DeFacto Dialogues: Engineering Peace between Israelis and Palestinians

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, eliciting a furious response from the Israeli military. Two years on, Israel’s war against Palestinians shows no signs of ending, and amid the increasingly polarized discourse on the conflict, imagining pathways to peace seems more impossible each day.

In this thought-provoking panel discussion, two leading experts from the region, Samer Sinijlawi and Ksenia Svetlova, will challenge this devastating reality by conceiving new paths to peace that are rooted in constructive narratives. We will talk about Gaza, the future of the Palestinian state and whether peace is still possible. The discussion is moderated by Shpend Kursani (University of Tartu).

Samer Sinijlawi is a prominent Palestinian political activist and chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund. He is a leading voice for peaceful, pragmatic solutions and democratic reform within the Palestinian leadership, and works closely with Israeli and international actors to promote a viable two-state solution based on equality and coexistence.

Ksenia Svetlova is an expert in Middle Eastern affairs, radical Islam and modern Egypt. She holds the positions of senior research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya), and senior policy fellow at the “Mitvim” Institute for Foreign Policy. Svetovla was born in Russia, immigrated to Israel and is a prominent pro-Ukrainian voice in Israel. She also served as a Knesset member for the Zionist Union.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ksenia Svetlova is unfortunately unable to participate in the event. We are pleased to welcome two new guests who will be participating instead. Dan Sobovitz is a human rights activist and communication expert based in Brussels. He was raised in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, to later join the Israeli peace camp and now fight for Palestinian self-determination. Ghaida Rinawie is an Israeli Arab activist and former Deputy Chair of the Knesset, known for her leadership in promoting equitable development in Arab communities through roles in government and civil society.

The event is organized in collaboration with the De Facto State Research Unit, University of Tartu, and the CANDID foundation, as part of the Trilateral Dialogue Initiative EPICON, which seeks to strengthen dialogue between Europeans, Palestinians and Israelis, and is funded by the European Union.

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