Gaza: Generational Hatred is not Easy to Break

A session of DeFacto Dialogues called “Israel and Hamas on the brink of an all-out war within and beyond Gaza?” took place on the 24th of October, 2023. The seminar featured Michelle Pace (Roskilde University) and Oren Yiftachel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) who shared their thoughts on the warm-up of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Questions from the moderator sparked discussions of international law, the intervention of other countries in the conflict, and the possibility of peace. One of the questions asked was how this war that started on the 7th of October differs from the previous attacks. It was agreed that this conflict has not been silent all these years, but attacks with this severity have not been seen anywhere in the world in a long time. This was followed up by a question of the importance and appliance of international law. Both of the discussants concluded that the mechanisms of international law should be taken more seriously since it can be used as a tool to create a legitimate agreement on both sides. On the intervention of other countries, it was agreed that the USA and the EU play an important role in the conflict and both should heavily condemn war crimes that are being committed. Michelle Pace added that countries should take the Palestinians’ right to self-determination more seriously. This section of the seminar ended with a discussion of the possibility of peace. It was concluded that the two-state option for peace would not be realistic, since Israel has no interest in it. Both discussants agreed that the peace discourse has always been shaky and Israel has become too comfortable with its colonial system, which makes talks of peace even more difficult.

The seminar came to an end with questions from the audience. Answers to the questions about the way the Israeli people see this conflict emphasized that even though this cycle of war is no longer acceptable for either side, the system in Israel itself is becoming more and more like the apartheid in South Africa. The question about the media portrayal of the conflict led to a discussion on how there are no clear good and bad guys and this is the time to support the rights of both people. From this emerged a question that asked whether states that recognize both Israel and Palestine could have stronger stances on this topic. It was agreed that these states tend not to have any strong opinions, since their economic interests are overtaking their values of principle and peace. This is the case for China, which gave weapons to Palestine but still tries to keep relations with Israel. The answer to the last question by Michelle Pace was a great conclusion to the seminar. Regarding how the Israeli people see the possibility of peace, she said that both sides have suffered historically and this generational hatred is not easy to break. This solidifies the previous arguments about the difficulty of achieving peace, even though it is necessary for both sides.

Author:

Kertu Niit, student of the International Relations and Regional Studies MA programme
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies
University of Tartu