Jerusalem peacemaker visits with Bay Area non-profit leader

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- The escalating battle in the Middle East took a new turn on Monday when the Israeli military used a patriot missile to shoot down an unarmed Hamas drone along the coastline near Gaza.

More than 185 Palestinians have been killed, 80 percent are civilians. No Israelis have been killed and there is no sign of a ceasefire.

A peacemaker from Jerusalem visited with Bay Area non-profit leader Heidi Kuhn to offer a long-term plan for peace. It's a leadership program in Jordan called the American University of Madaba.

"We have more than 28 nationalities coming to study in this American University. We have a lot of people from the Gulf, from Iraq, from Syria, from Israel," Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Father Twal said. "We believe in education, we believe that children -- Muslims, Christians, Jews -- when these children study together, play soccer together, eat together, I think that's the best dialogue that we can start."

Twal, an Arab Christian, was born in Madaba, Jordan. He and Kuhn's "Roots of Peace" charity worked with the Israeli consulate to get landmines removed in the fields of Bethlehem last year.

Now, they're planting white roses as a symbol of hope for peace during the Middle East conflict.