Palestinians in the West Bank have long been under intense pressure from Israeli settlers to abandon their homes and lands. With over 100 killed in October alone, Marwan Darweish, Andrew Rigby and Mahmoud Soliman say there is an urgent need to deploy a multinational presence to protect Palestinians from armed and empowered settlers.
Gaza: Should Israel be using violence to ‘defend itself’?
After the horrors of Hamas’s massacres of Israelis, the right of Israel to defend its people seems obvious. But, asks Alex Christoyannopoulos, does that entail a right to use violence? And, after decades of horrific, unresolved armed conflict, is there evidence that military violence is an effective form of defence for either side?
What if Ukrainians hadn’t fought back?
Ukraine has endured massive destruction, displacement and at least tens of thousands of deaths as its people have fought against Russia’s invasion over the last year. But, asks Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, were there other, nonviolent paths not taken and would such resistance have fared better than warfare?
The Contagion of Impunity: Occupation, settlement and liberation in the South Hebron Hills
The assault and detention of an old friend in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is an act of normalised brutality in this contested territory. Andrew Rigby argues that challenging such violence is essential to ending impunity and has the potential to transform the conflict and liberate both oppressed and oppressors from such ‘routinisation of terror’.
To the victor go the spoils … a heap of ashes
Diana Francis and Andrew Rigby see the appalling tragedy unfolding in Ukraine. Acknowledging the right of Ukrainians to resist the invasion of their country by any means, they make the case for a cessation of military struggle, in favour of civilian-based resistance which might avert the ‘desertification’ of their land, its institutions, its infrastructure and its social fabric.
Unarmed Resistance to Occupation: Lessons for Ukraine
With Ukraine coming under attack and potential occupation by the Russian military, Andrew Rigby draws on his studies of nonviolent resistance during the Second World War and in contemporary Palestine to suggest some lessons for the Ukrainian people.
Militarism and the Climate Crisis: The Imperative for Action
War and climate change are intimately linked, argues Brian Larkin. He explains why he and fellow activists from XR Peace blockaded BAE Systems London headquarters in 2019 over its links to the bombing of Yemeni civilians and the UK nuclear weapons programme.
Roads Not Taken: Poets Rethink Security
How we think about ‘security’, argues Stuart Rees, depends on the language we use to describe it. Speaking up for justice and common humanity is insufficient without recognizing, as many poets have, the cruelty and coercion that characterise the national security approach.
Why I Stopped Being a Zionist
Israeli peace activist Amos Gvirtz explains how he lost faith in the Zionist project that brought his family to the country. He argues that the only way for Israel to find sustainable peace is to embrace the Middle East Peace Plan.
Nonviolent Direct Action: The Committee of 100 and Extinction Rebellion
Veteran peace campaigner Michael Randle reflects on his experience with the mass movement against nuclear weapons in the early 1960s and what lessons it holds for Extinction Rebellion and contemporary nonviolent protest movements.