Reconciliation and Peace building in Palestine: Perspectives by the Palestinian Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

Abstract This research paper aims at shedding light on the theoretical perspectives and the operational approaches adopted by the Palestinian civil society organizations in connection with the reconciliation process. Reconciliation as a systemic process has become an inevitable necessity in Palestine after the political split and the geographical fragmentation that occurred in 2007. Therefore, the research focus is centered around answering the following questions: what are the different moves, debates, and initiatives that have been taken by civil society organizations in Palestine to end the conflict? And why they could not succeed or produce tangible results in fulfilling this goal which has far-reaching implications? This paper will take into considerations the debates, contexts and the developments of civil society organizations in Palestine and their roles at the political and national level as well as at the cultural and developmental ones. Civil society is deepening its peaceful intervention in many developed and developing countries to build domestic peace and achieve reconciliation, along with other tasks and duties. The Palestinian situation is not exceptional in this regard, but it has some uniqueness, since Palestine is not an independent and sovereign state. In the age of liberal globalization, nobody can imagine real development and democratization without proper positive interventions by civil society. Palestine is gaining momentum since it is a conflict zone. It is not only a nation under occupation, but it is also a fragmented and divided people and territory. The essence of this research is to deeply understand the roles of civil society in the reconciliation process and to assess why this process failed to bear real fruits up today.