A thousand kilometers from Gaza, the lobby of a luxury hotel in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was a comfortable place to be a Palestinian official on Sunday.
People gathered around Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, to shake his hand, take photographs and thank him for speaking out on behalf of the Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
Mr. Zomlot was attending the Doha Foruman international conference that Qatar hosts each year to bring together officials, academics and journalists from across the Middle East and beyond to discuss hot topics in the region.
While this year’s edition, under the theme “Diplomacy, Dialogue and Diversity,” included sessions on green energy and artificial intelligence, much of the conversation at official meetings and in cafes revolved around the war in Gaza, with a strong pro-Palestinian perspective.
At the opening session, attended by the monarch of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, warned of the “risk of collapse of the humanitarian system” in Gaza and renewed his call for a Stop the fire. . Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the United States should be held responsible for the deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza, which Gaza health officials say have killed more than 17,000 people.
In a session on the future of Palestinian political leadership, panelists spoke of Palestinian resistance against Israel as an “anti-colonial project,” accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, and referred to Israeli “apartheid” in the occupied West Bank. Opinions that were shared by many of those attending the events, but would probably not get much airtime at similar events in the United States or Europe, where support for Israel remains strong.
In an interview, Zomlot said the intensity of the war in Gaza had made the Palestinian issue more central to this year’s event. That was, he said, “because of the intensity and the sense that there is a global failure to impose any kind of stability, to get everyone to some sanity, to bring the adults into the room.”
Now, he said, “there are no adults and there is no space, so the region feels almost abandoned.”
The event’s guest list, which included officials from across the Middle East and beyond, reflects both tiny Qatar’s ambitions to be a global player and its efforts to maintain good relations with a wide range of countries and political movements, including those They are at war with each other.
Qatar mediated talks between Israel and Hamas that resulted in a week-long ceasefire and the exchange of 105 hostages held by Hamas for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons before the truce collapsed on December 1.
Although Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and other countries, maintains an office in Qatar, officials from the movement were not present at the conference. The only Israeli citizen on the official list of speakers was Sami Abu Shehadeh, a Palestinian and former member of the Israeli Parliament.
Sergey V. Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, addressed the event virtually, defending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accusing the United States and its allies of hypocrisy on human rights.
“Is there a single place where the United States intervened with military force where life has improved?” she asked. “I think you know the answer.”
Many of the speakers at the conference criticized the United States for its military support for Israel and for using its veto in the UN Security Council to block a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday.
Several Biden administration officials attended the event, but generally kept a low profile. Only one was scheduled to speak, in a session on Yemen that was held by invitation only.
But on Sunday afternoon, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, took the stage and spoke in support of Israel.
He criticized speakers at the event’s opening session for not speaking more about the violence committed by Palestinian militants during the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel, which Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
He said a bright future for Palestinians would require a new Palestinian Authority, accusing its current leaders of corruption. “I wouldn’t give 15 cents to this crowd,” he said. The authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and U.S. officials have said it should play a role in Gaza as long as Hamas is defeated.
Graham expressed unwavering support for Israel from American lawmakers.
“Congress will support Israel until it does what it needs to do,” he said.
