Gaza and Beyond: Occupation, Repression, and Regional Responses

On Wednesday, 8 April 2026, I chaired a panel discussion between three wonderful guest speakers at the Vrije Universiteit 3D Centre on the topic of the genocide in Gaza and how it has been responded to by regional and global actors.

Our three panellists were Erella Grassiani, Farid Boussaid, and Pat Hynes. Erella is the director of the Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of Amsterdam and conducts research on, amongst other topics, the Israeli security industry and its effects on human rights worldwide. Farid, also from the University of Amsterdam, is an assistant professor in Middle East politics and director of the Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies. His work focuses on the intersection between history, economics, and politics in the Middle East and North Africa. Pat works with the Glencree peacebuilding NGO. He was a policy advisor to the Irish government during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, and in more recent years has also worked on various peacebuilding initiatives in the Middle East, including between Israel and Palestine.

The panel was very well attended and the discussion between the speakers was followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience. Many thanks to everyone that attended, particularly our three guest speakers, and to Miranda van Holland at 3D for being such a gracious host.