Global coalition needed to support Palestine: Thinker

A prominent Islamic thinker has called for forming a global coalition to help the Palestinian people in their struggle against the decades-long Israeli occupation.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Istanbul-hosted conference on the Palestinian issue, Tarek al-Suwaidan, a Kuwaiti thinker and writer of several books on Palestine, said this coalition should include academics, politicians, actors, sport figures from all around the globe.

"There are millions of people across the world who believe and seek to support the Palestinian cause, especially among student unions," he said on Sunday.

He clarified that many students in the U.S. and across the world have managed to "exert pressure on their universities to boycott Israel."

Al-Suwaidan noted that the proposed coalition should include people of different religions, cultures, and races "to stand by the goal of supporting the Palestinian cause."

Themed: "The Question of Palestine: Examining History, Geo-politics, and Future Prospects", the three-day conference opened in Istanbul on Saturday with a wide participation of academics, researchers, experts and students.

Organized by the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University's Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), over 25 speakers from nearly 10 countries are expected to make speeches at the conference.

Discussions are tackling several aspects of the Palestinian issue, including Jerusalem, the right of return, Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as well as the ordeal of the blockaded Gaza Strip.

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