Israel declared since 2002 that it will adopt a unilateral steps
policy in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, alleging that
"there is no one to talk to." This approach has failed in the Gaza
Strip, proving that unilateral actions cannot be conducive to
peace. Real peace can only come through negotiations and bilateral
steps.
Recent political developments in Palestine and Israel proved that
people-to-people activities between Palestinian and Israeli civil
societies have become more important than ever. Efforts to rebuild
trust and open channels of communication between the two peoples on
the road to peace must be continued.
Peace agreements between two governments can be reached, but
further steps are needed for peace to filter down to the
population. Progress on the political track contributes to the
success of people-to-people activities and the reverse is also
true.
The failure of the peace talks and the outbreak of the al-Aqsa
intifada in September 2000 caused a setback to people-to-people
activities .At a later stage, activists of people-to-people were
even accused of being used to normalize relations with the
Occupation without achieving any peace. The main target of
people-to-people remains the deepening of awareness of the benefits
of peace and the creation of shared interests, so that people are
made to realize that they stand to lose if the opportunity to make
peace is missed.
On the margin of the political process, many efforts were made by
local, regional, and international organizations to contribute to
the process of peacemaking between the people. Huge amounts of
resources were used, yet the target remains a long way off. The
root cause of the conflict is still there. The Palestinian problem
with all its aspects has yet to be solved. And the Israeli
occupation is becoming increasingly uglier and more repressive than
ever. This, of course, should not deter us from persevering in our
efforts to build peace. Since this goal and its continued pursuit
are of vital importance, the Palestine-Israel Journal is devoting
this issue to the evaluation of the whole people-to-people
initiative, its history, its achievements, and its shortcomings.
The aim is to learn how best to proceed, but with more efficiency
than we did so far.