JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israeli peace activists called on Türkiye on Sunday to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis and advance a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East region.

“History has shown that eventually all conflicts end. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end, too,” Mouaz Inoun, an organizer of “It’s Time” coalition, told Anadolu.

“It is high time to work harder to stop the bloodshed and destruction in Gaza and create a future based on equality, dignity, reconciliation, justice, and peace, as Israelis and Palestinians."

The coalition organized a peace conference in West Jerusalem on Friday, calling on the Israeli public to rally to halt the ongoing war in Gaza and press for a political settlement to the conflict.

Inoun asserted that they have established a union between Israelis and Palestinians to pursue peace, garnering support from various international entities.

“Türkiye may play an important role. (Ottoman Sultan) Suleyman the Magnificent was the one who built the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Now we need Türkiye,” he said.

Appealing to the Turkish people, he said, “You are a great nation, a pioneering nation. We need your help to build bridges, walls, and gates.

“We have walls; now we need to build bridges and gates,” the Israeli activist said.

“Türkiye, Palestine, Israel, we can build this together. Türkiye is capable of supporting peace camps, peace builders, Israelis, and Palestinians,” he added.

‘Fascist government’

For his part, Meron Rapoport, executive editor of the Israeli magazine +972 and director of the non-governmental organization “A Land for All," said there is no alternative to the two-state solution.

"Israelis and Palestinians have the right to self-determination,” Rapoport said.

He affirmed his support for establishing a union between Israel and Palestine based on the two-state solution, with freedom of movement for all and the right to return for Palestinian refugees via open borders.

He called the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a far-right fascist government” that aims to “resolve the conflict by eliminating Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.”

Despite the government’s desire for ethnic cleansing and deportation of Palestinians, “the Israeli people want something else,” Rapoport said.

“This is a crime against humanity and a war crime for sure,” he said. “The Jews cannot be a part of it (the genocidal war in Gaza).

“I think Türkiye and Turkish President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) have a very strong position today. They strongly condemn Israel's actions in Gaza and, of course, call for a two-state solution,” he said.

End to occupation

Raluca Ganea, executive director and co-founder of the non-governmental Zazim organization, which combats systematic discrimination against Palestinians, said regional countries, including Türkiye, must play a role in implementing the two-state solution.

She said that Türkiye and the Turkish people can build bridges between Israeli and Palestinian societies due to shared cultures.

“We, the ordinary people, not the governments, should stand shoulder to shoulder and search for ways to communicate. In Gaza, Türkiye, and Tel Aviv, we must all stand in solidarity and work together to end this horrific nightmare.”

She emphasized that the peace would mean an end to the Israeli occupation in all Palestinian lands, and an end to bloodshed and destruction in Gaza.

The activist called Netanyahu's government the "worst government" Israel has ever seen.

“Netanyahu must go. I can't find the right words to describe how much I want this government to change, and we're doing our best to make that happen," she said.

“In order to achieve peace, the (Israeli) occupation must end and an independent Palestinian state must be established,” the Israeli activist said.

More than 52,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.