Against the Logic of Violence

The horrific images of murder, hostage-taking, and destruction in Israel and Palestine bear witness to an inhuman brutality that deeply disturbs us. We are shocked by the attacks of Hamas on innocent civilians in Israel. We are also shocked by the closure and bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which primarily affects a defenceless civilian population. More death, suffering, and a humanitarian catastrophe are the consequences.

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation mourns all the victims of the massacres, bombings, and acts of violence. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims.

The renewed escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine is an expression of the political failure to find a just and lasting peace solution to the decades-long conflict. This political failure is also a failure of the international community. If the escalation of violence cannot be contained quickly, the conflict threatens to become internationalized with unforeseeable consequences.

Together with our colleagues in the offices in Tel Aviv and Ramallah as well as numerous partner organizations, we have campaigned on the ground for years for an end to the logic of violence. The people on both sides of the barriers and checkpoints need peace, social justice, full democratic participation, equal rights, and solidarity. For this to happen, an end to Israel’s occupation policy, which violates international law, and the construction of settlements in the West Bank is just as indispensable as the strengthening of a secular and democratic civil society, towards which we work in both Israel and Palestine.