The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

nations and clashes between the Israeli army and armed Palestinian militias.”
(Report, p. 181)
After 9/11 and more suicide bombings, President Arafat was demonized
as a Palestinian Bin Laden, and his residence in Ramallah, as well as the
streets and homes of the civilian population, were destroyed. The atmosphere
in Israel changed. “Peace became unpopular. The general atmosphere
on the streets, in buses, cafés, banks etc. was of fear and panic.
People were afraid to gather in public.” Violence and retaliation dictated
the relationship between the two societies. (Report, p. 179)
The main issue in the Labour Party election campaign of 2003 was the
construction of a separation wall between Israel and the West Bank.
After the victory of the Likud Party and of Sharon, that project was implemented,
but in such a way that it pushed forward into Palestinian territory
and encompassed the major settlement areas in the West Bank,
so that Palestinian land and villages could only be accessed as exclaves.
In 2005, Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, decided to evacuate
twenty-one settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West
Bank. These settlements, built in thickly settled Palestinian areas, became
costly to safeguard. The protests of the settlers were directed not
only against the Israeli police and government, but also against the Pal -
estinians. The settlers warned of a civil war in Israel if their settlements
should be dismantled. The aggressiveness of the settlers prior to and
during their evacuation made it clear to normal citizens in Israel what dimensions
the struggle might assume. Yet, the majority of Israeli society
supported the government, and resenting the settlers’ aggressive actions
towards the police and military forces assigned to dismantle the
settlements.
In 2006, Hamas won the elections in the Palestinian territories. In 2007,
militant Hamas fighters in Gaza shot members of the Fatah, causing
Fatah fighters to flee to Egypt and Israel.
In 2006, the Second Lebanon War took place, so that Israel found itself
fighting both on that northern front and on the southern front in Gaza.
At the end of 2006, Israel launched a new diplomatic initiative with the
goal of negotiating on the basis of a peace plan drafted by the Arab Lea-
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