How Israel-Hamas war fuel border sectarian rivalries in the Middle East?
Israel-Hamas war's outset, reports indicate that up to 2,778 Palestinians have lost their lives and at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel. Although the Palestine issue has long been at the core of regional geopolitics, the recent focus on geoeconomics in the region could face significant challenges in the future.
In conversation with Mint, Dr Oshrit Birvadker, an Indian Israeli based in Tel Aviv, and a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), emphasised how the war will contribute to the border sectarian rivalries in the Middle East. The most salient transformation is poised to transpire on the Russo-Israeli axis.
While Russia actively seeks strategic alliances, its proximal ties to Iran can be interpreted as stemming from an overarching anti-Western inclination. This coalition presently incorporates entities such as Hamas, an Iran-backed organization implicated in the atrocities against Israeli civilians.
Moscow's intensifying rapport with Iran, in conjunction with its initiatives to cultivate deeper diplomatic ties with Israel's adjacent Arab states, largely resonates with the erstwhile Cold War posture of the USSR vis-à-vis Israel. Historically, Israel has endeavoured to uphold equilibrated relations with Russia.
Subsequent to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, Israel has manifested a preference for neutrality with respect to the Russo-Ukrainian War. Also Read: White House rejects Russian claim that Western fatigue over Ukraine conflict would grow This disposition can be rationalized by the juxtaposition of two principal concerns: Israel's aspiration to remain congruent with the geopolitical objectives of Western powers,
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