HIKMA SUMMIT
OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The Weight of Collective Trauma

Trauma is one of the central psychological forces driving the conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians carry heavy histories of collective suffering that deeply influence their worldviews and behaviors. For Israelis, the trauma of the Holocaust is not just a historical memory but a foundational element of national consciousness. This trauma plays a crucial role in Israeli defense policies, settlement behaviors, and public attitudes toward Palestinian resistance.

On the Palestinian side, the Nakba - the 1948 displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians - remains an open wound. Generations of Palestinians have grown up in refugee camps or under military occupation, often experiencing poverty, humiliation, and violence. These experiences form a collective trauma that fuels anger, distrust, and a longing for justice or revenge. Additionally, shared trauma reinforces the bond between individuals and creates contrast with

Identity

Israeli and Palestinian identities are forged not only in relation to their own history and culture but also in opposition to each other. Palestinians often see Israel not merely as a state but as the agent of their dispossession. Conversely, Israelis often view Palestinians as an existential threat, a population that denies their right to exist in safety.

At a psychological level, human beings derive meaning and safety from group identity. Every individual has a personal self and a social self. Socially, each individual has the desire to distinguish him- or herself from other individuals and to create a desirable image of oneself. Identity is defined through multiple social identities or, in other words, through different groups of belonging: this also allows individuals to create “cognitive structures”, mental frameworks that organize knowledge, beliefs, and expectations. Categorizing others and oneself into groups makes the world more predictable and manageable.

When social groups face demonization and stereotyping, one coping strategy often involves a stronger identification with the group's beliefs and values. This intensified group alignment fosters a sense of solidarity among members, providing psychological and social support. Experience with discrimination, socio economic crisis or political repression lead to cognitive openings that challenge the previously held beliefs and alter the individual’s perception of the world: this dynamic often draws individuals to search for meaning that is usually found in religion or ideological causes. Additionally, this strong identification can also produce emotional mirroring. People may feel the same emotions as those they relate to and identify with, even in the absence of direct personal experience. For instance, if a person identifies with someone who is suffering injustice, as a result they might experience emotions like anger, sadness, or more generally empathy; as if it was happening to themselves. This emotional resonance is driven by empathy and identification with the other person's situation. By identifying with causes or struggles individuals might justify violent actions as a way to avenge or address perceived wrongs, feeling that they are part of a larger, noble cause.

The Psychology of Occupation

For Palestinians living under occupation, daily life is marked by surveillance, checkpoints, home demolitions, and a lack of autonomy. This breeds chronic stress, humiliation, and a sense of powerlessness - conditions which, according to psychological research, are fertile ground for radicalization, depression, and intergenerational trauma. Overall, the lack of opportunities and structures within the community pushes some of the young Muslims away from the “middle path” or in other words, which refers to a moderate way of living. Additionally, even when deprivation does not mirror objective conditions, what matters is that individuals subjectively experience it: this describes the concept of relative deprivation, which can be defined as the gap between expectation and satisfaction and that can become a source of social tension.

Less discussed is the psychological toll of occupation on Israeli soldiers and society. Controlling another population can lead to moral injury, cognitive dissonance, and desensitization to violence. Soldiers often return home with psychological scars - either from exposure to violence or from actions they themselves committed under orders. This dynamic contributes to a culture of militarization and dehumanization on both sides, further entrenching the cycle of fear and aggression.

Dehumanization and Enemy Images

When groups are in conflict, especially violent conflict, they tend to develop simplified, stereotyped and often demonized images of the other. Individuals often tend to judge others based on whether they’re part of their group (in-group) or not (outgroup). For instance, if someone from an outgroup does something bad, individuals might find explanation in their inherent negative tendencies. At the same time, if the same thing is done by an in-group member they are more likely to see this individual as an exception to the rule. Additionally, dehumanization serves several psychological purposes: it reduces empathy, justifies violence, and protects the in-group’s moral identity.

In Israeli media and public discourse, Palestinians are frequently portrayed as terrorists, rioters, or threats to national security. Similarly, in Palestinian media, Israelis are often depicted as occupiers, settlers, or agents of repression. These narratives flatten the complexity of individuals and reduce the possibility of mutual understanding. Social psychologists refer to this as “moral disengagement” - a process by which people justify unethical behavior by redefining their targets as undeserving of moral concern. Once someone is seen as less than human, anything can be done to them. This dynamic fuels the ongoing brutality and impedes any genuine reconciliation.

Narrative Psychology: Competing Stories

Beyond individual trauma and fear, the conflict is held together by competing narratives - stories each side tells about themselves and the other. These stories are central to group identity and deeply resistant to change. Specifically as human beings we are predisposed to understand and describe our worlds in narrative format. We feel transported, we identify with the story and the characters. Narratives work because they don’t appear persuasive, but it’s about how the individual interprets the story: narratives overcome resistance and therefore is the most persuasive form of communication.

For instance, the Israeli narrative emphasizes the return to a historical homeland, the survival after centuries of persecution, and the legitimacy of a democratic state. The Palestinian narrative centers on colonial dispossession, the right to return to their land and decades of resistance against injustice. These narratives are not just political positions: they are sacred beliefs tied to dignity, memory, and belonging. Any attempt at peace that ignores or dismisses one side’s story is likely to fail, because it amounts to a form of psychological erasure.

Conclusion

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be fully understood without considering the profound impact that psychology plays in sustaining the tensions. The weight of decades of collective trauma, for both Israelis and Palestinians, are not just historical memories but a force that shapes attitudes, reactions, and policies. The inability to recognize the humanity of the other fuels a vicious cycle of violence and mistrust. Only by reflecting on the psychological dynamics that define identities and perceptions can a path to reconciliation be embarked upon. Understanding how collective traumas influence individual and collective choices is an essential step toward any sustainable peace effort.