'Region, Arab world strongly support Palestinian cause'

Solidarity with the Palestinians' rights for an independent nation and human rights protection is becoming an integral part of the Arab region's politics and most people of the region and Arab world strongly support the Palestinian cause against Israel, a noted academic said in Doha Saturday. Sami Hermez, anthropology assistant professor and director of the Liberal Arts Department at Northwestern University in Qatar, was speaking on the topic, 'The Fight against the Normalisation of Israel' at the weekly discussion forum hosted by Chia Nation, a brand coffeehouse at Porto Arabia, The Pearl.
To coincide with the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Chia Nation has been taking the opportunity to share knowledge and expertise upon different topics of interests with experts in the field. Hermez said that on the popular level, he noticed that fans from the region and the Arab countries have repeatedly refused to talk to the Israeli media covering the tournament.
"These people have done so because they have decided to side with the oppressed and occupied against the occupier as such media persons representing Israel. However, on the official level of some European countries and sports association would penalise any team or sportsperson who do not accept to play with or against Israeli teams or sportspersons, which clearly indicates their double standards as they have banned the Russians because they oppose their politics," Hermez said.
The academic pointed out that it has been inspiring to see people in Doha stand with the Palestinian cause and support the weaker party, showing to the world during such a global event their rejection of the occupational practices of the Israeli against the Palestinian people. Hermez observed that the Palestinian activists' movements have succeeded in getting the support of several world celebrities. For example, more than 20,000 academics in various fields declared their support for the Palestinian people to get their full rights.
"The issue is very clear. There is a right for the Palestinian people to a fully independent state, the refugees have the right to go back to their lands and the occupational practices should stop. However, the colonialisation often go beyond the military operations and practices, and work on changing the mentality and culture of the land and its people, creating a status of accepting the situation as is, convincing people that this is the way things should be done and go on likewise," the speaker said.
According to Hermez, on the popular level, this have not been successful as most people in the Arab world still reject any normalisation with Israel so long as the Palestinian issue is not being resolved. He highly appreciated how Qatar has maintained and emphasised its identity, heritage and traditions during the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.