Olivia's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going for too long. I have not experienced what a lot of the Israelis and Palestinians have, but I have experienced fear. The hatred between Israel and Palestine is so deeply rooted and powered by the thing that controls us. Fear. Fear that another barrier will be put up, fear that another house will be bulldozed in the West Bank, fear that someone on the other side, your age, feels like it would be better if you ceased to exist.

The fear that peace will never be found and war will be infinite.

Peace can not happen instantaneously, not like the way most think it should happen. Getting rid of the checkpoints and barriers instantly might do nothing but foster a more open invitation to violence between the countries. Peace can not happen without Israel and Palestine's consent. In this type of conflict, making peace would be a slower, gradual process. People are already starting to work on that.The Hand in Hand Schools invite children to come and learn with other children of all ethnicities and religions. They learn together, grow up together, and become friends, as everyone should be. The solution to this sort of conflict does not involve instantly removing the "security fence" and barriers. Barriers, seen and unseen, need to be broken down and removed piece by piece.

The first step would be breaking down the barriers that are unseen, and bringing people together. The mind is a lot like a checkpoint. You can go ahead, straight on through, or the conflict can hold you back, for the Israelis as much as the Palestinians.

The second step would be breaking down seen barriers piece by piece, and seeing how the two cultures learn from one another.

The last step would be never giving up. I believe god created this conflict to see if man was brave enough to push through and find peace. Peace will only be established when both Israel and Palestine are brave enough to unite and stand together as one.