When compassion rings louder than guns

While mediators seek a ceasefire in Gaza, ordinary Israelis and Palestinians are increasingly aligned in rejecting violence and hatred.

The Monitor's View

Most wars end in one of two ways. One side achieves an outright military victory, or both sides conclude they have more to lose by continuing to fight. A third way may be unfolding in Gaza. After more than 450 days of conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas in the besieged enclave, mutual enmity may be giving way to shared empathy.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that permanent hatred cannot be the answer,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, speaking at a peace rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. On Oct. 7, 2023, his son Sagui was taken hostage in the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war and is believed to be still in captivity.

The two warring sides may be inching toward a new ceasefire for the first time in more than a year. Hamas has reportedly agreed in talks hosted by Qatar and Egypt to release 34 of the roughly 100 remaining hostages as part of a broader agreement. U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken expressed confidence earlier on Monday that a deal would be reached.

While negotiators talk and fighting goes on, however, public sentiment among Israelis and Palestinians has turned. Both peoples want the war to end. Both accuse their leaders of not wanting peace. As the human and humanitarian toll of the war has climbed, so has a shared rejection of violence.

Fewer that 40% of Israelis agree that the government’s conduct of the war has been correct, according to Pew Research Center. The number of Palestinians in Gaza who say Hamas was right to attack Israel has fallen to 39%, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research estimates.

Jewish and Arab Israeli musicians held a three-day peace festival in the desert town of Eilat at the end of December. Performers and participants stressed a need to understand how each side understood concepts of peace and coexistence. “We need to start a healing process that will take time and patience,” Palestinian rapper Sameh Zakout told Haaretz. “We need to find a new way.”

A social media platform started by two young Gaza Palestinians in their mid-20s has given people in the enclave a place to share their aspirations for peace. More than 100 have posted comments, many anonymously to avoid retribution by Hamas. “We want a leader whose love for Palestine is greater than his hatred of the [Israeli] occupation,” one person wrote. Another added, “It’s not important how many rocket capabilities and range you have, it’s important to understand the cost of using them.” 

Among Israelis, Mr. Dekel-Chen is hardly alone. Some 70% of Israelis favor recovering the hostages over any other military strategy in Gaza, including defeating Hamas, Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli pollster, told the New Yorker last week.

“Empathy is usually focused on individuals, not on groups,” wrote David Shulman, professor emeritus at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in The New York Review of Books this week. “But still: believe it or not, the Palestinians are our sisters and brothers, and someday ... they will be our partners in making peace. There is no other way forward.”