On July 26th, right before another round of violence broke out in and around the Gaza Strip, we convened a workshop focused on policy solutions to Gaza for Israeli municipal leadership, political figures, and journalists. The first session was led by GI Director Gadi Baltiansky and INSS researcher Noa Shusterman on Israeli current policies and potential solutions to the challenges presented by the situation in the Gaza Strip today. In the second half, participants had the rare opportunity to speak directly with a former Palestinian minister who is a current resident in Gaza about daily life, internal Palestinian politics, public opinion, and how to move forward towards a permanent peace agreement in prevailing conditions. We began to organize the event well before signs of the violent escalation, from the conviction that in the absence of a political process, confrontations between Israel and Gaza will continue to arise. We are committed to supporting discourse based on acknowledgment of the issues on the ground and solutions before, during, and after violent outbreaks, with the goal of pushing our societies towards a future where “the next round” is no longer inevitable.
