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Palestinian
Territories - The West Bank -- The West Bank and Gaza Strip are some of the most disputed and politically eruptive areas in the world. Much of the politics in the Middle East depends on how the U.S. responds to the conflict between the Palestinians and Israeli’s.
After years of fighting, occupation, terrorism, summits and “road maps,” the outlook for a better future for the Palestinian’s remains dim. |
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...My personal journey, which has allowed me to see Israelis as individuals and not just as one homogenous group, and to realize that not all Israelis were my enemy has been a long one and difficult at times. However, it gives me a sense of hope because I everyone is capable of making this journey.
... I think peace should not be treated like a fragmented process with each of us working in our own little corner to build peace for ourselves and our communities. We are living in a global village and peace building is a global task.
How You Can
Help >
More Photos:
West Bank>
Back to
Women and War Overview >
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“All of
us here are shattered by the departure of our beloved leader
and President, Yasser Arafat. He left us with a lot of challenges
that we have to face. The continuity of our collective struggle
for peace is one of them and must go on.”
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This is an excerpt of Zahira's story as
written for the Women and War Project.
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My life has been largely determined by the historical events of Palestine, from its division in 1948, to the occupation and to the struggle for peace. I was only three years old when the war of 1948 began.
... Growing up I felt a great deal of hatred towards Israelis because I held them responsible for what had happened to my family and to other Palestinians. I hated the Israelis without knowing them or meeting them; I saw them simply as my enemies. This hatred increased during the war of 1967...During this period I was declared by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience twice. It was also during this period that I began to have contact with leftist Israelis who would often come to visit me to show their support. It is at this point that I first began to get to know the other face of the Israelis.
During the first Intifada I helped organize visits for leftist Israelis to various areas in the Occupied Territories. There was a great need for Palestinians and Israelis get to know one another on a human level in order to dispel the hatred and fear of one another they had developed. We organized house visits for Israelis so that they could listen to Palestinians' stories and have their questions answered. These encounters helped break some of the barriers that existed between Palestinians and Israelis and gave us a chance to get to know one another at the human level.
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