The current Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the product of two issues that must be addressed, Zahi Damuni told a group of Penn State students last night.

The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and its refusal to recognize the right of return of Palestinian refugees has created a "very sad situation," Damuni said.

"We Palestinians have the right to return to our homes," said Damuni, who is an Israeli-Palestinian.

"It's an individual right," Damuni added.

Damuni also said the Israeli occupation has created a feeling of hopelessness among some Palestinians, which has led to the suicide bombings against Israeli citizens.

Damuni, who is an associate professor of cell and molecular physiology at the Hershey Medical Center, is the co-founder of Al-Awda, the coalition for the Palestinian right of return.

The two-hour presentation, which was attended by over a hundred people, was presented by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine, a group created by the Muslim Student Association, the Black Caucus and the Arab Union Society.

Damuni also said recent attempts for peace have not been successful because of the unfair offers presented to the Palestinian Authority.

The offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak only gave Palestinians pockets of land in the West Bank, he said.

"Arafat couldn't even accept this," said Damuni, whose comments were often followed with applause from segments of the audience.

Ron Bivas (junior-animal bioscience) said many of Damuni's statements were untrue.

"He tries to appeal a lot by the sympathy of his words," he said, adding that Damuni often evaded the facts.

The suicide bombings carried out by Palestinians are not the result of the occupation, but the result of an education system that teaches Palestinian children to hate Israelis, said Bivas, who is from Israel.

Osama Audi, a member of the coalition sponsoring the event, said he was pleased with the presentation.

"It is successful because we all got to get together and present our point of view," he said.

"We don't get a chance to talk about the problem behind the violence," Audi said.