The “Symposium of Palestine Problem in terms of International Law and Human Rights“ was held on Saturday, 28 Mayıs 2022 at Istanbul Medeniyet University South Campus Aşık Paşa Conference Hall with the partnership of Science and Civilization Club of our university, Science and Civilization Association, Burak Association and with the participation of academicians who are experts in their fields.
The symposium started with the greeting speeches of Burak Association President Adem YENİHAYAT and Science and Civilization Association President Nasrettin GÜNEŞ. The symposium was held under three different sessions with the titles of “Human Rights”, “International Law and Crimes against Humanity”, “Palestine as an Occupied ‘State’ and International Law”.
The first session, moderated by Asst.Prof.Dr. Muhammed Hüseyin MERCAN, started with Fatih Şemsettin IŞIK’s speech entitled “Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Identity and Politics”. Stating that the Israeli citizen Palestinians, who make up 20% of the population in Israel and are mostly young people, are Israel’s nightmare, IŞIK talked about the situation of the Arabs living in Israel, their identity development, and the pressures applied by Israel. He stated that Palestinians living in Israel, who “go to vote in droves” in Netanyahu’s words, constituted 18% of the parliament, with 15 deputies being elected in 2019. He stated that despite this situation and the attitude of the Israeli media saying “we live together(!)”, these citizens are treated as second class citizens in Israel and that even the laws are arranged according to the superiority of the Israelis and there are discriminatory law rules.
The second speaker, Asst.Prof.Dr. Özlem YÜCEL who is a member of International Relations Department of our Faculty of Political Sciences discussed “Human Rights Violations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem”. Firstly, YÜCEL emphasized the concept of “Apartheid” and criticized Israel’s racist-discriminatory regime based on racial disparities in this context, stated that many of Israel’s discriminatory policies are also against its own domestic law, and that it can make this distinction even to its own citizens. He underlined that none of the things done for Palestine should be seen as useless.
The second session of the symposium, moderated by our Faculty of Political Sciences, Department member of International Relations Prof.Dr. Berdal ARAL, started with Asst.Prof.Dr. Muhammed Hüseyin MERCAN’s speech on “Israel’s Armed Attacks on Gaza”. Stating that Gaza is the backbone of the Palestinian resistance, MERCAN underlined that Israel wants to eliminate the resistance through armed conflict and attacks. MERCAN, who focused on Hamas and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), which created a new reading for Palestinian politics and announced that it is the representative of all Palestinians, not just in Gaza; He stated that Israel is advancing with radical steps, and that it has finally achieved its goal by taking false steps back in the face of the reactions. Touching on Israel’s strategic aims on Gaza, MERCAN stated that Israel wants to add Gaza to its territory, for reasons such as Gaza’s border with the Mediterranean, its proximity to the natural gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean, and its contribution to Israel in the field of tourism.
The second speaker, Atty. Yasin ŞAMLI, discussed the “Mavi Marmara Tragedy as an Example of Aggression”. Stating that what happened in Gaza is state terrorism, ŞAMLI focused on the Mavi Marmara tragedy. He also gave information about the legal processes and shared his memories of the Mavi Marmara Attack, in which we had 10 martyrs, 9 on the ship and 1 in the hospital.
The third session of the symposium was moderated by Asst.Prof.Dr. Özlem YÜCEL, started with Prof.Dr. Berdal ARAL‘s speech on “Palestine’s Struggle for Freedom in the Context of the Right to Self-Determination”. Defining Israel as a colonialist country that carries out operations in neighboring countries and whose existence should be questioned, ARAL stated that Israel always tries to be in conflict in order to keep its citizens together. Stating that the Palestinians living in Palestine, as a state, have self-determination authority over their land rights, ARAL also emphasized Palestine’s position in international organizations.
The last speaker of the symposium and the third session, Dr. Said EL-DAHSAN addressed the issue of “Palestine’s Right to Self-Defense in the Face of Israel’s Armed Attacks” in Arabic. Expressing that Israel continues its warfare under the concept of self-defense(!), DAHSAN underlined that this occupation by Israel is an attack on international peace.
The symposium ended with Prof.Dr. Berdal ARAL‘s closing speech.