Watch Recording of ICAHD UK Webinar - From Gaza to Iran: the changing landscape of the Middle East (Tuesday 28 April 2026)
ICAHD UK Webinar Tuesday, 28th April 2026
Much was learned from the many insights provided by the speakers for this webinar. Iranian Massoud Shadjareh said that the US and Israel targetted Iran because of its support of the Palestinian people and because it took a couragous stand against Trump’s bullying. They expected the attack on Iran to be over within a few days but it has now continued for 40 days. He believes that the war has proved to be a failure because Iran has surviived and hit back hard. The popularity of the Iranian government is now at an all-time high. Massoud also talked about how internaitional law has become irrevelant because the genocide in Gaza has been normalized and accepted.
Academic Elham Fakhro who has written about the Abraham Accords explained that leaders in the Gulf want to be near the US and so normalizing their relationship with Israel was a step towards attaining this goal. It opened up trade with Israel especially for security systems and arms. What they have learned with the war on Iran is that their countries have also been put at risk and they do not feel protected. Populations within the Gulf States are with the Palestinians. Outside of the Middle East she is observing a change. The EU is under pressure to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Polls show that young Americans support the Palestine struggle and amongst Democratic senators the recent vote on arms sales proved that support for Israel is eroding.
ICAHD’s Jeff Halper supported his arguments with maps and charts and reinterated that normalization with Israel, even the possibility of it happening de-facto in the future with Iran and Syria, is the greatest treat to Palestinians. He said that although Israel has lost popularity since the genocide on Gaza making it vulnerable, two-state apartheid remains likely for the Palestinians unless the Palestinians can move into the political they could be play a role in advancing democracy and liberation for the peoples of the Gulf.
Much more was presented and discussed by the spearkers.
Speakers
Massoud Shadjareh, Chair, Islamic Human Rights Commission, an independent campaign, research and advocacy NGO based in London. It struggles for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background. Set up in 1997, it is a non-profit organisation with Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Massoud is Iranian by birth and studied at Berkeley University in California.
Elham Fakhro. Research Fellow at the Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School. She has previously held academic and teaching roles at Exeter University and NYU Abu Dhabi, and acted as Senior Analyst for the Gulf States at the International Crisis Group. She is the author of "The Abraham Accords: the Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization" (Columbia University Press), a book that critically examines the Abraham Accords and their regional impact.
Jeff Halper, Director, ICAHD. Jeff co-founded ICAHD in 1997 along with other critical Israeli Jews. Its focus for mobilization is the demolition of Palestinian homes. ICAHD’s strap line is ‘Resisting Apartheid, Constructing a Shared Democracy in Historic Palestine. Jeff was born and brought up in Minnesota and lives in Jerusalem. He is an anthropologist, author, activist and was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.