From 14 to 17 October, ten days before the Israeli election, a delegation from Europa Radicale met with those who are already putting coexistence into practice.
Parents who have lost children, activists, and secular opposition figures.
Luigi Del Carlo, one of the nine participants, recounts: “We need moderate and democratic forces on both sides, willing to engage in dialogue.”

In Beit Jala, in the territories administered by the Palestinian National Authority, a Palestinian mother and an Israeli mother are drinking tea together and smiling. Both have lost a child in the conflict.

This is the image that Luigi Del Carlo, a young activist and one of the nine participants in the Europa Radicale mission, took home with him. “They stand together against the Hamas terrorists and against the crimes of the Netanyahu government,” he says. “And many Palestinians agree on this.”

The “Peace Offensive” mission took place from 14 to 17 October in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Whilst in Italy the debate on the Middle East oscillates between football-style cheering, public hypocrisy and resignation, the Radical Association led by Federica Valcauda and Igor Boni has chosen to go to the front line, amongst those trying to build a peaceful coexistence in everyday life.

On the eve of a historic vote

On 27 October, Israel goes to the polls again, and the delegation has openly stated its intention to support the opposition to Netanyahu. The latest polls paint a picture of a country split down the middle, with the ruling bloc and its opponents neck and neck at around 52 seats each, far short of the 61 needed to form a government.
In this deadlock, the most political gesture of all is precisely to listen to those working towards a viable alternative.

“My aim, just as when I went to Ukraine – again with Europa Radicale – was to understand and experience things first-hand,” explains Del Carlo. “Far from the background noise of a thoroughly polarised public opinion.” The approach is always a radical one, based on physical presence as a means of gaining knowledge, even before it becomes a form of testimony.

The political context against which the mission is set is clear. On the one hand, there is the armed fundamentalism of Hamas terrorists, funded by theocratic Iran.
On the other, the criminal cynicism of the Netanyahu government and the ministers of the messianic right, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who are attempting to dismantle Israeli democracy from within.

Europa Radicale rejects this false choice between opposing forms of fanaticism, proposing a third way: secular institutions, security for Israel, and full and mutual recognition. The formula is ‘two peoples, two states’ but, above all, ‘two democracies’ – deeply rooted and with a radical foundation.

Drive out Hamas and stop the settlers

The first stop is the separation wall, the concrete scar that divides two peoples who have walked the same land for millennia. Just behind the wall, in Beit Jala, the delegation met with the Parents Circle, the association of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost their children and have chosen to reject revenge.

There, Del Carlo spoke at length with a Palestinian girl living in a refugee camp. The common ground, he says, is crystal clear: “Both want the complete dismantling of Hamas and, at the same time, an end to settler violence in the West Bank”. The two conditions go hand in hand. “Hamas gone and the settlers stopped: these are the necessary preconditions for everything else.”

The testimonies gathered paint a less one-dimensional picture of what is happening in Europe. “Among Gazans, Hamas is seen as the enemy; it is losing support,” continues the young activist. Some Palestinian interviewees told him that the tunnels dug beneath schools and hospitals “have contributed to our destruction”. But the picture is not uniform: “Judging by the people we spoke to, whilst Hamas is losing ground in Gaza, in the West Bank we are seeing the opposite trend.” This is a sign that settler violence is fuelling the very extremism it claims to be fighting.

Practicality and clarity

The other meetings conveyed the same idea: peace-building as concrete cooperation, rather than mere sloganeering. The delegation then held discussions with members of Women Wage Peace – Israeli, Arab Christian and Palestinian women – who are calling for women to play a strong role on the path towards mutual recognition.
At the Dead Sea, the delegation took part in the Federal Forum, where young Israelis and Palestinians are working on an ambitious, long-term federal project between Israel and the future State of Palestine.

In Jerusalem, a meeting with Amit Peretz of Jerusalem Open House, a secular organisation that provides healthcare, support and safe spaces for transgender people.
An outpost caught between the hatred of religious extremists and the ideological isolation imposed on it by the far left and far right in the West, both of which are quick to ignore those who defend civil rights within Israel.

The most political section concerns the opposition parties. The delegation met with Emilie Moatti of the Democrats – the party led by Yair Golan, which brings together Labour and former Meretz members – Roberto Della Rocca of the secular left, representatives of the Arab List, and the anti-prohibitionists of Green Leaf.

The harshest accusations have come from the Democrats. “We were told that the government has dismantled a Shin Bet unit dedicated to combating Jewish terrorism,” reports Del Carlo.
They condemn the violence perpetrated by settlers, “legitimised by Ben Gvir and Smotrich”, and promise, should they win, a thorough inquiry into the events of 7 October, which they claim the government has culpably underestimated. Some go so far as to say that, if Netanyahu were to win again, they would leave the country.

According to a study by Tel Aviv University based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, between 2023 and 2025 around 268,000 Israelis left the country for at least three consecutive months, compared with an average of 60,000 per year in the previous decade.
This exodus, which mainly affects those who can afford to leave, risks depleting the very secular and liberal sections of the country.

One of the speakers falters; the other isn’t even there

The account also highlights significant internal social divisions.
The ultra-Orthodox, who make up around 13–14 per cent of the population according to the most recent figures, remain exempt from compulsory military service. Reservists, called up for months at a time, receive no protection when they have to take time off work: “a disruption to their life path”, as Del Carlo puts it.
The meeting with the communist-inspired Arab party also dispelled a few stereotypes: “They are not anti-Semitic; they too want two peoples and two states. They are Israeli Arabs who love Israel, whilst condemning the current government.”

“Israel is still a democracy,” says Del Carlo. “We had complete freedom of movement and of expression, even when criticising Netanyahu.”
A democracy under pressure, but one that holds its ground through its ability to foster its own opposition.

The problem remains, particularly on the other side of the wall. “There is currently no Palestinian counterpart,” admits Del Carlo.

Hence his conclusion: “We need moderate and democratic forces on both sides, willing to engage in dialogue.”
This is the same logic behind the agreements with Egypt and Jordan that Europa Radicale holds up as a model: peace begins with governments that pursue mutual recognition.

When demonstrations are part of the problem

Del Carlo directs his sharpest criticism at some Western public protests.
He argues that pro-Palestine demonstrations fail to grasp the reality of the situation and must rid themselves of the anti-Semitism that all too often permeates them. A qualitative leap is needed in the very nature of the protest.
His formula is simple but spot on: “Love for the Palestinians, a desire for peace, not hatred towards Israel”.

In Beit Jala, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, there are those who have already chosen the third way.
They are not in the majority, nor are they in government. But they exist, and on 27 October, a section of Israeli society will try to make their voices heard.
Listening to it and supporting it is the least Europe can do.