The peace work of our partner organisations was extremely difficult during the last year. The Palestinian population is suffering from the horrors of war. Tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, have been killed or seriously injured. Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip is suffering from acute food shortages, miserable healthcare and rapidly spreading diseases; they no longer have a roof over their heads or the opportunity to send their children to school. Numerous journalists, healthcare workers and humanitarian aid workers have also been victims of Israeli military operations.
In the West Bank, the population is confronted with escalating violence by Israeli military operations and settler groups, resulting in numerous deaths and the destruction of important infrastructure. Also forumZFD team members and many colleagues from our partner organisations are affected by this: Checkpoints and newly erected barriers pose massive obstacles for partners and project participants making everyday life extremely difficult. The daily violence not only makes it dangerous to move around the West Bank, but it has also become almost impossible for West Bank ID holders to obtain a permit to travel to or work in Jerusalem. This prevents some of forumZFD’s team members and partners alike to attend meetings and workshops outside of the West Bank.
Israel has been in a state of war for a year now. Following the catastrophic events of October 7, the bereavement circles in Israel grew bigger as entire families and communities were brutally murdered in the attack. Thousands of residents from villages in the south and north of Israel were evacuated and have not returned to their homes to this date. The Israeli society has become more deeply divided where mass protests tore the country demanding a ceasefire accompanied with a hostage release exchange deal while others call to continue the war. Voices calling for a ceasefire and trying to highlight the situation in Gaza are being silenced and minorities living in Israel are scared or are not allowed to speak out.
The traumatic events in the past year have had an immense impact on people in both societies. This required a new sensitivity and led to forumZFD integrating psychosocial support in the project work with partner organizations.
Despite the horrific circumstances and growing challenges, our team together with our partners continues to carry out nonviolent conflict transformation efforts, promoting shared living. Our partners' resilience and motivation are unshakable. In both Israel and Palestine, they are confronted with a dominant narrative of war and conflict that they are committed to overcome in order to achieve a more equal and just society.
In these extremely unstable times, it is easy to fall into despair and hopelessness. However, the commitment of our partners and our cooperation keep us believing that the horror of war can be overcome. Together, we continue to work towards bringing peace back within reach.