For most Israelis, peace is associated with the complete displacement of Palestinians from their own lives. Wishes are segregated existences, separated by a real or imaginary wall. But such peace would mean defeat for the Palestinians. It would be frustrating to resign in a state of peace, that is, only in an “economic confrontation,” alongside a former enemy who is more civilized. This outcome is unacceptable to the tense male ego of Muslim patriarchal society. Hamas and Gazans, now deprived of Jewish settlers, are well aware that stopping attacks on Israel would loosen the blockade and end Israeli military counterattacks. , in which people die and houses are demolished. Yet the rockets are still flying.
Reasons that hinder peace
There are other reasons that hinder peace. They are usually not talked about. We have already said that the existence of Hamas is justified by the armed struggle against Israel. For the members of the movement, the end of the “state of war” would mean integration into civilian life, which they do not understand. The weapon also means power and self-confidence. And they would lose it all. Palestinian Authority officials in the West Bank, experienced Fatah leaders At first glance, they are different from poor Palestinians, they have resources from humanitarian aid, and ending the dispute would certainly cause shifts in exposed areas, and for refugees, peace would probably mean depriving refugee status and thus cutting off permanent social support.
There are also strong tensions and animosities inside both camps. These are still suppressed, but they can come to the surface at any time. The power dispute between Fatah and Hamas, in which blood was already flowing, would have to be resolved by the victory of one of them or the creation of a completely new governing structure. The Palestinians could even split completely. After all, it is not just the irreconcilability of the administrators of the West Bank, secular Fatah, and the rulers of Gaza, the religious Hamas, but also that the Gazans are closer to the Egyptians than to the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, who in turn gravitate to the Jordanians.
Tensions within Israeli society
Tensions within Israeli society are even stronger and relations more complex. And paradoxically, peace could exacerbate them. The common feeling of threat dampens conflicts. Many Israelis even today consider the conflict between orthodoxy and secularism to be even more fatal and antagonistic than between Jews and Palestinas. Some ultra-Orthodox Jews completely ignore or reject the secular state of Israel, which at the end of history can only establish the Messiah. Tolerating these attitudes and materially supporting a community where no one works and everyone only studies religious texts, but other Israelis have their metaphysical justifications. The transcendent intensely permeates the existential consciousness of those who have been subjected to irrational persecution for centuries and have often stood on the brink of extermination. For many Jews, only bonding with God allows us to live in this world.
On the other hand, there is secularism, which sometimes makes us forget the weight of fate. There are also fears of the establishment of a theocracy that could take on Iranian features. However, many charedim, ultra-Orthodox, adopt Zionist principles in times of conflict, and peace could restore the process of anti-Zionization.
