A panel titled “The Palestine Issue” was organised by the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences (İİSBF) of Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) to draw attention to Israel’s inhumane attacks and oppression against Palestine and to discuss how Palestine should be supported.
The panel was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Keser, Head of the İİSBF Department of Political Science and International Relations. The speakers were İİSBF Dean Prof. Dr. Hanifi Aslan, together with Prof. Dr. Emel Topçu and Asst. Prof. Dr. Burçin Uluğ, also from the Department of Political Science and International Relations. The panel was attended by HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Lütfi Yola, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Prof. Dr. Hanifi Çanakçı, students and faculty members.
Palestinian Mohammed Madi, who works as a faculty member at the HKU Faculty of Engineering, moved everyone in the hall as he shared the struggle for survival of his family and relatives in Gaza.
Speaking at the opening of the programme, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli said: “We condemn Israel’s inhumane attacks on Gaza and on civilians, and we demand that it stop its oppression immediately. As always, we stand with Palestine and support it. To increase sensitivity and raise awareness on this issue, we have all become of one heart, and today we are holding this panel within that framework. We have 600 international students at our university, but we do not have any Palestinian students. However, we have a Palestinian faculty member: Dr. Mohammed Madi. He has been working in our Department of Computer Engineering for seven years and doing successful work. We have been by his side from the very first moment. He will share his feelings with you shortly. Our panellists will assess the Palestine issue from an academic perspective in all its main lines, with its historical development and its economic and political dimensions. I extend my gratitude to you all for your participation and support, and I hope that Israel’s oppression will be stopped as soon as possible.”
MY FAMILY AND RELATIVES ARE FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL IN GAZA EVERY DAY!
Speaking at the programme, Palestinian academic Asst. Prof. Dr. Mohammed Madi said: “My family and relatives are fighting for survival in Gaza every day. We speak every day, but the situation there is very bad. Finding food, water and medicine is difficult and dangerous; we believe that we will secure our rights by keeping our morale high. I hope there will be a ceasefire as soon as possible.”
After making a general assessment of Israel’s attacks on Palestine, İİSBF Dean Prof. Dr. Hanifi Aslan, who mostly addressed the economic dimensions of the issue, stressed that the inhumane attacks in Palestine have reached the level of genocide and ethnic cleansing, that the real motivation behind the attack is Israel’s ambition to own alone the natural gas reserves off the coast of Gaza, that the ultimate aim is to ensure natural gas supply security for Europe, and that Israel, together with the USA and Europe, is making efforts to achieve this ultimate aim.
Subsequently, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Keser presented an overview of the founding of the State of Israel and the background of the events that have continued in the region for years, and, going into the historical roots of the situation in Palestine, gave detailed information on disinformation spread at times on social media and on concepts that are frequently debated and confused with one another.
Prof. Dr. Emel Topçu shared the view: “Israel is currently committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Those who support this situation must be tried in international courts. I believe that the days when justice will prevail will certainly come. I hope the oppression ends as soon as possible.” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Burçin Uluğ, for her part, addressed the struggle for hegemony under the influence of the USA and Israel’s role behind its attacks on Palestine.
