On Saturday, 25 January 2025, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Institute for Palestine Studies launched the Third Annual Palestine Forum in Doha. This year, more than 105 peer-reviewed academic papers, selected from a large number of submissions, are being presented in specialized sessions running in four parallel tracks, in addition to an evening symposium. The Forum continues its tradition as one of the foremost academic gatherings for Palestine Studies, with state-of-the-art research on issues ranging from international law to cultural heritage, political movements, history, and global solidarity. The Forum was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani, Minister of Culture, Her Excellency Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, Minister of State for International Cooperation, His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Qatar.
The forum began with an opening session chaired by the main organizer, Ayat Hamdan, ACRPS Researcher and Editorial Manager of the Ostour journal. She stressed the importance of the event in light of the complex political circumstances the Palestinian people are living through, noting that ongoing Israeli aggression had prevented some participants from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank from attending in person. Hamdan noted that 560 research proposals were submitted, 220 of which were accepted, with more than 90 research papers ultimately completing the review process for presentation.
Tarek Mitri, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Palestine Studies, followed the introduction with his opening remarks, emphasizing the opportunity posed by the Forum for dialogue and reflection. He alluded to the ceasefire, while pointing to remaining fears in Gaza and the West Bank in light of continued Israeli aggression. Mitri stressed that while the US government has cowed Israel in the Gaza Strip, it is still giving it a free pass in the West Bank. He concluded with a reminder that the Palestinian cause is no longer hidden from view on the global stage and that the conflict is no longer a local one that can be ignored or used as a sterile refrain in speeches that lead nowhere, emphasizing the rise in global solidarity. In this context the work of the Institute for Palestine Studies in documenting the genocide is crucial; to declare the truth as an immortal right.
Azmi Bishara, the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, then delivered the keynote lecture, discussing the recent developments in the Palestinian cause and the dimensions of Palestinian steadfastness in the face of the ongoing Israeli genocide. He stressed the importance of unifying all Palestinians under a comprehensive national umbrella to take control of matters and translate international and Arab solidarity into political action, warning that otherwise the Palestinian cause will be moving in a tunnel at the end of which there is no light.
Following the opening, the first set of parallel sessions covered four main themes. The first theme, “International Law and the Genocide in Gaza,” featured three papers. In “International Law and the Decolonization of Palestine: The Advisory Opinion on the Illegality of the Israeli Occupation,” Sonia Boulos and Xavier Abu Eid argued that the June 2024 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, declaring the occupation illegal, opens new politico-legal possibilities for the decolonization of Palestine. Elhoucine Chougrani, in “A Comparative Study of the Pleadings of Regional Organizations before the ICJ on the Legal Consequences of Israel’s Policies and Practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” examined the convergence of legal arguments by the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union. Nizar Ayoub then explored the landscape of universal jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court, and the role of national courts in “Israel and International Justice: An Overview of International Justice and Accountability of Perpetrators of Serious Crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” noting potential pathways for the prosecution of high-ranking Israeli officials.
A second track, “Genocide in Gaza: Cultural and Material Destruction,” presented additional perspectives on the systematic targeting of Palestinian infrastructure. Mahmoud K Hawari outlined the systematic looting of artifacts in “The Theft and Illegal Transfer of Palestinian Cultural Property: Gaza Strip Case Study (1967–2005),” offering an overview of the legal obligations that require Israel to cease its unlawful excavations. Adel Ruished traced how a “state of exception” framework has enabled the forced displacement and spatial erasure of Gaza in “Spatial Transformation and Ethnic Cleansing in the Gaza Strip through Exception.” Meanwhile, Majdi Malki and Layth Hanbali showcased the Institute for Palestine Studies’ online documentation efforts in “Documenting the Sectors Targeted by the Israeli Occupation since the Genocide against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” underscoring the urgency of preserving memory and data on destroyed health, education, agricultural, and cultural facilities.
The third track examined “Western Media and the Genocide in Gaza.” Mohamad Hamas Elmasry and Mohamed el-Nawawy presented “Sourcing and Humanization in US and Israeli Newspaper Coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza: A Quantitative Content Analysis,” finding that major newspapers employed disproportionately pro-Israel framing, marginalizing Palestinian voices and suffering. Imed Ben Labidi focused on discourse that denies Palestinian children’s universal rights in “‘Unchilding’ Palestine: Media Representation and the Limits of Civilizational Discourse,” revealing how entrenched orientalist ideas position these children as inherently outside the realm of global concern. In “The Image of the Israeli Military and Security Establishment in US Media: Transformations in the Discourse of Power and Morality,” Basim Tweissi explored the implications of the disruption of longstanding narratives of Israeli military superiority following 7 October 2023.
A fourth track, “Strategic and Political Transformations of Hamas,” addressed the evolution of Hamas and its ideological roots. Tarek Hamoud, in “The Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood: From Identity Crisis to Armed Struggle,” recounted the group’s early decades, tracing how Palestinian activists navigated overlapping ties with Jordan and other regional bodies. Ayfer Erdoğan Şafak analysed changes in Hamas’ discourse and alliances after the Arab Spring in “The Ideological and Strategic Transformation of Hamas Post-Arab Spring.” Mueen Al-Taher then reflected on Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” in “‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ and Its Repercussions: An Attempt to Understand,” focusing on the consequences of Hamas’ strategic choices.
Later in the day, the Forum proceeded with a second set of four parallel themes. One explored major “Milestones in Palestinian History: From the 19th Century to the Nakba,” featuring presentations by Mohannad Abusarah on the socio-political influence of 19th-century Palestinian ulama, Bilal Shalash on pre-1936 debates over resisting British colonialism, Faozi AlGoidi on Yemeni contributions to Palestine from 1948 to 1982, and Ali Zeidan on reconstructing lost Palestinian villages through “oral geography.” Another track investigated “Israeli Carceral System: Critical Perspectives,” where Lama Ghosheh introduced the notion of “house arrest” as a colonial discipline, Shadi Shurafa drew parallels between Israeli prison structures and Nazi “Kapo” strategies, Ashraf Bader assessed intensifying repressive measures post-7 October, and Khaled Mahajna with Rina Okby theorized on the idea of psychological liberation through the case study of the 2021 Gilboa prison break.
A third track took up “Arab and Global Solidarity with Palestine.” Azadeh Sobout focused on how Irish republican feminists have articulated anti-colonial solidarity for Palestine, Muntaha Abed explored growing student activism in South Korea, Murat Kayacan examined Turkish university campaigns on Gaza, and Mustafa Benmoussa surveyed Moroccan solidarity movements following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Lastly, the theme “Palestine on the Global Stage” showcased Ahmed Hussein on the cascading effects of the war on Gaza on regional and international systems, Mandy Turner on the role of Western think tanks in shaping biased discourse after 7 October, Sumka Bucan and Lejla Ramic-Mesihovic on the European Union’s unresolved contradictions in policy toward Palestine, and Khudhair Aldehlkey on how pro-Israel lobbying within the European Parliament influences the EU’s stance on the conflict.
An evening symposium, titled “The War on Gaza and the Support Fronts,” concluded the day’s events. It brought together Adham Saouli, Mehran Kamrava, Ali Al-Dahab, and Marwan Kabalan to examine the broader Middle Eastern responses to the war, highlighting debates over axis of resistance military alliances and the strategic calculations of regional powers. The Third Annual Palestine Forum will continue over the next two days with further sessions and symposia delving into historical records, emerging forms of resistance, and the institutional reverberations of the war on Gaza.
