The Middle East is on fire and neither regional nor global actors do much to prevent further bloodshed in the region. Israel’s expansionist and supremacist policies in Palestine and in its periphery force all relevant actors into a regional war. The Israeli leadership knows well that none of the Western global actors dare to follow a deterrent policy against Israel. In addition, considering the deadly silence of the Arab world, there is no strong enough power that can prevent Israel from its genocidal military operations in the Gaza Strip and its brutal policies in the West Bank.

The developments in the Middle East after Oct. 7 have led to the emergence of a new insecurity wave in the region. A similar situation had been experienced with the onset of the Arab Spring, which altered the strategic environment of the Middle East significantly. Regional actors attempted to move away from the conflicts caused by the Arab Spring through normalization processes that began in 2020 and aimed at creating a new security environment based on cooperation. Now, they find themselves in a new conflictual setting.

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian group Hamas launched a major attack on Israeli settlements near Gaza. This unexpected operation drew global attention and led to a series of responses from Israeli officials and their allies. Following this event, the Middle East experienced a significant escalation in regional conflicts, particularly involving Hezbollah, a Lebanese group with close ties to Iran.

The Middle East region emerged after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the first imperialist war. The region was largely shaped by the traditional colonial powers, namely the United Kingdom and France. The colonial powers did not allow Sharif Hussein, a prominent Arab leader best known for leading the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and his allies to establish a pan-Arabic state, which was promised by the colonial powers in return for Hussein’s support against the Ottoman Empire. Instead of establishing a pan-Arab state, the colonial powers divided the Arab world into many artificial states.

To show strong solidarity with the just cause of the oppressed Palestinian people, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were invited to speak together at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

The innocent Palestinian people have been suffering from Israeli oppression for the last eight decades. Israel has been expanding its territories at the expense of the Palestinians and occupying Palestinian lands, thereby depriving them of their natural rights. Muslim peoples and states have been reacting to the Israeli policies in Palestine, which were considered until very recently not as a problem but as a cause. The only pan-Islamic international organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was established in response to developments in Palestine. According to the Charter of the OIC, once the city is liberated from Israeli occupation, Al-Quds (Jerusalem) will become the permanent headquarters of the organization.

Three hundred days have passed since Israel's massacres began. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. When the war started, pessimistic scenarios about Israel's goals and the war's potential escalation have, unfortunately, come true one by one. After a series of assassinations carried out by the genocidal Israeli government in the past week, it is almost universally agreed that we have entered a "period of escalating conflicts."

Most Western countries have given unconditional support to Israel for its genocidal acts over the last 10 months. Western countries not only support the Israeli government economically and politically but also militarily. On the one hand, Western governments provide weapons to Israel to continue its genocidal attacks against the Palestinian people. In other words, they are directly involved in the asymmetric war in Palestine.