This post was updated Feb. 12 at 3:57 p.m.

Former Israeli politician and peace negotiator Yossi Beilin said during a Thursday lecture at UCLA that peace between Israel and Palestine is possible.

Beilin delivered the lecture, hosted by the UCLA Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies as part of the Harry C. Sigman Distinguished Lecture in Israel Studies series, in the Fowler Museum’s Lenart Auditorium. Beilin said in an interview with the Daily Bruin that he hoped to communicate through his talk that peace is entirely possible.

“It was important for me to deliver the message that we have the solutions – we know how to solve the problem,” he said. “If there are leaders on both sides who want to have peace, there will be.”

Militant group and Palestinian political party Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, according to the Associated Press. The Israel Defense Forces responded with a military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The two parties came to a ceasefire agreement Jan. 19 – in which Hamas promised to release all Israeli hostages and Israel said it would withdraw its troops from widely populated areas of Gaza – following over 15 months of fighting.

Beilin, who was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, served in the Israel Defense Forces and in several government positions, including as Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice. He left politics in 2008, opting for a career in business and peace-centered activism.

“I’m not a magician, and I don’t think that everything I want can be achieved,” Beilin said. “I don’t accept it, that my people cannot have peace.”

Beilin said during the lecture that he believes the main conflict between Israel and Palestine centers around land, adding that he thinks resolving territorial disputes would bring peace. He said he believes Israel must completely withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip, potentially with assistance from the United States and other countries, to have peace in the area.

Beilin also said during the lecture that he supports a two-state solution. He added that his perspective on the solution has changed in recent years and that he developed the idea of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation.

Beilin said Hamas’ involvement in Gaza hinders efforts toward peace.

“Israel says Hamas cannot be in power, and I think that this is the right attitude,” he said. “I don’t think that they can continue and be the governing power of Gaza. But with whom are we negotiating? With them. Why? Because there is nobody else.”

The lecture took place two days after President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. should take over and develop the Gaza Strip. Beilin said when he heard this news, his initial reaction was to laugh.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference that he believes Trump’s proposal is worth consideration. However, Beilin said in an interview with the Daily Bruin that he believes Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s proposition was disingenuous.

“Netanyahu is a clever person,” he said. “He understands it, and I believe that he is manipulating Trump.”

Beilin added that he believes Netanyahu has a strong influence on Trump, citing the president’s withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal after Netanyahu lobbied against it in 2018.

“He convinced him (Trump) to leave the agreement with Iran,” he said. “It was a huge mistake for Israel and for the Americans, and now he’s encouraged him to this stupid idea of evacuating so many Palestinians.”

Cecelia Fischer, a fourth-year Arabic language and culture and history student, said she came to the event to hear Beilin’s personal perspective on what peace efforts could look like.

“I’m hoping to hear about the future of the peace efforts, as in with the Trump administration, with the ceasefire, how are we going to move this forward, to get peace and self-determination for both peoples,” Fischer said. “I want a hopeful, clear vision on what that could look like from an expert.”

Yarin Hagay Nevel, a fourth-year psychology student, said she learned about Beilin from a dual-narrative history course with professor David Myers. She said she attended the event to learn more about the current sentiments on peacemaking in Israel-Palestine.

Beilin added in the interview with the Daily Bruin that he believes the January ceasefire agreement is delicate. He later said Trump’s proposition is diverting attention from more realistic solutions.

“Trump even said, ‘We are not in a hurry,’” Beilin said. “He is not in a hurry. We are in a hurry – people are killed every day.”