Hiba Qasas

You can certainly put the chickpeas next to the tahini next to the lemon juice and not get that hummus.

Self-interest.

The status quo is not sustainable because it neither delivers security to the Israelis or an end to the occupation to the Palestinians.

Then you seek that common ground, that transaction, a political solution within a regional framework.

For Palestinians,

that means an end to the occupation and a non-militarized Palestinian state side by side with Israel.

For Israelis, that means security and a pathway to regional integration rather than isolation.

Once you find that common ground, you can build something that is principled and pragmatic.

You can build a platform for dialogue and for action.

That became Uniting for a Shared Future Coalition.

That's our coalition.

And it grew and it held and it expanded.

And today it brings more than 550 Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Realists and possibilists, what's very special about this coalition is that we work together, even in the midst of the war, to push for a political solution.

In the months that followed,

we started to advocate together from heads of states to briefing the UN Security Council with a joint message.

And I saw Israelis and Palestinians who did not see eye to eye begin to speak about the future in the same grammar.

And trust began to grow in our coalition, in our process, and in each other.

I watched Palestinians and Israelis recognize each other's losses.

They no longer dehumanize the other.