Peace Movement

(Peace Camp)

   Within Israel, between the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973), two alternatives to the official position developed that focused on the Occupied Territories and their disposition. Some argued that Israel should retain the territories occupied in 1967 and establish settlements there. The Peace Movement, which was composed of a number of small groups on the Left, took time to become organized, in part because the official position preempted the movement's main arguments by making overtures to the Arab states that indicated Israel was prepared to return territory for peace and to be magnanimous in victory. When it became clear that Israel's insistence on direct negotiations for peace was unsuccessful in achieving its objective and when the government began to show an interest in establishing settlements and retaining territories, the Peace Movement became more prominent. It argued that the failure of the peace process could be attributed in large measure to the government of Israel for not taking greater initiatives. The diminished trust in the Palestinian leadership resulting from the breakdown of the Camp David II negotiations and the protracted Al-Aksa intifada prompted a significant crisis of conscience among mainstream elements of Israel's Peace Movement.

   See also Peace Now (Shalom Achshav); Peled, Matityahu (1923-95).