International symposium on Palestine's future concludes in Istanbul

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) – The two-day international symposium titled Future Palestine: Space, Geopolitics, and Global Insights in Istanbul concluded on Friday, with speakers questioning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of pursuing negotiations but not ending the war in Gaza.

The symposium, hosted by Istanbul Technical University, featured expert panelists who discussed Palestine's future.

Participants included Sufian Abu Zaideh, a former Palestinian Authority Prisoner Affairs Minister; Omar Shaban, a Middle Eastern political economy analyst; Michael Walls, a professor of Development Politics and Economy at University College London's Barlett Development Planning Unit (DPU); and Omar Dajani, a law professor at the University of the Pacific.

The first day of the symposium focused on the war's effects in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as postwar/disaster reconstruction plans.

On the second day, besides postwar/disaster reconstruction, urban planning in the Palestinian territories was discussed, as well as potential future scenarios for these territories.

Stressing that most Israeli citizens want an end to the war in Gaza, Sufian Abu Zaideh said in his speech on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's government pursues a policy of negotiating without reaching results.

Abu Zaideh highlighted that even the Israeli army diverges from Netanyahu in this respect.

Featuring different scenarios for Palestinians and Israelis, Omar Dajani observed that, despite the optimism generated by the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the agreements' postponement of fundamental issue settlements for later has contributed to their failure to their realization.

The symposium as a whole focused on Palestine's geopolitical situation, potential solutions, and the role of architecture in planning its future.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack in October of last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.