While the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is viewed and described by the Netanyahu government as a strategic threat to Israel’s international legitimacy, in the Palestinian government, there is only lukewarm support for the movement.

A senior PLO official in charge of relations with Israeli civil society told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Palestinian Authority (PA) supports the BDS movement, but has been careful not to make it its own official policy. He claims that Israeli institutions being boycotted may indeed present a moral boost to many Palestinians, but in terms of the Israeli occupation policy, the real damage has so far been minimal. The policy of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to initiate dialogue with many segments of the Israeli public in favor of the Palestinian cause. “As long as our strategy is a peaceful one aimed at negotiating a two-state solution, we have to convince important parts of the Israeli constituency that a two-state solution is in their favor,” the PLO official said. “President Abbas has instructed us to follow a systematic policy aimed at affecting the hearts and minds of Israelis.”

According to the official, this policy includes several key elements, such as encouraging joint Palestinian-Israeli anti-settlement protests. Other important elements are organizing tours of the PA so Israelis can see firsthand Palestinian suffering from the occupation and exposing the Israeli public to Palestinian success stories such as the new West Bank town of Rawabi, hi-tech startups, Palestinian culture and so on. Establishing official Hebrew internet sites and a Hebrew radio station to inform Israelis about Palestinian lives and plights are another goal. In addition, Abbas encourages outreach to Israeli academia, businesses, youth groups, as well as to Israelis emanating from Arab countries, and cooperation between Palestinian and Israeli women’s groups.

The official told Al-Monitor that the PA’s efforts are bearing some fruit, and while the Israeli government actively seeks to destroy any eventuality of a two-state solution, the Israeli public is split in the middle. “Once most Israelis are confronted face to face with Palestinian life, they tend to moderate their voices on Palestinian statehood.” According to the official, these Israel-oriented policies are part of the Palestinian effort to end the occupation. These policies are not for normalizing relations with Israel; normalization could only take place after the creation of a Palestinian state on a border based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. In the meantime, Palestinians would have much to gain from cooperating with Israeli civil society, he argued. Boycotting Israeli peace organizations and academic institutions would actually be counterproductive, the official said.