West Jerusalem – “I don’t believe in this war and I don’t believe that the goals of this war can be achieved,” said Avital Suisa, 39.
“This war is useless.”
This brutal stance is not typical of Israelis, but neither is Suisa.
She is a West Jerusalem activist and strongly believes in the two-state solution, even as Israeli society moves away from this position and the one-state apartheid regime becomes increasingly entrenched on the ground.
Suisa also regularly visits the occupied West Bank, where she attempts to discourage and even prevent settlers from attacking vulnerable Palestinian Bedouins.
But while Suisa sits firmly on the left of Israeli politics and is in the minority when it comes to her activism, calls for a ceasefire in Israel are growing – for a variety of reasons.
Some believe that a ceasefire is the best way to save Israeli prisoners captured by Hamas, while others add that killing innocent people in Gaza endangers Israel’s long-term security. Some only want a temporary break, while others – like Suisa – want the fighting to end permanently.
Since the October 7 attack on Israel by the Qassam Brigades of Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions – in which 1,139 people were killed and nearly 250 captured – Israel has killed more than 30,600 people in Gaza, starving the civilian population and destroying more than 70 percent of the civilian population. the enclave.
Israel’s stated goal has been to “eradicate Hamas,” but its scorched earth tactics have deliberately and disproportionately killed civilians, including thousands of women and children.
The atrocities sparked outrage around the world and prompted U.S. and European officials to begin pushing for a ceasefire, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who called for a pause six weeks in the fighting on March 4.
But for Suisa, these calls for only a temporary pause do not go far enough.
“Of course, the fact that almost 1,200 people died on October 7 – some brutally – is terrible. But that does not justify the killing of (more than) 30,000 people in Gaza – many children and women – who did nothing to me,” Suisa told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Exchange of captives
On Sunday, families of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas marched from southern Israel to downtown West Jerusalem, where they called for the immediate release of their loved ones. Many protesters told Tel Aviv Tribune they supported a ceasefire that would bring their loved ones home.
“I understand that it is not possible to bring back all the hostages (by military means). The rational way is to bring them all back through a deal,” said Shay Dickmann, a 28-year-old Israeli medical student whose aunt was killed on October 7 and whose cousin was taken prisoner.
She did not say whether she supported a temporary or total ceasefire, but said she deferred to the judgment of the Israeli government and was aware that reaching an agreement was “problematic.” with a terrorist organization.
Hamas is considered a “terrorist” organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, but many Palestinians view the group as a legitimate resistance organization.
Despite her views on reaching a deal with Hamas, Dickmann added that she did not want revenge, but wanted to live in peace with her neighbors.
A temporary truce negotiated in November led to the release of 110 Israeli prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Another captive exchange could give hope to countless Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, whose loved ones have been illegally arrested or disappeared by the Israeli military.
According to Addameer, who monitors Palestinian detainees, Israel holds approximately 9,070 Palestinian political prisoners – a sharp increase from the 5,200 held before October 7.
Many Palestinians – including children – have been arrested and held in administrative detention without charge for expressing sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza or for waving a Palestinian flag.
The number of detainees does not include the many Palestinians detained, interrogated and tortured in Israeli bases and makeshift detentions in Gaza, Addameer told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Israel’s retaliation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza has forced some Israelis to call for a permanent ceasefire.
“I think we need to get a ceasefire to start promoting a better place and region (for Palestinians and Israelis). That would be a start,” said Naima, an Israeli who did not reveal her last name due to the polarizing political climate in Israel.
A return to normal
Many Israelis also told Tel Aviv Tribune that they longed for a return to normal, even though the effects on daily life in Israel have been marginal compared to the destruction of Gaza that upended the lives of 2.3 million people. Palestinians.
However, the Israeli economy has been affected by the ongoing war in Gaza. Its construction sector has been hit hard and foreign and domestic tourism, which has struggled to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, has remained stable since October 7.
Plia Kettner, 39, said much of the service industry, including her restaurant that caters to tourists, has taken a financial hit.
“I hope we can recover once the war is over and the tourists return,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Despite the financial difficulties, Kettner added, she estimates that about half the population would prefer to continue an indefinite war against Gaza until Hamas is eradicated, while the other half believes that negotiating a ceasefire -fire to secure the release of Israeli captives is the top priority.
However, experts and commentators have long argued that Hamas cannot be demonstrably defeated and that an all-out war on Gaza will not enhance Israel’s security.
Suisa said that in his opinion, Israel’s war on Gaza is generating so much suffering that it will perpetuate another “cycle of violence.”
“I think a lot of people in Gaza grew up in such terrible conditions and that led them to become the (fighters) they became,” she said.
Suisa was referring to Israel’s 18-year blockade of Gaza, which transformed the enclave into an “open-air prison”, deprived generations of graduates of any hope for a future and caused extreme poverty against which Gaza has been fighting for years, according to human rights. groups.
“I don’t believe (some Israelis) say the Palestinians just want to kill us. I would like to see Israel engage in a peace process that gives hope to everyone,” Suisa said.
“I want to break the cycle.”