A new generation is leading this dauting task, as they build and solidify their visions, strategies and program for the future. They are doing so by anchoring their actions in a collective participatory leadership model that the current political regime in Palestine lacks.

The 18 May general strike across Palestine, called and led by non-conventional political actors (new emerging youth-led groups), the level of commitment toward this call, the launch of The Dignity and Hope Manifesto, the powerful narrative emerging and featured on mainstream written and televised media by Palestinian analysts, the leading role of Palestinian women at the forefront in all these ongoing efforts, the ability to mobilize across and over the so-called “Green Line” despite all the mechanisms of control and repression, the emergence of youth-led groups such as the Generation for Democratic Renewal, and the rejection-via-actions to shrink the Palestinian people to those isolated in the “Oslo framework prison”, are all examples of an evolving new dynamic that could be transformed into a political opportunity if sustained, endorsed, and adopted by large segments of the Palestinian people.

Such developments and dynamics might be “invisible” at this stage, especially with the very visible crimes piling up in the Gaza Strip. Yet, we should not dismiss these “invisible” attempts, even if they are in their infancy, as they are avenues to hope amid escalating pain.

The ongoing cycle of confrontation is already generating early signs that have been sorely missed as far as the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and liberation is concerned. Capitalizing on these signs is imperative in order to engage in a process of positive future change.

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