Escalation spiral and looming war in the Middle East
With new actors joining the fray and Israel's aggressiveness intensifying, the Middle East braces for a broader regional war
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The Significance of Erdoğan's Emphasis on Gaza in His UN Speech
President Erdoğan dedicating a significant portion of his UN speech to Gaza highlighted not only the importance of the Palestinian issue for Türkiye but also its central role in regional peace and global governance. The moral clarity and call to action on this matter, which has been a recurring theme in Erdoğan’s past speeches, carried considerable weight. The UN, established to ensure international peace and security, has been paralyzed in addressing the Palestinian issue due to its structural problems and inability to move beyond great power rivalries, illustrating the crisis of the international order. Türkiye’s insistence on keeping the Palestinian issue on the global agenda is crucial for its national interests, regional balance, and the future of the international system.
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Israel, which has paralyzed the Hezbollah organization, took a further decisive step by killing Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, on Sept. 27. All observers agree that the killing of Nasrallah will dramatically influence the future of not only Hezbollah and Lebanon but also the Middle East. In this article, I will underline some of the implications of this killing.
While United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was calling for the restructuring of all institutions of international governance, including the U.N., in his opening speech at the 79th General Assembly, Israel was conducting its 800th air sortie against Lebanon and dropping its 2,000th bomb over Lebanon. In the aftermath of Israel’s ongoing attacks, reports state that more than 500 people, including 100 children, were killed in Lebanon.
President Biden’s final UN speech of his political career coincides with perhaps the least effective period in American diplomacy. Since October 7, the Biden administration has stood by as Israel’s actions have severely damaged American diplomatic credibility in the eyes of the “international community.”
Israel's cyber-attacks spark a regional war, threatening stability and drawing in global powers
Israel and Iran’s U.S. election bets...
Israel's latest covert operations, indiscriminately targeting both soldiers and civilians, have now been directed at Hezbollah. In a coordinated attack, Israel detonated devices placed in the pagers and radios of thousands of Hezbollah members, a move that could be studied in intelligence courses for its precision. Previously, Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran had exposed a major security flaw in Iran. This new operation, injuring thousands of Hezbollah members, now reveals significant security vulnerabilities within Hezbollah itself. If Hezbollah responds to this provocation, which marks Israel’s latest attempt to escalate tensions in the region, war seems inevitable. However, should the U.S. intervene behind the scenes to prevent Hezbollah from engaging Israel, it would signal that Iran is prioritizing a potential post-election deal with the U.S. over immediate conflict.
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US-Greek Cypriot defense pact has Israeli influence: Experts
Israeli policies have an influence on the presence of the U.S. in Cyprus, experts argue, following a new defense cooperation agreement between Washington and the Greek Cypriot administration, which will boost U.S. military and logistical activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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The Middle East region has been in political instability since the eruption of the Arab insurgencies and revolutions in 2011...
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.
