Held in Istanbul on September 6, the International Conference entitled “From Genocide to Building the Palestinian State” brought together a select group of academics, thinkers, and opinion leaders from Palestine, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and several European countries. The conference was organized by the Palestinian Dialogue Group in partnership with the “Kharji” media platform and the Center for International Relations and Diplomacy (MID), and addressed a set of pivotal issues, most notably the systematic genocide committed by the occupying state in the Gaza Strip, the challenges of building the Palestinian state and the question of its international recognition, in addition to the responsibilities of the international community toward the Palestinian cause.
The conference opened with a keynote speech by its coordinator, Tunç Akkuş, Editor-in-Chief of the “Kharji” platform, who noted that the Palestinian cause is passing through a critical phase that combines the greatest tragedy in the history of this people with serious moves toward international recognition of the State of Palestine. He stressed that the conference addresses the Palestinian cause as one of the world’s most pressing issues from multiple perspectives, and emphasized the role of the media in conveying the Palestinian voice to the world and the necessity of leveraging the power of digital publishing to broaden awareness and push toward a solution.
Sadiq Abu Amer, Head of the “Palestinian Dialogue Group,” also delivered a speech before the conference, pointing out that what the Palestinian people are enduring in Gaza and the West Bank constitutes an act of genocide and ethnic cleansing within a systematic Israeli strategy to eliminate the Palestinian cause and deny the people their right to establish an independent state. Abu Amer stated: “We are confident that genocide will not erase the national identity, nor silence the Palestinian voice, and that the immense sacrifices made by the people will pave the way toward an independent Palestinian state.”
He stressed that the greatest challenge today lies in moving from a position of mere reaction to one of shaping political initiative, noting that the war has exposed the limits of the international system and the bias of major decision-making centers, while also revealing an unprecedented wave of global popular solidarity that must be transformed into an organized instrument of pressure to restore the rights of the Palestinian people.
He explained that the conference is based on a philosophy of unifying Arab, regional, and European efforts to end the war and mobilize diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian tools to ensure the protection of civilians and open an effective political path leading to independence. He also warned against the re-production of the historical injustices that have forced Palestinians to pay the price of international power struggles since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the 1947 Partition Plan. Abu Amer concluded by affirming that the convening of the conference with the participation of figures from Europe and the region sends a clear message that Palestine remains a matter of global conscience, calling for the adoption of concrete recommendations to support the recognition of the State of Palestine, end impunity, and strengthen human rights and legal action at the international level.
For his part, Mehmet Rakipoğlu from the Center for International Relations and Diplomacy highlighted the critical juncture that the conflict has reached, pointing out that the documented crimes in Gaza have been acknowledged by international institutions as acts of genocide. He emphasized that the next stage must focus on moving from merely characterizing the crime to achieving the establishment of the Palestinian state, calling for a battle of awareness and knowledge alongside the field struggle, and stressing the necessity of dismantling the military and ideological power structure on which the occupation relies.
Palestinian Symposium: Genocide in Political Discourse and State-Building
The symposium was opened by its moderator, A. Youssef Fakhr Al-Din (a researcher residing in France), who stated: “We gather here while the Palestinian people are subjected to an Israeli war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, under conditions too severe to be merely described as inhumane. Palestinians in the West Bank are facing Israeli military violence, the expansion of settlements, and settler violence, with the Israeli Minister of Finance announcing his government’s intention to annex 80% of the West Bank.”
Fakhr Al-Din pointed out that “at this moment, Palestinian national action has lost the capacity for self-assessment. It has lost the ability to examine its own actions and their outcomes, to identify the positive and the negative in order to reinforce the former and address the latter—including the recognition of mistakes and the willingness to backtrack, even on the principle of one step forward and two steps back. Meanwhile, the Palestinian division has, to the benefit of certain sectors, deepened to the extent that accusations have become the dominant approach, accelerating national disintegration and weakening the ability to confront initiatives. Furthermore, Palestinian national representation has been weakened in the negotiations concerning the status and fate of Gaza, which can be regarded as a setback from the achievement of national representation that was secured through immense sacrifices over a century of national struggle.”
He pointed out the “utmost importance of dialogue among Palestinians at all levels: first, to halt the ongoing depletion; second, to end the entrenched divisions; and third, to agree on the national project and on ways to end the genocide and reclaim the initiative.”
The symposium’s moderator introduced the participants by saying: “In our symposium, we present the responses of four serious and responsible intellectuals who will offer proposals, initiatives, and an analysis of mediation efforts, all built on critical inquiry. The first paper, by A. Khalil Shaheen (Deputy Director of the Masarat Center in Ramallah), addresses ways to restore agency, correct representation, and rebuild and organize capacities. There is also a contribution from A. Samir Al-Zaben (a political writer and novelist residing in Sweden), who will discuss Palestinian political discourse, the weakness of political action organization, and the importance of dialogue in building a Palestinian future. Dr. Hossam Al-Dajani (Professor of Political Science at Al-Ummah University in Gaza) will provide a systematic assessment of the Egyptian and Qatari mediation efforts, drawing conclusions to improve their effectiveness. Finally, A. Mohammed Shahada (member of the European Council) will present the European position, highlighting the contradictions between competing narratives on Gaza.”
Within the framework of the dialectic between genocide and Palestinian national state-building, Khalil Shaheen (Deputy Director of the Masarat Center for Studies in Ramallah) presented the impact of the accelerating genocide and war crimes on the Palestinian entity in Gaza and the West Bank and the declining ability to intervene to stop these crimes. He argued that the fundamental issue lies in the capacity to respond in a way that compensates Palestinian society for the loss of life and institutions and advances the national project under a framework of protection from future acts of genocide.
Khalil Shaheen pointed out that the challenges facing the Palestinians are not limited to the war of genocide, but also include the targeting of national institutions; just as the Oslo institutions are collapsing in Gaza, the Israeli right-wing government aspires to undermine self-rule in the West Bank by reducing it to a fragile authority susceptible to collapse, in the hope of achieving its goals of eliminating the Palestinian people and their cause, especially amid the absence of a vision for sustained political and economic support for the Palestinian cause to counter the occupation’s plans.
Shaheen stressed that meeting these challenges requires prioritizing Palestinian unity and speaking with one voice as a shared policy that leads to the building and development of institutions and a political program, and to rally under the Palestine Liberation Organization. This would enable the governance of a Palestinian framework that reflects national interests on the basis of dialogue and a shared vision, and facilitates engagement with the Arab region and the world. This foundation constitutes the necessary condition for maturing the national project and overcoming the consequences of genocide, while also giving the world confidence that the Palestinians are capable of earning the trust of the European Union, Russia, and other countries.
Khalil Shaheen reviewed the implications of international recognition of the Palestinian state, considering it an important step in confronting Israel’s genocide and in rebuilding the state. Internationally, he viewed recognition as a tool for achieving justice, especially with the growing global public opinion opposed to Israel and the rising role of non-governmental organizations, which places Israel under mounting pressure and worldwide rejection, forcing its government to address these issues with greater realism.
Samir Al-Zaben (political writer and novelist) focused on political discourse and terminology, and on the weak flexibility of Palestinian institutions needed to protect the people’s rights, including the right to life, self-determination, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. He pointed to the necessity of reviewing current policy.
Regarding Palestinian structures, Al-Zaben highlighted the need to rebuild the Palestinian situation and end the occupation, which requires a reassessment of current policy to capitalize on global change, to consider the relationship between Gaza and the West Bank, to organize the relationship among Palestinian factions, and to link the Palestinian future to developments in the region—something that demands continuous dialogue.
Hossam Al-Dajani addressed the effects of mediation on the genocide, stressing that Turkey’s mediation is indirect and faces rejection from Israel and the United States, yet remains influential in shaping events, alongside the Saudi-French framework which limits exclusive U.S. control over the Palestine and war files. Despite the effectiveness of these developments, he focused on formal mediation, represented by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States—a format not present in previous wars since 2021. He explained that the fundamental challenge of mediation is to end the war, and that evaluating the roles of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States depends on their success in stopping the genocide, forced displacement, and famine. Meanwhile, the continuation of war and destruction reflects a structural flaw in the mediation process, namely the United States’ bias toward Israel and manipulation of negotiation drafts, despite Egypt’s strategic interests being closely tied to Palestine and Gaza.
In the context of the European discussion, Mohammed Shahada addressed the European position on the Palestinian issue, particularly the official and popular stances toward supporters abroad and the ways in which the genocide in Gaza has been described. He explained that the narrative of Israel committing massacres began to spread months after the start of the crisis, creating a competition of narratives for the European mind until opinion eventually settled on describing what is happening in Gaza as genocide, while clarifying that the options before the Palestinians are reduced to death, displacement, or starvation.
Mohammed Shahada pointed out the contradictions in European positions, where officials appeared indifferent to what is happening, in violation of humanitarian laws, while governments sympathetic to the genocide struggled to restrict protests. This, he noted, turned European laws into tools to control demonstrators and deflect responsibility away from Israel.
Fakhr Al-Din concluded the session by saying: “Palestinian intellectuals have always constituted a force of opinion, a force that acts in politics out of a drive to influence rather than a drive to compete,” and asked Khalil Shaheen to present the draft recommendations of the symposium.
- Give priority at the Palestinian, regional, and international levels to forcing Israel to stop the war of genocide, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and begin reconstruction.
- Work on reorganizing Palestinian national representation with the participation of all parties and ending the division by reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on the basis of a consensual political program, and hold elections after the aggression has ceased.
- Until the reform of the PLO is completed, there should be an urgent move to form a unified delegation representing the Palestinian people in the negotiations to end the war. Palestinians should also develop a national vision for how to handle the transitional stage, which includes agreeing on governance structures after the war ends.
- Move swiftly to build a multipolar international coalition supporting the rights of the Palestinian people, aimed at expanding recognition of the Palestinian state through engagement with the Saudi-French initiative, while demanding that recognition of the Palestinian state be accompanied by a strategy to end the occupation and settlement activity, and by specifying punitive measures against Israel if it does not comply.
- Strengthen networking and coordination with solidarity movements worldwide, as well as with regional and international states in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Regional Symposium: The Palestinian Cause as an Arab and Regional Issue
The second symposium of the conference, titled “The Palestinian Cause as an Arab and Regional Issue,” was held under the moderation of Dr. Khairy Omar, with the participation of four intellectuals from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Iran. The discussions focused on the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and the future of the Palestinian state, by examining the policies of these countries and their regional roles.
Dr. Khairy Omar opened the discussion by stressing that “the time has come to develop a new approach to dealing with the region’s crises,” emphasizing that redefining concepts and policies is capable of producing different solutions to conflicts. He noted that the structural crises witnessed by the international system provide an opportunity to reshape the position of the Islamic world in the global order, allowing for the overcoming of traditional hostilities and the exploration of alternative models for regional cooperation.
In the Turkish segment, Dr. Mehmet Özcan (National Defense University – Turkey) affirmed that the core problem in the region is Israeli, not Palestinian, noting that this characterization helps shape more effective policies for addressing the Palestinian cause. He explained that Ankara uses its relations with Israel as a leverage tool to support the establishment of a Palestinian state, in parallel with its support for the mediation efforts undertaken by Qatar and Egypt. Özcan stressed that what is happening in Gaza has become the central issue for the Islamic world and for humanity as a whole, adding that “the Israeli question is no longer a topic for debate, but has become an immediate reality manifested in clear aggressive and expansionist policies.”
He further considered the growing international recognition of the State of Palestine to be a pivotal development, but emphasized that “the real issue lies in developing practical policies that enable Palestinians to remain steadfast on their land and continue their existence.” He concluded by affirming that Turkey has maintained its position as one of the most resolute countries in confronting Israeli policies, and that its current reaction is among the strongest in the history of its stances toward the Palestinian cause.
From the Saudi side, Dr. Khalil Al-Khalil (former member of the Shura Council) presented an overview from the perspective of “civilizational power,” drawing on the Kingdom’s historic role in supporting the Palestinian cause through initiatives and mediation efforts, foremost among them the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. He affirmed that the Kingdom has played a pivotal role in mobilizing international positions against the aggression on Gaza, whether through the Arab-Islamic summit or subsequent diplomatic efforts, in addition to close coordination with Turkey, Iran, and Egypt to ensure a common ground that deters Israel and supports regional security.
In his remarks, he stressed that the Palestinian cause is a global cause that will not be forgotten by the Arab world alone, but also by humanity and history. He noted that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and Gaza constitute a shared wound that extends beyond the Palestinians to the entire region. Although Israel may see itself as victorious today, Al-Khalil added, it is becoming increasingly isolated on the international stage and within itself day by day. He concluded by affirming that the existence of the Palestinian people cannot be erased, and that this nation, which struggles for justice and for Jerusalem, is insurmountable and cannot be defeated.
In the Iranian segment, Dr. Hamid Azimi (President of the Mersad Center for Strategic Studies) presented an overview explaining that Tehran’s policy is founded on resistance until full liberation and the rejection of the two-state solution. He argued that Iran’s support for the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Yemeni resistance constitutes a key instrument in its vision of the Palestinian cause. Azimi stressed that the recognition of a Palestinian state is nothing more than a tool; what truly matters is the existence of the people and the land. He emphasized that the establishment of a genuine Palestinian state requires building an effective institutional presence that extends not only over the occupied territories but also across the Palestinian diaspora.
Discussing the current reality, he noted that what is happening in the West Bank today reflects a fragile structure without an army, incapable of protecting its people or practicing resistance, and limited to managing internal affairs only. Despite the divergence of the Iranian position from some regional understandings, Azimi called for a framework of dialogue among the region’s countries to confront Israeli aggression and to strengthen collective security issues. He pointed out that strategic matters such as the flow of energy from Azerbaijan to Israel could be managed as a regional pressure card, where Turkey can play a pivotal role.
Regarding the Egyptian role, the speakers highlighted Egypt’s ongoing mediation efforts in the Gaza Strip, both to alleviate humanitarian pressures and to support negotiations related to the Iranian nuclear file, thereby contributing to the reduction of regional escalation.
In concluding the session, Dr. Khairy Omar emphasized that the engagement of the four countries with the developments of the aggression on Gaza reflects an accelerating Arab and Islamic response toward supporting the recognition of the Palestinian state and seeking guarantees for a ceasefire. He also called for overcoming the traditional differences among these countries in favor of building a common political ground that would serve as a backing for the Palestinian cause and enhance the Palestinian people’s chances of confronting genocide and securing their right to an independent state.
International Symposium: Global Solidarity and Pressure on “Israel”
The international symposium of the conference was held under the chairmanship of Professor Hasan Ünal (Başkent University), who emphasized in his remarks that “the world is moving toward a multipolar system no longer subject to Western hegemony,” affirming that “the resources allocated to Israel by the United States and Europe will gradually diminish,” and that “popular pressure in the West is weakening the political elite’s support for Israel,” while warning at the same time that “Israel’s policy of declaring everyone an enemy is not sustainable.”
The symposium focused on the role of the international community, particularly major powers such as Europe and Russia, in stopping the genocide and supporting the building of the Palestinian state. The speakers stressed that the ongoing transformations in the international system and the growing global popular pressure open the door to formulating new and more effective approaches.
Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis (European University Institute), speaking via video link, stressed the need for Europe to play a more active role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, noting that the convening of the International Palestine Conference just before the United Nations General Assembly meetings carries significant importance for unifying European perspectives. She explained that the former High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, sent his greetings to the International Conference on Palestine, expressing Europe’s support for efforts aimed at resolving the conflict and affirming that “Europe must not remain on the sidelines,” and that it must play a more active and effective role in achieving international balance and supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.
She pointed out that the accession of new European states to the ranks of those recognizing the State of Palestine constitutes an influential development in the balance of power within the Security Council, but she stressed that symbolic recognitions “are not enough unless followed by more decisive policies toward Israel’s violations.”
Dr. H. A. Hellyer (Royal United Services Institute – United Kingdom) addressed the gap between Western public opinion and decision-makers, noting that “public opinion in Europe clearly opposes what Israel is doing in Gaza; however, this response has not yet been fully reflected in government policies and practices.” He added that “the United Kingdom and many European countries are preparing to recognize the State of Palestine; but this step is neither a reward nor a punishment—it is an acknowledgment of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” affirming that “the issue of Gaza is far too central to be ignored in both European and regional security studies.”
In the German context, Stephan Osenkopf (Schiller Institute) pointed out that the transition toward a multipolar system opens new horizons for resolving the Palestinian issue, but he criticized Berlin’s stance, saying: “My country, Germany, has performed very poorly on the Palestine test by choosing to align itself with Netanyahu’s government.” He explained that “pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Germany are under strict surveillance, and independent media outlets and journalists are being suppressed,” considering that a just solution requires “the cooperation of the BRICS group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the countries of the Global South to isolate Israel on the international stage.”
The Russian academic and diplomat Aleksandr Sotnichenko (Head of the Russian House in Ankara) offered a historical perspective, comparing the siege of Gaza to the siege of Leningrad, affirming that “the main weapon being used is the weapon of starvation.” He argued that “the liberal utopia has collapsed; now every actor cares only about its own security and interests,” warning that mass crimes that are not recorded in the global memory remain unpunished, which deepens Israel’s moral isolation.
German politician Żaklin Nastic (Member of the Bundestag) emphasized Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, saying: “After Auschwitz, Germany vowed ‘Never again!’; this is not just a promise, but a historical and moral responsibility,” considering that this vow is being violated today through complicity in the genocide by means of arms shipments and political support for Israel. She added, questioning: “While we say: Never again!, we must ask: But for whom?”
In concluding the session, Professor Hasan Ünal reaffirmed that the decline of Western hegemony will inevitably weaken the unconditional support for Israel, adding that its policy of antagonizing everyone will not be able to continue for long.
Key Outcomes and Recommendations:
The International Conference in Istanbul concluded with a consensus that building the Palestinian state requires a dual path: combining internal Palestinian reconciliation and the achievement of national unity with regional support, and escalating international diplomatic pressure on Israel to ensure an end to its aggression and compliance with international legitimacy.
The participants stressed the necessity of ending the Israeli war and the immediate withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, as well as opening channels for the entry of humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the Strip. They also highlighted the need to rebuild Palestinian national representation on the basis of an inclusive partnership of all forces and factions, end internal division, and strengthen the role of civil society within a consensual political program.
It was further emphasized that a unified Palestinian leadership should be formed to manage negotiations on ending the war and to launch a transitional phase that would develop a comprehensive national vision responsive to the requirements of the current stage. This includes seizing the momentum and international support to strengthen the recognition of the State of Palestine, ultimately leading to the holding of general elections as soon as the war stops in order to consolidate national legitimacy and enhance unity. Such steps would send a clear message of hope by moving the Palestinian cause from an era of genocide and siege to a phase of political state-building and the restoration of national sovereignty.
