Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Women’s meaningful involvement in civil resistance movements has shown to be a game changer. Examining movements in Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Liberia, the Palestinian territories, Poland, Syria, and the United States, this report advocates for the full engagement of women and their networks in nonviolent movements for a simple and compelling reason—because greater female inclusion leads to more sustainable peace. 

The U.S. Institute of Peace joins with those mourning the passing of Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres. The former Israeli president and prime minister began his tireless efforts for peace as Israel’s Foreign Minister, working with Palestinian leaders to seek a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More recently, as Israel’s president, he pursued a vision of peace and reconciliation for Israelis, Palestinians and the broader region. And through the Peres Center for Peace, a former USIP grantee, he reinforced that mission and gave it a grounding to continue well into the future.

(cont’d from Part 1 and Part 2)
At the center of some of the world’s most violent conflict zones, a cadre of civic leaders and scholars are defying cynicism and fatalism to achieve what few believe possible: facilitating sustainable negotiated agreements that forestall cycles of violence, allow people who’ve fled violence in their communities to return home, and establish new terms for peaceful cooperation.

(cont’d from Part 1)
Zoughbi Zoughbi, an expert in mediation from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, likes to tell a story that reflects traditions in the region. It’s about a local man who gets angry because someone has taken his watch. An offer of compensation, even twice the value of the timepiece, won’t suffice, writes Zoughbi, a member of a U.S. Institute of Peace conflict resolution program in the Middle East and North Africa, in a handbook published by his non-profit organization. The victim, Zoughbi explains, “wants to know why you took his watch and did not respect his property.” If the victim finds out, for example, that the thief took the watch to feed 10 starving children at home, “he will give you his second watch.”

As the decades-long struggle threatens to boil over, there are four concrete steps the international community can take to help the peace along.