Feature: Putting peace back on the agenda -- is it possible?

Last week, as U.S. President Donald Trump voiced indifference as to how Israelis and Palestinians solve the decades-old conflict between them, a group of women is trying to get the sides to engage in dialogue -- something that has not happened in a long time.

They are trying to fight the apathy. Through activities around Israel, over 10,000 women hope to bring peace to the forefront of the discourse in a cynical environment.

In an area riddled by conflict and bloodshed, the notion of peace has never been more distant.

A movement of approximately 12,000 registered female members wants to bring the word back to the Israeli-Palestinian discourse.

"Women Wage Peace" began with a small group of women in 2014.

"It was in the midst of Operation Protective Edge (Israeli offensive in Gaza), a few women were sitting and they were going crazy from despair and the inability to do something," says Anat Negev who is the head of the Strategic Communication team in Women Wage Peace.

"An understanding was born that you cannot just give birth to children and then give them away to generals to fight in wars," she adds.

Israelis and Palestinians are so used to interacting violently that an alternative of peaceful co-existence seems almost a naive aspiration to most.

A renewed cycle of violence began in the end of 2016. Although now it seems it has subsided, approximately 200 Palestinians have been killed. Tens of Israelis have also been killed.

Israel says most of the Palestinian victims were assailants who were killed while attacking or attempting to attack Israelis. Some of them were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

The violence has been interpreted by some as an expression of a young Palestinian generation frustrated with the status-quo.

Within the pessimistic atmosphere, the non-governmental organization (NGO) of Women Wage Peace operates in an a-political form.

The members are women from all sides of the Israeli political spectrum -- left-wing supporters of Israeli-Palestinian separation into two states, right-wing women who want to see Israel retaining control over the West Bank and Israeli-Arab women who often find themselves in a tricky position.

"Our demand is that leaders on both sides sit down and talk and reach an agreement now. We are not telling them how to do it -- there are enough experts on that," explains Negev. "We do not want more victims."

A week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Donald Trump, it seems those words by Negev have never been more relevant.

Both leaders publicly abandoned what was spoken about for years -- that the only solution to the problem was the two-state solution. Although the overwhelming majority of the international community still believes this, Netanyahu and Trump are looking at things differently.

The organization derives its gender related agenda from United Nations (UN) resolution 1325. This was adopted in 2000 and is called the resolution on women, peace and security. It encourages women to be part of conflict resolution.

"The fact that women give birth to and raise children, we also want to take care of their future. Women are better listeners, their discourse is more accepting. They communicate better rather than butting heads," believes Negev.

The highlight of the movement came in October 2016 as thousands of women marched to Jerusalem and stood in front of the home of Israel's prime minister, calling for peace.

Huda Abu Arqub, a Palestinian woman from the West Bank city of Ramallah, is not a member of the NGO, but she serves as a regional coordinator for the Alliance for Middle East Peace. At the time, she managed to bring 700 Palestinian women to the march.

It was an attempt to demonstrate that there are also people on the Palestinian side that believe negotiations are still possible. Many people on both sides feel that peace is simply unattainable and should no longer be aspired to.

The event did not receive wide media coverage.

Perhaps the biggest challenge the women face is the disappearance of the word peace from the mouths of both Israelis and Palestinians.

"At some point people gave up and leaders took that despair and connected it to military, security and wars. It became a very strong connection," Negev says.

It is easier to sway voters in fear rather than hope.

In Israel, Netanyahu has been leading the country since 2009. He has repeatedly expressed in various ways that peace with the Palestinians is unattainable -- that this is not the time. Years of this message have permeated into many minds of Israelis who are also convinced this is the case.

Anat Negev believes that Women Wage Peace has succeeded to break down the barrier.

"From the responses we feel that we have brought back the words hope and peace into the discourse. These words became almost rude!"says Negev.

The women of the organization run various activities all year long. They hold movie screenings of relevant films, breakfasts and tree planting around Israel.

In a conflict that is hardly clear-cut but that many believe is black-and-white or right and wrong, the message of Women Wage Peace is on one hand precise but on the other hand vague.

While the call to negotiate is in itself an admirable goal for two sides who barely communicate other than exchanging blows, the organization lacks a refined political stance.

"This will not become a political movement," says Anat Negev. "There are too many opinions and we could not possibly form a party and contain them all."

Israelis and Palestinians are, for the most part, wary of negotiations. A clear message is necessary in order to change their minds.

Women Wage Peace are trying to make a dent in that cynical wall that has been erected between both sides. Endit