Commentary: Community Health Workers and Peace Building Through Health in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict After October 7th

Abstract

Health professionals, despite increasing challenges, with notable exceptions, always pursue peace through health because it is who we are—we are here to heal both at the individual and the community level. This applies to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, till now, nongovernmental organizations have had minimal impact on the conflict. This commentary makes 2 recommendations for donor countries after the fighting subsides: Do not insist on Israeli-Palestinian joint ventures at least for the short term and focus as much as possible your funding on interventions that improve community health.