TEL AVIV: Hundreds of Palestinians and Israeli Jews marched through Tel Aviv on Thursday night, chanting “Yes to peace, Yes to a deal,” to demand an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and an end to the cycle of violence.
Their agenda began with a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war, but ultimately they wanted to restore Palestinian-Israeli relations and breathe new life into the dying peace movement.
“Everything became quiet after October 7” and the start of the war, said Amira Mohammed, an Israeli Palestinian, of the peace camp.
“The radicals are becoming louder than the peace movement, so now we have to be the radicals for the peace we want.”
Mohammed said this included “acknowledging the power dynamic between the occupier and the occupied” as well as “accountability from both sides”.
“We can’t stop violence with violence anymore,” said teacher Carmit Bar Levy, 49.
“We must ensure a good life for Palestinians and Jews in Israel. We must recognize that they have the same right to live here as we do.”
She said that since the war broke out, people have become increasingly aware that the status quo cannot continue.
“Peace is the only way forward,” said Marcelo Oliki, a 64-year-old survivor of the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nirim.
“There are many children, women and babies dying across the border from me. There are many people who are grieving like me and want peace like me.”
As the war drags on, protests have erupted in Israel's largest cities several times a week, sometimes organized by families of Gaza hostages, sometimes by anti-government protesters who were detained before the war, and sometimes by Jewish-Arab peace camps.
About 20 percent of Israel's 9.5 million population are Arab, and many identify as Palestinians.
Palestinians in Israel are struggling to get permits to hold anti-war protests, activists and regulators have reported. A Thursday march was postponed for a week after organizers said permission had been abruptly revoked.
While the protest groups in Tel Aviv may differ on political issues, they overlap in their calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his stance on a “complete victory” during a speech to the US Congress on Wednesday, while at home members of his far-right coalition threatened to topple the government in the event of any deal with Hamas.
Hamas attacks that sparked the war on October 7 have killed 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israeli retaliatory strikes have killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
“We have to remember that peace is a choice. We don’t have to convince the far right… we just have to convince the middle who don’t want war anymore,” said Maya Ofer, 23, a student and member of the activist group Standing Together, which organized the march.
Rula Daoud, the group's co-director, addressed a crowd waving signs reading “Peace Now” and “War Has No Winners.”
Protesters insist that their vision for a long-term political solution is not based on ideals but on deep insight.
“There are two people in this country and no one goes out,” Dawood said.
