By Verónica Snoj
Beit Jala, West Bank, (EFE).- A group of some 15 Palestinians and Israelis gathered on Tuesday, among hills covered with olive trees, cacti, and fig trees, in a house in the Palestinian city of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, to protest for the third consecutive day against the war and famine in Gaza in a hunger strike.
«I came for peace,» says Yvonne, a 51-year-old Israeli from Nir Moshe, a community near the Gaza border, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) away.
«I can hear the bombs and the houses shaking every day from my house. I always think, ‘What can I do?’ I feel helpless, but I think this is something I can do,» she explained.
While some people arrive and others leave, a respectful calm reigns over the protest: participants chat and prepare banners for the anti-war demonstration that will take place later.
Beit Jala, one of the few places where they can meet
The total number of participants is unclear: while some 60 people signed up online, many arrived without registering, especially Palestinians, explained Mia, 38, part of the organizer Combatants for Peace team, an initiative founded by former Palestinian militants and former Israeli soldiers that promotes a solution to the conflict based on dignity for both peoples,.
According to Mia, the idea for the strike came from the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, which organized a three-day hunger protest in Jaffa, a port city and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
However, since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, it has been difficult for Palestinians to obtain permits to enter Israeli territory.
This is why choosing Beit Jala, where Combatants for Peace has its offices, is a significant choice, as it is one of the few places where Israelis and Palestinians can meet without breaking the law or requiring special permits.
For Ahmed, a Palestinian from Jericho whose family is from Gaza, the protest is personal.
«More than 160 of my relatives have died in Gaza. Last week, I lost three more. They had names and dreams, but now they are just numbers,» he laments.
«If the war, genocide, and famine continue, Netanyahu will have created enemies. He did not create peace,» he adds.
«I am asking for the war to stop as soon as possible. We must resolve our differences and stop the hatred between Palestinians and Israelis,» he stresses.
Since the beginning of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health.
To this figure must be added at least 147 deaths from malnutrition, a growing phenomenon due to the severe scarcity of food and supplies caused by the severe restrictions Israel has imposed on the entry of humanitarian aid.
«Every little action has its own impact»
Tariq, a 25-year-old Palestinian participant from Jericho, also sees this action as a way to break the silence. «I found that the best way to resist is to join this strike. To raise my voice and the voice of my people against this war and genocide,» he says.
«I consider that every little action has its own impact. Maybe you can’t see it now, but you will in the future. It’s hard to do it alone, but I see more and more people joining,» he adds.
Mia also feels hopeful. She recognizes that these types of actions rarely have an immediate impact. However, they receive messages of support that encourage them to continue.
«People want to join us, to come and protest in Beit Jala today. It’s a binational protest that allows Israelis and Palestinians to meet, which has been almost impossible since Oct. 7,» she says.
«There are hardly any spaces where we can meet, get to know each other and see each other as human beings, or come together to resist. This is something quite unusual.» EFE
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