What causes a young person to choose violence? For Gaza, the explanation is often framed as indoctrination—or the claim that some people are simply born to hate. Yet genuine understanding requires actually listening to young people answer the question for themselves. In this research inquiry, Palestinian students who grew up amidst the early optimism of the Oslo Accords recount gradually losing faith in the nonviolent platitudes taught in school as sustained conflict came to dominate their lived realities. A recurring refrain directed at politicians near and far was simple and striking: “Stop lying to us.”
If stakeholders are serious about promoting a more peaceful world, it is imperative to listen to such personal accounts of growing up amidst conflict, rather than prescribing convenient solutions from afar. Hearing young people explain how they came to support political violence may be uncomfortable—but these insights are essential to diagnosing the larger challenges and should not be ignored.
Learning to Love and Hate in Gaza: A qualitative case study exploring the interplay between education and violence in post-Oslo Palestine