For decades, innocent people across Israel / Palestine have been attacked in their offices, cafés, buses, and beds. Airstrikes kill innocents in Gaza. Rockets and suicide bombings kill innocents in Israel. It is tempting, indeed easy, to join the throngs of people unilaterally declaring one side holy and the other side evil. But when it comes to long histories and entire populations, this is reductionistic and harmful. Two ruling powers can both be wrong. Two ruling powers can both be right. And two ruling powers can be both wrong and right at the same time.

Each ruling power gives up the moral high ground of their position and their people when they wantonly attack innocent civilians. Each ruling power risks dragging out or escalating the conflict for another generation. In fact, sometimes it seems this is exactly what both sides want, as it justifies their struggle, their relevance, and their existence. 

But innocent Israelis and Palestinians should not be targeted for the actions of their governments. Non-combatants are always protected under international law.

When the ruling powers of Israel or Gaza repeatedly violate these humanitarian principles, they reveal the worst parts of themselves and make it harder and harder for people of good faith to support the just merits of their cause.

But each community is also capable of compromise, goodwill, and selfless leadership. And when ruling powers risk something they hold dear in order to affirm the humanity of the other side, they reveal the best parts of themselves and make it easier for people of good faith to support the just merits of their cause.

The creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948 resulted in the catastrophic displacement of the majority of Palestinian Arabs—Christian and Muslim. This annexation and dispossession is precisely the kind of ethnic cleansing that the modern West has sought to denounce and prevent (see Saddam Hussein’s “Arabization” of the Kurds in Iraq or the Russian annexation of eastern Ukraine). But in this case, the state of Israel was allowed to take land from indigenous communities, and continued doing so mostly unabated for 75 years.

But was this the start? Jews who came to Israel at that time had just lived through the Holocaust, the catastrophic event that killed millions and forced millions more from their countries (Germany, Poland, etc), making them refugees. For many, the Holocaust was the start.

Still, those who focus on the conflict through a religious lens go back to the Crusades.

There are no easy answers. There are only points of view, dominant narratives, and strongly held positions. In a conflict this old and complex, “who started it” is not the path to peace. Who will end it? And how? These are the pressing questions of life and death today.

Yes. When the ruling powers target and/or indiscriminately kill innocent civilians and non-combatants, we unconditionally condemn their actions.

We reject the distortion that Israeli settlers are de facto combatants.

And we reject the distortion that Palestinians living under the rule of Hamas are de facto combatants.

Being present in a certain geographic region alone does not and cannot make someone a legitimate target of war, of self-defense, or of resistance. We condemn all acts of violence, aggression, and sanction against innocent civilians from both sides.

HUMANITE Peace Collective has members, partners, and a network of friends across Israel and the Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank. We work arm-in-arm to nurture strong, cooperative relationships across enemy lines. From “we belong to each other”-style meetups to collective action to provide food, shelter, and medical care to people in need during times of violence, our collective, our staff, and our members are holding the line for peace as we raise empathy and action for those in need, regardless of geography, creed, or blood.