A cease fire has halted fighting in Israel and Gaza. But, prospects of long term peace remain in limbo.
As WBAA’s Sam Klemet reports, the conflict is hitting close to home for some in the Purdue community.
Videos posted on YouTube and pictures from the Middle East tell only part of the story of the dangers and cost of war.
But, for Nir Vaks, they are vivid evidence that his home is crumbling.
“My entire family is in Israel, so I'm obviously worried about my parents and my siblings," he said. "More than anything, I would say I am worried and somewhat saddened about the situation.”
Vaks is a graduate student at Purdue studying computer and electrical engineering.
He was born and raised in Tel-Aviv.
Israel’s second most populated city has traditionally avoided violent attacks, but now is at the heart of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which, to Vaks, indicates the grave nature of the situation.
“Tel-Aviv, since the first Gulf War, has kind of been off limits and it's been a safe zone," he said. "So, when there are rockets or fear of rockets and missiles in that area, that has a huge cultural impact and definite economic impact on the entire country.”
Hundreds of people have been killed or injured since the fighting began about two weeks ago.
Nyah Zarate is a Purdue graduate student and Vaks’ girlfriend.
She has visited her boyfriend’s home in Tel-Aviv twice and although she traveled during more peaceful times, Zarate says the trips give her a better understanding of the current violent uprising in Israel and Gaza.
“It's sad to see Israel under attack, but it's also even more heart wrenching to see the Palestinians in their situation, being in shambles," she said. "It's ten times harder because they are locked into this territory. It brings tears to my eyes for both sides.”
Vaks believes there will be a resolution, but says Palestinians hold the key to peace talks.
“You basically have to different Palestines or two different governments. The one is the one in Gaza that is led by Hamas and the second one is in the West Bank," he said. "In order to have any kind of successful negotiation or at least meaningful negotiation, the first thing to do is for the Palestinians to solve their problems and unite and then come to the table as one entity, or one group”
"There is no possibility right now for the Palestinians to solve their political problems by themselves,” said Bill Mullen, a Purdue professor and the faculty advisor for The Students for Justice in Palestine.
He sees the ongoing violence as the result of actions of Israel, the United States, and members of the European Union.
"Really since 1948, the United States and the majority of the European countries have supported the Israeli oppression of Palestinians," he said. "By support I mean Israel as a state was founded upon the forced and violent removal and displacement of three-quarters-of-a-million Palestinians from their home land."
He compares the violence in the Middle East with the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, and apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s.
Mullen believes in a one-state solution and puts the onus of finding a resolution on Israel.
The White House backs Israel, saying the United States ally has a right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza.
Lamise Shawahin thinks that view is misguided.
"I do think that the bottom line is that they are supporting an ongoing occupation and ongoing violence against a people that really just want their basic human rights," she said.
Shawahin is a PhD student at Purdue and member of the Students for Justice in Palestine. She says the violence has boiled over due to aggressive attacks by Israel.
"When you look at a place like Gaza where a good 80-percent of the population are actually refugees you really need to take into account that what we are seeing today is part of an ongoing occupation and part of a campaign of really collective punishment against a civilian population that is already a refugee population,” she said.
Vaks says his time at Purdue has given him a broader perspective on the current conflict.
He has engaged in conversations with Palestinians living in the United States and says they have been able to find common ground.
“When you move away, when you are removed physically from the situation and this tension, suddenly you realize how similar you are to the other person that just a few months ago, few years ago you considered to be your sworn enemy.”
He insists that type of dialogue and mending trust between both sides is needed to improve the situation back home.
If not, there may be no home to return to.
"Both sides are, I really and truly believe, are fearing not only for their personal life, but for their ethnicity to disappear," Vaks said. "That's what makes this situation and conflict, not only so complex, but so intense, not only physically but also emotionally.”