Istanbul to host international conference on Palestine

By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL (AA) - An international conference on Palestine will start in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss history, geo-politics and future prospects of the Palestine issue.

The Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (IZU) is to host the three-day event in the city.

Titled “The Question of Palestine: Examining History, Geo-politics, and Future Prospects”, the conference will see the participation of over twenty-five speakers from nearly 10 countries.

John B. Quigley, a law professor at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe from UK-based University of Exeter and Chief Mandla Mandela, Nelson Mandela's oldest grandson, will be among the participants.

Many aspects of the Palestine issue including the Jerusalem, the right of return, Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the blockaded city of Gaza will be discussed during the sessions.

The conference will end on Monday with the session titled “Challenges and Responses: The Pro-Israeli Lobbies, Normalization, and Building a Transnational Solidarity Movement."