Civil disobedience is the Palestinians’ best option

Such tactics include: engaging in silent protests in front of checkpoints and along the separation barrier, burning Israeli-issued ID cards, 'Freedom Rider' style protests (riding on buses normally used by settlers), peaceful demonstrations especially by Palestinian women, large solidarity marches, occupying strategic public places, 'die-ins' (where a large number of people lie down and refuse to move), chaining oneself to objects and to one another, defying curfews and laws that ban the flying of the Palestinian flag while strictly prohibiting the burning of Israeli flags, and filling Israeli jails by peacefully surrendering to the Israeli security forces, which is extremely costly, burdensome from a security perspective, and demoralizing to the Israelis.

As Mahatma Gandhi observed: "An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Now the law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence but by nonviolence. This I do by breaking the law and by peacefully submitting to arrest and imprisonment."

During all peaceful demonstrations and marches, the Palestinians should carry banners featuring slogans such as "we want peace," "we want justice," "we want a two-state solution," "we respect Israel's right to exist," "we want peaceful coexistence," "enough hate and enough pain," etc., which would challenge deep-seated notions among Israelis that Palestinians want to destroy Israel rather than make peace.

As Mubarak Awad, one of the Palestinians' foremost pioneers of civil disobedience during the first Intifada, eloquently stated: "When you are willing to sacrifice everything for your freedom-without arms, even without stones-even if the government attack you, the Israeli public will have to see you in a different way. We have to make them choose what kind of people they are."

This type of civil disobedience would strengthen the hands of the Israeli peace movement and encourage them to engage in similar non-violent non-cooperation in solidarity with the Palestinians, which would be a game-changer.

More importantly, engaging in civil disobedience will have a psychological effect on the Palestinians themselves as they will discover that persistent non-violent resistance is the most powerful way to positively impact the peace process and set the tone for peaceful coexistence.

Even after seven decades of bloody conflict, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians can afford to resign themselves to the status quo. They have the solemn duty to pass on to the next generation the lessons of the futility of violence, and that peace will come only in the absence of violence.