually doesn't include the other narrative and other people as equal human beings. They are usually described as the enemy.

Even if people were not fighting with violent means, they are at least part of the violent narrative, and it takes a lot of courage to get out of this and say, “No, I want to create something here together.”

One of our main activities is that we are giving these house meetings, where one Palestinian and one Israeli activist go to a group, and they tell their story: how they underwent this transformation from being on the violent side of the conflict to becoming non-violent co-resistance peace activists. 

— I see that a lot of peace groups in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank do very similar things — they bring stories of people from other sides. But how is it possible that in a country where two million Palestinians live, where there are Palestinian parties in the parliament, and there are almost a million Israeli settlers in the West Bank, how is it possible that people almost don't communicate? Who prevents that? 

— It's not that it's prevented — you can communicate, but most of Israel is very much divided into groups. It's not only the Israelis and Palestinians, but also secular, national-religious, orthodox, ultra-orthodox, and other subgroups within Israeli and Palestinian society. Each group has its education, their religious communities are separated; also, most cities are separated by nationality, and people don’t even know each other’s language. 

— Can you assess the achievements of the Israeli peace movement in general? How did it influence the containment of violence, if it did at all? 

— I think you have to divide the peace movement into three fields. One is human rights research. The second is humanitarian aid. And the third is mostly what we do, like peace activism and education.

What we are doing is education. We have in-depth youth education programs, encounter meetings, and the ceremonies I was talking about previously.

We are making this narrative present. Even if it's not transforming most people's mindsets, it still holds up a question mark on the mainstream narrative.

— How does the government and the society react to your peace activism? Do peace activists face any repressions? 

— In Palestine actually, they do. Our activists luckily haven't faced anything of this sort, but it is because they sat in prison, and it means that you are a credible person in Palestine. I mean, they sat in prison because they were fighting the occupation. 

In Israel, the government doesn't like us, and there are always people who say that they would like to have those rules that are in Russia, today’s Georgia, and, to a certain extent, Hungary. But so far the only law that exists is that you have to put on your website and report quarterly foreign money that you got if it's more than fifty percent of the budget coming from foreign countries. But otherwise, we can operate quite freely if you don’t take into account defamation campaigns by the far-right. 

At Combatants for Peace, we don't have a unified opinion on what to do with conscious objectors because there are people who say that you have to enroll in the army and that then you can say that you don't want to go to the West Bank or Gaza. However, that's not something that’s actually very likely: when you are in the army, you just have to go wherever they tell you to go. Others say we should openly encourage people not to enroll in the army, but that's actually illegal. We can't go to groups of young people and tell them not to enroll. We can tell our stories, and then they can do whatever they want. But if we openly call not to enroll, the government can close us down. 

— Why do you think Hamas organized the October 7 attack? They probably understood that Israel would retaliate heavily. But what is their long-term strategy here?

— Well, on the one hand, they are doing a good job because the whole world has gone back to talk about the Palestinian cause, which was kind of forgotten, about all the peace agreements, and the Abraham accords. I think in a PR-way they are successful because everybody hates Israel now, and everybody wants Palestinians to be free. 

On the other hand, it doesn't seem that liberation is actually getting closer to Palestinians. I heard that one quote from Yahya Sinwar [editor’s note: former leader of Hamas in the Gaza strip], saying that hundreds of thousands of Algerians had to die before France left Algeria and Algeria became free. To compare this fight for Palestinian freedom to Algeria is not very smart, because the French in Algeria had all of France. Most of the Jewish people living in Israel have nowhere to go. That's like five or six million refugees going nowhere. For France, it was hard to give it up for political reasons but for Israel, it's really about survival.

That’s why I don't think we can actually succeed with violence. Usually, violent conflicts just bring more violence, and they end when there is a political solution.

— How do you think this conflict can be ended? What should be done on both sides?

— I think we should both accept that we will have to let go of certain expectations and demands, and find a way that gives equal rights, freedom, and self-determination for both nations, all the people, and all the religions living on the land — two states, one state with equal rights for everyone, or a confederation system are the most popular ideas. We in CFP don't have one exact solution we suggest, as what matters for us are the principles behind the solution. For sure, it needs a lot of work to let go of the narratives and de-educate ourselves, on both sides. 

— What can anti-war activists all over the world do to help stop this war?

— Advocate for a message of peace — instead of choosing one side, choose the side of humanity.

Bring signs to demonstrations saying that Palestinians and Israelis want to live on the Land together, in safety and equality. 

Osama Elewat, Palestinian peace activist 

— Tell me, please, about your journey. How did you become involved in [the resistance to the occupation]?

— It's not something you choose for yourself. I grew up in Jericho. Every day, when I went to school, Israeli soldiers stood in front of the school, and they scared me. When you are growing up like that, the normal thing to do is to resist.

— And how did you move from supporting violent resistance to becoming a proponent of non-violent?

— It didn’t happen in one day, it's a journey. Once, I was in Bethlehem looking for a ride back home. I saw one of my friends going to Bethlehem. It was cold and snowing, so I asked him to give me a ride, and he said, “I am going to meet a group of people, and I will come back after.” Thus, I joined them. I saw Israelis, and I was really shocked that there were Israelis who really recognized the occupation, discrimination, crimes of the settlers and soldiers, and injustice created by their military system, which was bursting the Palestinians and keeping them under the power of the sword all the time.

I was shocked because I hadn't met such people. I only met full-armed soldiers, so I was curious to know more about them, and I started to learn more. I started to understand their story, their narrative, to understand what Zionism is, what Judaism is, to understand Hebrew, what Holocaust is, and what the Jewish refugees from the Arab world are. I lived with Israelis for a long time, and I felt their narrative, their fears, and their pain.

It's a long journey, but it starts by meeting the other as human beings and recognizing each other as human beings.

The biggest crimes happen when we dehumanize each other, when we look at each other as something other than human beings. 

— And how did the fact that he learned Jewish history influence your view of Israel?

— It made me understand that the Jewish people are victims of many systems. They sent them to us to transfer the conflict from Europe to the Middle East, and they are victims too. In order to reach a different place, a better place, we need to accept each other's narratives because this is a place where two narratives can meet and accept each other.

I could never imagine that I would understand the Israeli people's pain. But, for example, I was in the North of Israel once, and the sirens started, rockets from Lebanon arrived, people panicked, went to their rooms, and cried. I don't want to forget this and fight over who's right and who's wrong. Their pain, fears, and panic at that time were real for me. They are human beings, and they are suffering too. Peace is a place where all of us can live without such situations. 

— How do you imagine ending the occupation in the situation when the whole presupposition of the Jewish state is to create a Jewish majority state?

— I think that Jewish people were wrong when they refused the two-state solution. Accepting the two-state solution would leave the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza with better rights and in a better situation. But the settlers did not allow this to happen, and that left the Israelis with three choices. 

If Israel tried to take the settlers out of the West Bank and give the West Bank to the Palestinians, that would start a civil war in Israel because the number of settlers in 1994 was 100,000, and Israel couldn't move them out then. They can't remove the settlers because settlers are controlling the army today, they are the commanders of most of the best units in the army. 

The second option is to be a democratic state as they always wanted, a democratic state that would give me the same rights as all the Jewish people and that would change the idea of the Jewish state. The third thing is to be an apartheid state, and that's what is happening now.

These are the three options for Israel, but it doesn't mean there are no other possible options. There are options, but Israel doesn't listen to the international community's decisions and doesn't listen to international law. Every time there is a decision against Israel in the international community, America uses a veto. That's the problem. If the biggest power in the world only supports our wars, not our peace, it doesn't work. No matter how much I do, there are big powers.

— What is the way to the solution, then?

— First, we should stop the war right now. Then the politicians of the world should bring the Israelis and the Palestinians, Hamas, Fatah, and Hezbollah to the table, force them to find a solution or they get a boycott, all of them. Leave them without money, without traveling, without anything. The way to the solution is international pressure on both governments. 

— A lot of people would say that if the world stopped providing Israel with weapons, its neighbors would attack and destroy it. What would you say to them?

— As long as Israel is choosing to live in a security jail and not be a part of the Middle East, the way they should be, as long as they choose to be the enemies of everyone, of course, everyone will attack them. As long as they are creating hate and death and occupation of the Arab world for the Arab people, of course, everyone will hate them. Israelis should understand that they are not in Europe anymore, and if they want to live in the Middle East, they should become a part of it and at least start learning our language.

After 75 years, most of the Israelis do not know Arabic at all. This is like they don't want to be a part of this place. At the same time, they refuse to give us rights. The minute they solve the conflict with the Palestinians, the minute they give the Palestinians their state or their rights or whatever the solution, there will be no problems with other countries. 

— Why do you think Hamas organized the October 7 attack? They probably understood that Israel would retaliate heavily. But what is their long-term strategy here?

— Hamas had an agreement with Israel a few years ago, even with Bibi-Netanyahu, that they were going to stop the fight. In turn, Israel would not attack them and would give permits for the workers, which they did. This peace agreement had some conditions. According to what I heard from the news, one of the conditions was that Israel would stop entering the Aqsa Mosque and disturb the Palestinian people's prayers. But Israel did not listen. They kept going to the Aqsa Mosque, and they beat the prayers inside. Perhaps Hamas wanted to show that you can't play with them. 

It does not matter what the reason is. Most of the people who attacked on October 7th lost their families in 2008, and in 2009, and 2014, and in wars against Gaza. Gaza wasn't Switzerland before the 7th of October. It was a concentration camp where 12,000 people were killed in the last few wars, mostly kids. People are full of hate, they don't know Israelis, they don't see Israelis, they don't meet Jewish people, they don't go out of the country. Essentially, they live in a very small and populated area. 

From 1994 until 2000, there were no armed groups in the Palestinian cities. Palestinian authorities used to arrest Hamas members if they used any kind of violence. I was a police officer and arrested them if they tried to cause any violence. We didn't have any armed groups inside the cities. All the weapons were under the control of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza. 

In 2000, Sharon entered the Aqsa Mosque, the second Intifada exploded, and the Palestinian Authority lost control. As a result, people started to carry weapons, everyone was shooting, and that started a war that lasted seven years. Afterwards they began to come back to negotiations. The Americans put pressure, and it all started to calm down. Until 2021, it was quiet. But in 2021, Benny Gantz started entering Palestinian cities again, causing another round of violence [editor’s note: Benjamin Gantz is an Israeli former minister of defence, who was in charge of Operation Guardian of the Wall in Gaza in 2021].

— Do you think that violent resistance has any chance to end the occupation?

— I think violent resistance is one of the things human beings use when there is oppression and occupation. It's not something that Palestinians created. Historically, that's how people react.

Violent resistance is not helpful in my eyes, but many people believe in it. I believed in it before, but now I learned different ways. However, not all the Palestinians have this opportunity to learn different ways and to travel around the world. The Israelis, mostly after they finish the army, travel for one year all around the world, they speak other languages and see different cultures. We don't. We grow up in this place where we believe violence is the only way because the situation or the politics are showing us this. Israel itself is showing us exactly this.

— And what is the role of the Palestinian administration in the conflict?

— To ask someone to take responsibility, you need to give them the space to work. If the Palestinian Authority can't protect me, they can't be responsible for me. If you want to ask people to take the responsibilities, give them space, freedom and authority on their land to create things. 

I'm not talking about victimhood, I'm talking about the reality. And the reality is that the Palestinian Authority does not have any authority. 

— So they cannot do anything to stop the conflict? Is it entirely up to Israel?

— Israel has the power to stop attacking the Palestinians and start making their lives and economy better. They are not making it from their own money – it's our money, but they have to release it. They have to open our cities, stop killing our people, and storm our cities every day. They have to give us an opportunity to raise a new generation of people who live a normal life, not in a war zone. The minute you give authority to the Palestinian Authority, I think they should start educating about peace, making schools of non-violent resistance, and creating schools with the Israelis and the Palestinians to bring children together and talk. The kids should learn each other's languages. 

— How do the Palestinian administration and Palestinian society react to the resistance? Can the Palestinian administration fight against violent resistance, for example?

— Abu Mazen, the Palestinian president, is the one who drew the Oslo agreement. He is a person of peace, he is listening to the international community. He is always coming out saying out loud that he is against violent resistance, that he would stop any Palestinian who would engage in violent resistance, that if he had the authority and Israel didn’t enter every day, he could take care of our cities. But he needs full authority, full control, and more freedom. 

— Could you name some Palestinian peaceful and non-violent resistance groups? What do they do?

— There are many groups of non-violent resistance, but these groups mostly are international. There's Faz3a, which is composed of Palestinians and Israelis who believe in nonviolent resistance. But Israeli authorities always beat them up and arrest them. There are two big Palestinian groups, Al-Haq and Addameer, that work for the UN and have lawyers. They defend Palestinian prisoners and the courts. They were proclaimed as terrorist groups in Israel, which confiscated all their belongings and arrested them. In our land people are afraid of having groups like this because for Israel we are still terrorists. Palestinians are afraid of joining these kinds of groups because if I am registered as someone who is resisting against Israel as a Palestinian group, you could be proclaimed a terrorist. 

When you resist Israel, you have three options. If you are a Palestinian or an Arab, you are a terrorist. If you are an international and you want to criticize Israel, you are anti-Semite. And if you are Jewish and you want to criticize Israel, you are a self-hating Jew. 

But one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

‍Yasser Arafat, who became the first Palestinian president, was a terrorist according to the US, Israel, and a lot of European countries. Nelson Mandela was a terrorist, according to the Americans, because he created armed groups of South African resistance that organized terrorist attacks. Both Arafat and Nelson Mandela took the Nobel Peace Prize after they were proclaimed terrorists. Now we see the same happening with the Syrian authorities, who were considered terrorists just recently.

— What do you think would be an appropriate response from the side of Israel to the attack from Hamas on October 7? Like, was there a choice for Israel but to retaliate heavily on Gaza?

— I think they could have made the deal. They shouldn't respond with violence because you can't change people by using violence against them. I think what Israel should do is what we always have been asked to do. The Palestinians under Israeli attacks are always asked to go back to negotiations by the whole world. I think this was the time for Israel to go back to negotiate with Hamas and start talking about how we can make a change, and not how we can kill each other. 

If you want a different life, you need to change them because you will not end them. As long as you keep doing this to them, they will be worse — we have seen it. Israel has been occupying us for 55 years; during these 55 years the resistance grows bigger and stronger and more violent, even though they used all the violence against us.

But when people are fighting for their freedom, there is no power in the world that can stop them.

— What can anti-war activists all around the world do to help stop this war? 

— End the occupation. Recognize Palestine everywhere in the world: as human beings, as a state, and as people who have the right to make decisions for themselves in Palestine and all around the world. Call for peace, call for equality — for everyone, not just for Palestine or Israel. I believe we all have the right to live on this land, share the rights, share the land, and share love equally. No one can be above the other.

‍