Hamas-Israel War in Gaza: 7 months on

Pace, M. (Participant)
Muhammad Shehada (Speaker)
Dahlia Scheindlin (Speaker)
Eiki Berg (Organizer)
Shpend Kursani (Organizer)

Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Description

What have the parties achieved since the start of the recent escalation of hositilities in Israel and Gaza?
Speakers to:
• Provide an overall assessment of the ongoing conflict for these 7 months and "speculate" what the future holds
• Will Israel be able to achieve its stated aims: eradicating Hamas, as the war is going on for far longer than Israel anticipated
• The war will eventually end: how will it impact the Israeli domestic politics (who will govern it) and Palestinian internal dynamics?
• Can the war be contained without inviting Iran or Hezbollah to be directly involved?
• Does it matter who wins the US elections this year (republican vs democrats) for the ongoing war and post-war in Gaza? If so how?

Period	7 May 2024
Event type	Seminar
Location	Tartu, EstoniaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International

Keywords

Palestine
settler colonialism
Zionism
apartheid
occupation
Nakba
Israeli politics
Palestinian politics
Israeli society
Palestinian society
West Bank
Gaza
East Jerusalem
settlers
illegal settlements

Documents & Links

The seventh edition of our DeFacto Dialogues titled “Hamas-Israel War in Gaza 7 Months Later” was held on May 7, 2024 in Johan Skytte Institute and simultaneously on Zoom. The guest speakers, Dahlia Scheindlin who is an international political and strategic consultant from Israel and Muhammad Shahada, a journalist based in Palestine, enlightened the audiences with their insightful comments on the current state of war and expert opinions on the domestic and international politics surrounding the sensitive issue. Some of the most prevalent topics included discussions on the course of the ongoing indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Egypt, whether Israel can realistically achieve its goals of eradicating Hamas and from-the-ground opinions of Israelis and Palestinians on the past, present and the future of the conflict. Dahlia pointed out that she is not expecting the war to end soon, that Israel is trapped in this war because of how Netanyahu handled the domestic politics and narration of the issue, and that the level of trust of Israelis in Netanyahu is declining. Muhammad, not only agreed with our other speaker but also highlighted the change in Israeli discourses regarding negotiations with Hamas, stating that although Israel cannot reach its goals they are not interested in a ceasefire. He also painted a vivid and unfortunately painful picture of the realities of war, highlighting the fluctuating opinions of Palestinians on Hamas and at the same time the inevitability of Palestinians turning to Hamas as a result of the isolation and atrocities they have endured throughout the conflict with the Palestinian Authorities proving time and again unable to protect them. He also emphasized that the image of the U.S. and Europe is in shambles in the Global South as a result of their stance regarding the war. Questions from the audience scrutinized the position of the Muslim, Arab and Pro-Palestinian voters in the upcoming U.S. elections, and the discussion concluded that the choice between Biden and Trump was one between “bad and ugly” for both the voters in question but especially for Palestinians. We thank our speakers for the perspective into the minds of Palestinians and Israelis which we otherwise would struggle to obtain as the future of the war continues discourage hope.

Hamas-Israel War in Gaza: 7 months on

Description

Keywords

Documents & Links

Related content

Projects

Making the Invisible Visible: Slow Violence, Mental Health and Resilience in Gaza

SHAPEDEM-EU Horizon Europe: EU Democracy Support in its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods