An outspoken Jewish activist who lives with his seven children at an Israeli settlement in the West Bank is gaining attention for his unique views on the conflict with Palestinians.

Yehuda Hakohen insists that Jews and Palestinians have been fighting “fantasies of each other” for years.

“To even look at the story of the other is considered a sign of weakness or betrayal on both sides,” he said.

“So we’re not even fighting each other, we’re fighting our fantasies about each other.”

Hakohen says he is willing to put his family at risk by living in the most contested territory on earth in his bid to find a way to unite Israelis and Palestinians.

Hakohen rejects Western interference in the conflict and says that if Jews and Palestinians took time to listen to each other they could do better than live side-by-side as the West wants; they could synergise to become one people with a unique contribution to the world.

“Figuring out a way to live here together with the other people in this land in a way that is good for us and I think that is really important,” he tells me. “How can we create a society here that is an expression of our values and our identity?”

 Stay tuned to BibiReturns.com for all my latest reports from Israel in the days ahead.