The escalation of the bloody conflict in the Middle East continues. Israel threatens to wipe the Gaza Strip off the face of the Earth. Will Arab countries intervene to stop Israel from the genocide of the Palestinians? What positions do Russia and China take in terms of the conflict? Why does the entire Arab world hates Palestine? Pravda.Ru editor-in-chief Inna Novikova asked these and other questions to Andrey Suzdaltsev, a political scientist at the Higher School of Economics.
"The conflict in the Gaza Strip has been escalating since October 7. How do you assess this situation?"
"I see it as a positive situation for Russia. Hamas has been preparing for this operation for two years. I do not believe that both Israeli and American intelligence services were unaware of the imminent attacks. This means that the Americans wanted all this to happen. Hamas is a terrorist organisation, but they are, of course, heroes for the Gazans.
"To resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel, one needs to create two states, as President Putin outlined. However, it is impossible to create a state on the basis of the Gaza Strip as this is a concentration camp measuring 10 by 40 kilometres. In this case, one would need to cede the territory that Israel seized in violation of international agreements. The Jews will not agree to this, and this takes us to the question of Gaza's post-liquidation.
"Why do the Americans need all this? It is clear that they can not break Russia in Ukraine. Therefore, they need to resolve this situation somehow as there are elections coming in the United States next year. They need something to cover up their failure. The United States does not mind Israel eradicating Hamas. However, the US fears that other Arab countries will come to help Hamas. Blinken toured a number of Arab states, then Biden arrived, then two carrier groups emerged to guard this conflict. This is the fire that the US started, and the Americans keep adding more and more fuel to the fire without letting others join in, especially not Iran. The goal is to win this conflict and step into the year of elections with at least one victory туче to their chest."
"But it is not only Arab countries, but also African countries that stand for the Gaza Strip. Pakistan announced its readiness to use weapons. I understand that demonstrations in Europe do not change anything, but aren't the Arab countries and Iran going to intervene in the conflict?"
"They won't intervene. Look at Hezbollah — they fired their guns a little, and that's it. Don't forget that these organisations despise each other. Hamas and Hezbollah are enemies. Everyone hates the Abbas administration in the West Bank. There is no unity there and never has been. The Arab world is not homogeneous. They all hate the Palestinians, and this affects the decisions that governments make. Syria, Lebanon, Jordan — they all despise Palestine, even though almost half of the residents of Jordan, including their queen, come from Palestine. Jordan and Egypt immediately agreed to exclude any infiltration of refugees from Gaza into their territory.
"Of course, what the Israelis are proposing is savagery. This is a terrible tragedy. They propose sending 2 million 200 thousand Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Desert. It really is a desert there. Palestine does not have rich soil either, but there is at least a little water, and one can grow food there. Sinai is a lifeless desert. Sending people there means exterminating them all.
"Of course, the Global South disapproves such a development, given that the South now concentrates around China. The recent Belt and Road summit demonstrated that 130 countries are looking for a new centre. China does not stand for Hamas — the Chinese stand for the Palestinian people. Russia advocates the idea of two sovereign states. The Americans consider themselves to be in charge — they make decisions very quickly. The States will not look at Pakistan and Africa. The Americans can't do it in Ukraine, but they can try again at least in the Middle East. They need some kind of victory."