The Struggle for Peace: Textbooks, Politics, and the West Bank

No time to read?
Get a summary

The general concern voiced by Shadi echoes among many activists, analysts, and everyday people met by EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, part of the Prensa Ibérica group, in the West Bank. Few expect any breakthrough after Israel’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, November 1. Western diplomats share that view as well.

Polls point to a bloc of right-wing, far-right, Zionist, and ultra-Orthodox parties led by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Opposing them is a coalition of left, right, and Arab parties led by current prime minister Yair Lapid. With two dozen parties competing for 120 Knesset seats and government formation talks feeling diabolical, Israel has already held five elections in just over three and a half years.

Campaigns centered on the economy and rising prices. In both media coverage and political debate, the cost of living has crowded out the once-dominant security concerns and questions about the Palestinian issue. This shift comes despite recent weeks in which the West Bank endured its fiercest violence in over a decade. So far this year, at least 120 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli Army, while a wave of settler assaults has claimed additional lives on the Palestinian side, and at least 20 Israelis have died in the aftermath of Palestinian attacks.

As elections approach, observers note increased Israeli military assertiveness, yet Palestinians see little difference in the outcome regardless of who governs. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian doctor, activist, and politician, describes himself as a 68-year-old with many memories of bloodshed from treating wounded people during clashes with occupying forces. He has long advocated a Palestinian third path, distinct from Fatah and Hamas, envisioning a state that guarantees equal rights and full citizenship within a single democratic framework. The Palestinian National Initiative, associated with intellectual Edward Said, supports statehood but invites Israel to accept responsibility and to build a state that includes Palestinians with equal rights. Barghouti argues that Israel has eroded the two-state solution and replaced it with an apartheid framework, insisting that equal rights in a single state must prevail rather than subjugation.

Palestinians have faced choices limited since 2005, amid a prolonged split between Fatah and Hamas. A major hurdle remains Israel’s refusal to empower East Jerusalem, where about half a million Palestinians live, including one in ten residents overall.

The Battle of the Textbooks

In the occupied Palestinian territories, the conflict with Israel permeates nearly every issue. Daily life is punctuated by shocks and varying degrees of hardship. An Israeli soldier may discard a Palestinian child’s bicycle during operations, rocks might be hurled at patrols, and groups of Jewish settlers can attack Palestinians in the streets. The West Bank has seen a surge of deadly raids by the Israeli Army, who say they are pursuing terrorists, and Palestinians have also killed Israeli soldiers. Diplomatic efforts show tension, while educational materials often lag in reflecting negotiated boundaries in international talks.

Recently, 150 Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem went on strike to protest the use of Israeli-approved textbooks in classrooms. Israel warned it could revoke licenses for centers that continued to rely on Palestinian Authority materials rather than those sanctioned by Tel Aviv. Palestinian family associations and teachers argue that Israeli materials steer narrative toward conflict and suppress discussion of the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands were displaced in the war that followed. Tel Aviv counters that Palestinian Authority textbooks promote anti-Semitism and glorify violence.

The situation complicates UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency that runs hundreds of schools in Palestinian refugee camps across the region. The core obstacle remains ongoing violence. Adam Bouloukos, UNRWA’s West Bank director, explains from a rooftop view above Bethlehem’s Aida camp that security concerns persist: about a dozen raids occur weekly, with bullets or tear gas used, and keeping children out of harm’s way is a constant priority.

Palestine encompasses the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, covering roughly 6,000 square kilometers — a terrain comparable in size to the Alicante province. Israel, as the occupying power, controls about 75 percent of these lands, maintaining settlements, military bases, road networks for Israeli use, and protected zones under Tel Aviv’s supervision. The Palestinian Authority administers only about 18 percent of the West Bank, with the rest falling under a mix of administration and control. Gaza remains under Hamas leadership.

In 1947, the United Nations proposed a partition that would create a Jewish state on 55 percent of historic Palestine and an Arab state on 45 percent, with Jerusalem placed under international administration. A broad Arab majority rejected the plan, and by 1948 fighting ensued, leading to a ceasefire along the green line in 1949 and mass displacement on both sides. The 1967 war brought further territorial changes: Israel occupied the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. The 1990s offered a moment of potential peace through Madrid and the Oslo accords, which promoted a two-state framework. Yet repeated breaches and ongoing conflict—especially under Netanyahu’s leadership—have complicated any durable settlement, with the region’s future continuing to hinge on a broader, elusive path to peace.

No time to read?
Get a summary
Previous Article

Brazil, Italy, and the Colorful Turning Point: Mexico 1970 World Cup

Next Article

Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, and Infanta Sofia mark a gala with fashion-forward moments