Cross-Party, Cross-Border: Europe Hears the Call of Palestinian and Israeli Women Peacebuilders

This week, Palestinian and Israeli women peacebuilders stood side by side at the European Parliament and spoke not of blame and despair, but of responsibility and possibility; not of the past, but of the future. And Europe—across party lines and national borders—listened.

From 17 to 19 November, representatives from Women Wage Peace (WWP) and Women of the Sun (WoS), two women-led Israeli and Palestinian sister grassroots movements, met European leaders, policymakers, and civil society actors in a series of events with MEPs and senior EU officials.

The centrepiece of the visit was a panel discussion at the European Parliament titled “Women’s Leadership in Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding: EU Parliament in Dialogue with Experts.” Hosted by MEP Chloé Ridel (S&D) and supported by MEP Maria Walsh (EPP), MEP Villy Søvndal (Greens/EFA), and MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchu (Renew), ALLMEP and its Brussels support group welcomed Naama Barak Wolfman (WWP), Kifaia Masarwy (WWP), and Reem al Hajajra (WoS) for a powerful conversation on the indispensable role of women in peacebuilding.

At a time when civil society’s engagement is fundamental to ensuring that a fragile, negotiated ceasefire can turn into a sustainable peace on the ground, MEPs from across the political spectrum came together to recognise the vital impact of women in sustaining peace efforts and ensuring their success. 

The room at the Parliament was full, as 140 diplomats, MEPs, civil society members, and interested public came to hear directly from regional experts on the current challenges, openings, and opportunities – and the ways Europe can actively support their work. 

Naama, Kifaia, and Reem shared lived experiences and policy-relevant insights that underscored a stark reality: across Israel and Palestine, women are both disproportionately affected by conflict and the backbone of efforts to resolve it. Yet they remain structurally underfunded and excluded from decision-making—even though peace agreements are 35% more likely to last 15 years when women participate, and 64% less likely to fail when civil society is engaged.

These are not abstract figures, but concrete lessons backed directly by the experience of the women in the room. As Naama, Kifiaia, and Reem recounted their everyday efforts to end the cycle of hatred and bloodshed, Gina McIntyre, Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body in Northern Ireland and moderator of this powerful conversation, reminded everyone that Northern Ireland’s peace process offers a critical lesson: peace is not only negotiated—it is built from the ground up. 

McIntyre spoke of the central role of women and community dialogue in rebuilding trust in Northern Ireland—and the fact that this work has been sustained because the European Union made a generational commitment to it. Through the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and successive EU programmes, Europe ensured that community peacebuilding did not fade once headlines moved on. Trauma, mistrust, and division could be addressed because resources were consistent, long-term, and protected.

As policymakers and practitioners looked ahead to how Israel-Palestine might move from ceasefire to durable peace, the Northern Ireland analogy became clear: peace is not self-executing. It requires infrastructure. It requires investment. And it requires political will.

As ALLMEP’s Rachael Liss noted, civil society is scaling the work they have been doing over the past years, engaging Israelis and Palestinians who, through trauma, mistrust, and division, must come to see a shared future as possible and beneficial. For this transformation to occur, civil society must be resourced and supported. 

The EU has already begun this work: in May 2025, the EU announced an €18 million Foreign Policy Instrument package at the People’s Peace Summit in Jerusalem. But scaling this support—creating an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace —is critical to moving from temporary ceasefire to durable peace.

In this process, centring women’s leadership will be indispensable. When women are absent from formal peace processes, their expertise, perspectives, and the constituencies they represent are absent as well. “We need to support women to show them that it is possible and necessary to include them in the diplomatic process,” Reem said. This means not only inviting women to the table, but ensuring they areequipped with the knowledge and resources to participate meaningfully.

Kifaia and Naama echoed this, emphasising that women bring generational thinking, human-centred security, and a long-term orientation often missing in traditional negotiations. “Generational leadership—women work long term, not short term,” Kifaia said. “When we are at the table, we don’t only talk about borders; we talk about life.” Naama agreed: “Women bring humans into the world—we aren’t interested in taking them out of it.”

The collaboration between Women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace demonstrates that cross-community partnership is possible even in the most tense contexts. The two organisations have worked together before the war, continued through the horror of October 7th and the following two years, and are ever more committed to joint peacebuilding in light of profound losses on both sides. “We are the incarnation of hope. We are the seed of this giant cooperation. We want the world to help us to continue this movement and partnership. Because if we don’t do it, no one else will accept this notion of peace,” called Reem. This alliance rests on foundational work: the Mothers Call, a joint statement written by Palestinian and Israeli women over years of dialogue, uniting women who have lost loved ones or lived through conflict around a common plea: “Enough.” The Mothers Call is not merely a symbolic document; it is proof of concept that common language is possible, that shared values can be articulated even across a conflict defined by mutual dehumanisation. 

What Europe Must Do

The policy implications that emerged from this week’s discussions are clear:

• Formally require the inclusion of women in all negotiations, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
• Move beyond symbolic invitations by giving women peacebuilders structured access to policymakers and sustained platforms to shape policy.
• Renew and expand funding for Israeli-Palestinian civil society, recognising that durable peace depends on long-term, coordinated investment.
• Accelerate work toward an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, building on the EU’s €18 million FPI package and leveraging partnerships with E3 allies.
• Emulate the Northern Ireland model by committing to multi-decade, EU-backed peacebuilding programmes that support reconciliation at scale

This week at the European Parliament, Palestinian and Israeli women peacebuilders spoke with clarity, moral authority, and strategic vision. They demonstrated that peace is possible, that women’s leadership is essential to making that peace durable, and that Europe has a critical role to play. 

The question now is whether that engagement will translate into the kind of sustained, resourced commitment that transformed Northern Ireland—and whether policymakers will recognise that investing in women-led civil society is not charity, but the most strategic investment they can make in lasting peace.