Palestine: Reconciliation and Peacebuilding. Perspectives from the Civil Society Organizations

: This research paper aims to shed light on the theoretical perspectives and operational
approaches adopted by the Palestinian civil society organization in connection with the peacebuilding and reconciliation process in the Palestinian context. The research question is what
are the different moves, debates, and initiatives taken by the Palestinian civil society organizations
to put an end to the conflict? Why could not they succeed or produce tangible results in fulfilling
this goal? The first part of the paper considers debates, contexts, and developments of civil
society organizations, in general, and Palestine, in particular, as well as their roles on political,
national, cultural, and developmental levels. Civil society deepens its peaceful intervention in
many developed and developing countries to build domestic peace and achieve reconciliation,
along with other tasks and duties. Palestine’s case is not an exception but a unique case since the
independent sovereign state of Palestine does not exist on the ground. The second part aims to
deeply analyze the roles of civil society in the reconciliation process and to assess why this process
failed to produce fruitful results until now. To use narrative methodologies, the paper collects
primary data through structured interviews and
the focus group. Interviews were conducted with
the cadres and activists in the Palestinian civil
society and other professionals and experts in
this field. The last part concludes that civil society, especially among the youth, is necessary
for reconciliation not only between Israeli and
Palestinians but also within the Palestinians as
well.