The Palestinian Cause and the Prospect for Peace

The Israeli occupation of Palestine has existed for nearly seven decades, making it the oldest conflict in the Middle East. Nonetheless, the Palestinian cause remains the core issue in the Arab and Muslim world despite the historical twists that changed its course throughout.

Although it often seemed that the Arab Spring and the various ravaging crises in the region proved to be detrimental to the Palestinian cause by causing it to lose the attention of the masses and fall to the bottom of the priority list of Arab and international politics, reality has proved otherwise. The Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip during the summer of 2014 came to confirm this fact and show increasing international solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the recognition of Palestinian state by a number of European countries. However, it added more challenges to already existing ones. This included the challenge of reconstruction, the widening rift between Hamas and Fatah, and the shift of Egyptian policy towards Gaza and the resistance. As for the path of negotiations outlined by the Oslo accords, it has been practically closed off, particularly under the growing influence of the right-wing in the Israeli political arena and with the diminishing opportunities to actualise the two-state solution.

This session discusses the current situation of the Palestinian cause from the following angles:

• The Palestinian internal situation and the opportunities for a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas
• The Palestinian cause under the changes and transformations in the Arab World
• The crises of the region and its implications for the future of the Palestinian cause
• International solidarity with the Palestinian cause and means of taking advantage of it politically and legally.
• The future of the Palestinian state between the path of negotiations and armed resistance