Opinion piece by Friends of Standing Together Sweden in Sydsvenskan, 23 November 2025
It is time to stop believing that peace in Israel-Palestine will be created by top politicians without popular support. Politicians in Sweden should now use their voices to support local forces that are building peace.
The UN Security Council recently adopted the peace plan initiated by the Trump administration earlier this autumn. A peace plan that would lead to a ceasefire and the reconstruction of Gaza, but which has already been broken in its initial phase. It is therefore of great importance to find other perspectives and solutions to the Middle East conflict.
It is often said that there is no solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, the situation is presented as a zero-sum game in which one side needs to give in to the other side’s ‘legitimate demands’, a view that seems to have contributed to the current deadlock. But if you look beyond the political leaders around the negotiating table, who offer the same old solutions and dead ends, a different picture emerges.
A movement is currently emerging in Israel and Palestine, built on cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian neighbours who are organising themselves together in the midst of the darkest chapter in the region’s history – despite fear, suspicion and threats. It is in this everyday life that a future can be glimpsed. Many of the new movements are part of the umbrella organisation It’s Time Coalition, a coalition of peace movements with 60 member organisations, active both in Israel and in the occupied territories. It is an example of how Jewish-Palestinian cooperation can work and be a force for long-term change.
Read the rest of the article here (in Swedish).