Bereaved Israelis urge Palestinian state recognition ahead of UN summit

After militants killed his parents during Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, Maoz Inon vowed to reject revenge and choose a path of reconciliation -- for his own healing and his country's.

- 

The 49-year-old is among thousands of Israelis now calling on the international community to formally recognize the State of Palestine ahead of a UN summit next week where several Western countries are set to do just that.

For Inon, a tourism entrepreneur who became involved in the peace movement around 20 years ago, dialogue, recognition and forgiveness on both sides are key to a secure future for the region.

"By revenging the death, we are not going to bring them back to life. And we're only going to escalate the cycle of violence, bloodshed, and revenge we've been trapped within, not since October 7, but for a century," he said.

When militants attacked Israel, Inon said he "wasn't surprised" after the years of "occupying, oppressing and walling between us and the other side".

"I knew it's going to explode in our face," he told AFP in Tel Aviv. "I didn't, in my worst nightmare, (think) I will pay the price."

Inon has since become a key figure in a new campaign calling for Palestinian statehood, but the initiative is facing an uphill battle for Israeli hearts and minds.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Centre, only 21 percent of Israeli adults think Israel and a Palestinian state can coexist peacefully the smallest share since they began asking the question in 2013.