2026 Annual Palestine Forum

Following the resounding success of the previous three rounds, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Institute for Palestine Studies are pleased to welcome research proposals for the fourth Annual Palestine Forum. The Forum will be held in late January 2026 in Qatar, with exact dates to be confirmed later.

The quality of the papers presented and the volume of participation and interaction from attendees from all over the world in earlier rounds have set this conference apart. Around 220 peer-reviewed papers have been selected out of over 1400 submissions and presented in themed sessions covering a wide selection of topics related to various aspects of the genocidal war on Gaza and the Palestine question more generally.

The fourth round seeks to create an interactive academic space for presenting new and innovative approaches and exchanging ideas related to the study of Palestine. It provides an opportunity for researchers who are already working on papers to present and discuss their work, and to learn about and benefit from new research trends in Palestine Studies.

The Annual Palestine Forum does not have a specific annual theme, nor will researchers be assigned papers to write. However, the Arab Center and the Institute for Palestine Studies will allocate space for research related to Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza and the future of Gaza Strip, the military offensive in the West Bank, and the challenges of resisting displacement and annexation plans proposed by the new US administration. This will include and exploration of the local, regional, and international repercussions of these developments, raising critical questions about the international order, the effectiveness of international law, and the role of Arab and regional actors, in addition to questions related to genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced internal displacement, refugees, resistance movements, direct control and governance policies, the role of the Palestinian national movement and political parties, global solidarity movements, and post-war reconstruction efforts.

The organizers also encourage researchers, including junior scholars and recent PhD graduates, to submit papers on topics such as:

• The West Bank and Jerusalem
• The future of the Palestinian national project
• The Palestinian political system
• Systems of colonial surveillance and population control
• Refugees and migration
• Palestine solidarity movements
• Prisons and the Palestinian prisoners’ movement
• Policy and strategy analysis (local, regional, and international)
• Patterns of Palestinian resistance
• Nakba and memory
• Trends in the historiography of Palestine and the Palestinians
• Palestinian society on both sides of the Green Line and in the diaspora
• Zionism, society, and state in Israel
• Media
• Human rights and legal studies

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, and the Conference Committee is open to receiving studies on other related topics.

Participation Procedures

Research proposals should be submitted through the Researchers Application. The user guide for the Arab Center's Researchers Application is accessible here.

1. Individual Participation

• The Conference Committee will accept research proposals (maximum 500 words) submitted in Arabic or English, accompanied by the author’s up-to-date academic CV, no later than 1 May 2025. Proposals should include the research hypotheses, methodology and theoretical frameworks used, and a description of how the paper contributes to its field.
• If the paper is already complete, it may be submitted with a CV and a 300-word abstract in place of a proposal for peer review.
• Participants will be notified if their proposals have been selected, which may be subject to revision. Unsuccessful submissions will also be notified.
• The Conference Committee's approval of the research proposal does not automatically guarantee the final paper’s inclusion in the conference.
• Research proposals selected by the Conference Committee should be followed up with a full paper (6000-9000 words) for peer review no later than 1 September 2025. Kindly review the Arab Center’s publication guidelines on this link.
• The research must be original and specially prepared for the Annual Palestine Forum and should not have been published as a whole or in part, either electronically or in print. It should not have been presented at a previous academic conference or to any other party.
• A specialized committee will review the research and inform the researcher whether the paper is accepted, accepted with revision requests, or rejected. The Conference Committee reserves the right to withdraw papers that have been deemed unsuitable once they have been received in full and reviewed.

Should the paper not meet the acceptance criteria, the Conference Committee will notify the researcher of the decision only, without attaching the review report, in line with other academic conferences.

• Once submitted papers have been reviewed and selected by the Conference Committee, they will undergo the process of peer-review. Afterward, papers will be assigned to specific conference sessions arranged according to topic.

2. Panel participation for research institutions

The Arab Center and the Institute for Palestine Studies offer research institutions the opportunity to submit proposals for presenting the work of their researchers in a panel. Panel proposals must include the following:

• A summary of the session topic and its research contribution (up to 300 words).
• The Conference Committee will accept up to four research abstracts (maximum 500 words each). Each research proposal will undergo individual review, and the research institution will be notified whether each proposal is accepted or rejected.
• An updated CV for each researcher.
• Research proposals selected by the Conference Committee should be followed up with a full paper (6000-9000 words) for peer review no later than 1 September 2025. Kindly review the Arab Center’s publication guidelines on this link.

Please note that proposals and papers submitted for research institution sessions are subject to the same standards and procedures as individual proposals and papers.

All inquiries should be directed to annualpalestineforum@dohainstitute.org.

Date of Conference: Late January 2026

Conference venue: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar.

Conference languages: Arabic and English.

For any inquiries, please contact annualpalestineforum@dohainstitute.edu.qa.