A global turbulence

SYED SHAHAB UD DIN ANDRABI

The Hamas’ three-pronged attack unleashed on Israel on the 7^th of October took the Israeli security apparatus by surprise. However, Israel recuperated very quickly from the trauma it once had hallucinated it could never be subjected to. Victories in the previous wars had ingrained into the people of the top echelons of Israelis a sense of invincibility that, according to them, was essentially at play because of the promise God of Abraham made to them regarding the “Promised Land”.  Nonetheless, the attack by Hamas shattered that illusion into pieces, improbable to reverse. That said, the situation is grim and dire, especially in Gaza strip. For over 4,000 people have been brutally and mercilessly decimated in Gaza while as in Israel it has stood on a standstill at 1400. There are many lenses via which this conflict is viewed. However, all of those lenses give us a truncated idea regarding the potential diffusion of the conflict. Before I begin to pontificate my view, a few things are necessary to mention. 

To begin with, the Muslims and the Jews had never been at each other’s throats prior to the creation of this conflict. When Jerusalem was handed over to the Muslims during the time of the second Caliph of Islam, Umar (RA), the Christians of the time forced Umar to agree on a clause where it was stated that “You will never allow permanent Jewish settlement here”. However, Umar, despite the handover agreement, allowed Jews in Jerusalem but only as visitors and tourists. This patently showcases the magnitude of Muslim munificence and the acrimony and bitterness the Christians harboured for them then. This has squarely changed now leaving us in complete mystification and amazement. Secondly, Jews are outlawed from managing and administering a State in absence of a Prophet.  Thirdly, when much of the Jewish diaspora was being horribly maltreated especially by the same people who now happen to be their unapologetic protagonists and sustainers, the Muslims welcomed them with open arms without any sort of discrimination whatsoever.

Be that as it may, what Hamas did on the 7^th of October is merely a justifiable reaction and not an action to be seen in isolation. Decrying Hamas only on the basis of the actions it engaged in on the 7^th of October is highly prejudicial. Without any sort of historical insight into the matter, resorting to this display of exercise amounts to nothing but chicanery. There are multiple factors behind the current attack of Hamas. However, the timing of the attack indicates towards the two main reasons-Saudi nominalization drive without any sort of resolution reached at that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians and the second is, Israel’s clandestine mission that would eventually ensue in mass exodus of the Palestinians. When Benjamin Netanyahu showed the NEW MIDDLE EAST MAP in the United Nations General Assembly Address, the Palestine was nowhere to be found.  Its wasn’t a mere symbolic attempt to stress that the Palestinian cause is impertinent, it presaged, without a shadow of a doubt, the intent of Netanyahu’s Government to ethnically cleanse all the Palestinians. This is what Hamas successfully deciphered and this is what might have preponed their October 7^th attack. Israel’s astonishment at the occurrence of the attack doesn’t hint towards their leniency in managing the security of Israel, to the contrary, it speaks volumes. The country with an unmatched and inimitable military and intelligence superiority in the region and that has used the term ‘Existential Threat’ so widely, basically to justify its oppression and dehumanization of the Palestinians, how come they were caught off guard? The only plausible explanation to this is that they had been busy preparing for something big. 

Regarding the potential diffusion of the conflict, firstly we should pray that the situation doesn’t go haywire any further. Haplessly, if it does, things are going to get very ugly not only in West Asia but in the rest of the world too. What can trigger the further insurgence is, If Iran gets militarily involved into the conflict. Iranian Involvement will inevitably drag Russia into the war and that is what should be detested and prayed against. For if Russia gets involved, which might seem to many improbable since Putin wouldn’t want to begin with a new one when he is already bogged down in Ukraine, it will be truly cataclysmic. For those who deem its occurrence unlikely, let’s not forget how Hitler destroyed Germany in World War II. Putin can make the same mistake. Pondering over the developments that are divulging, they seem suggestive of the fact that a lot is happening behind the closed doors. The American and British presence in the Mediterranean. The American upgradation of Air Defence System in West Asia. The increase in the number of troops in Iraq and Syria by the US. Obsession with proving Iranian collaboration and involvement in what happened on the 7^th of October and Iran not attending the Cario Peace Summit are things that are sorely bothersome. To add insult to injury, Putin’s Intransigence in condemning Hamas, incidentally which no even-handed person should resort to, has already neutralized the Russian neutrality. Albeit, these happenings will not engender World War III. However, the amount of devastation it will cause is colossal.

Author is pursuing Masters in International Relations (West Asian Studies) at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.