Immediate Statement. This statement will be further developed and refined in consultation with partners in the region, and with additional steps and recommendations for peace and ending the violence in the region.
From 2008 until 2020, at least 120.016 Palestinians and 5887 Israelis have been killed or injured in continuing Israeli-Palestinian violence. Real peace, security and freedom will not be achieved by further violence in the region. Determined, committed peace efforts and stopping violence by and against all sides is vital.
The Romanian Peace Institute – PATRIR condemns in the strongest terms the violence which has racked Israel-Palestine over the last days. We stand with the millions of people in Israel and Palestine who are exhausted and sick and tired of the endless cycles of violence and recognize the right of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and freedom from all forms of occupation and threat and fear of violence.
Now, more than ever, we call for direct, immediate and coordinated actions to stop the violence and support comprehensive efforts towards peace in the region. The development of a comprehensive regional approach to peace in which all actors in the region are involved provides the best possibility for achieving just and lasting peace for all.
Further violence will only lay the seeds for more and continuing violence. We call upon the people of Palestine and Israel to unite together and call for an end to violence and the resumption of real, meaningful steps towards lasting peace and security for both peoples.
Those who support Israel and Palestine internationally can do so best by calling for an end to violence and standing in solidarity with both peoples and their rights to peace, security and freedom. Demonization and fomenting and fueling hatred will only lead to more killing and continuation of war.
Our thoughts are with all who have been and continue to be impacted by the violence, including the families of those who have been injured, abducted, and killed on all sides. To prevent further violence and bloodshed calls for real heroism and real leadership from all parties. We have seen a more than doubling of the number of wars in the world in the past 10 years. If we have learned anything, it is that violence breeds more violence, and war only escalates further war. We call upon leadership and authorities on all sides, and their allies and supporters in the region and internationally, to halt all escalatory actions and for an immediate stop to the violence.
Ensuring the rights and protection of civilians on all sides is vital. The Government of Israel, the IDF, Hamas and all armed actors must be held to account under international law for any and all civilian casualties, including through indiscriminate bombings and attacks. We call upon combatants on all sides to withhold from all acts of violence and terror against civilians, and to refuse to take part in further attacks and violence which can destabilize the region further and threaten security for both peoples.
We recognize that people in Israel and Palestine and around the world feel horribly impacted by this latest violence and the terror and terrorism of war. In moments like this it is vital to know that we are not powerless. We can act. How we act matters. Showing solidarity is important – but it should be solidarity with all people affected by the war and violence in Israel-Palestine. Calling of an end to killing and to stop all terrorism is vital – but it should be an end all killing and all attacks on civilians.
the region and internationally Real peace and security for the people of Israel and Palestine can only be achieved through the courageous pursuit of real and lasting peace and freedom for both peoples. The European Union, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and all other regional powers should use their relations with both Israeli and Palestinian leadership to stop the fighting. People internationally should reach out to the people of Israel and Palestine both, to stand in solidarity with them and call for an end to all violence.
Below, we provide several proposals for immediate steps and actions to bring about an end to the violence and support peace and security for the people of Israel and Palestine:
1. An immediate step is to ensure the release of all abducted civilians and to prevent any further violence and attacks by either party;
2. Recent advances in regional peace agreements between Arab countries and Israel should be celebrated. These efforts should be continued and strengthened further and linked to a just and lasting peace to bring about an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than side-lining or ignoring efforts to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, regional peace efforts should provide a direct framework for ensuring freedom, peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. International allies and supporters should develop a comprehensive program to support both Israeli-Palestinian and regional dialogue and mediation efforts to bring about a regional framework for peace and security;
3. Neighbouring countries and international partners and allies should create a framework for engagement with all the parties in Israel – Palestine to support authentic and credible steps towards peace. To this end, all targeting and attacks upon civilians – by Hamas, by Israeli Settlers, by the IDF, and by all groups – must stop. Escalatory actions intended to provoke the other side must also be stopped;
4. The overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians who want to live in peace and security should be supported. Active measures to de-radicalise each society and to support mutual recognition and common, joint security should be supported. This means both in Israel and Palestine. In Palestine, national calls for democratic governance should be supported;
5. Youth on all sides should be engaged to have their voices heard, and to foster spaces and bridges for dialogue and the extremely difficult task of listening to and hearing the other. The work of the Parents Circle and Families Forum and other courageous platforms which bring people together across the conflict should be supported. After decades of violence this will be extremely difficult. Peace calls for courage, and the ability to overcome the bankrupt logic of violence and continuing occupation. The people of Israel and Palestine will both only ever have real peace, freedom and security when both have peace, freedom and security.
