Israel's Unilateral Approach Toward Middle East Conflict is Root Cause of Latest Battles in Gaza and Lebanon

Interview with Molly Malekar, director of Bat Shalom, or Daughters for Peace, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

When the radical Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah attacked Israel from inside Lebanon, killing eight Israelis and taking two soldiers hostage, Israel retaliated with a full-scale attack on Lebanon. Scores of civilians have been killed, and Israel has imposed a sea, land and air blockade, which it insists it won't lift until its captured soldiers are returned. This all follows attacks by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, after Palestinian militants there raided a military post in Israel, killing two soldiers and taking one prisoner. The Palestinians said their action was in response to the economic strangulation of the Palestinian Authority since Hamas was elected to power in January, and the increasing number of civilians killed by Israeli military actions.

In the face of rising violence, there are still groups in both Israel and Palestine working for peace. One such organization is the Jerusalem Link, established in 1993 by Israeli Jewish women and Palestinian Arab women to promote political dialogue. In 2004, the groups formed the International Women's Commission, a coalition of 60 female activists and government officials, two-thirds of whom are Israelis and Palestinians.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Molly Malekar, an Israeli who is the director of Bat Shalom, or Daughters for Peace, a feminist group which participates in the Jerusalem Link and the International Women's Commission. Malekar says what brings women of diverse backgrounds together is the need to introduce gender and civil perspectives to the struggle for a just solution to the conflict, which they define as a two-state solution. She says Israel has a right to defend itself from attacks within its pre-1967 borders, but she explains that the current escalation of the conflict lies in political and military decisions that Israel made over the past year.

For more information, visit the group's website at www.batshalom.org

Related links:

* "Israeli and Palestinian women call on Quartet to end the conflict," International Women's Commission for a Just and Sustainable Palestinian-Israeli Peace, July 13, 2006

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