Turkish leader Recep Erdogan is condemning Israel for the military conflict in the Gaza Strip – perhaps more than all other leaders of the Islamic states combined. However, Ankara is not moving from words to real deeds. What is the reason for this political approach of Turkey?

Will the Middle East become the detonator for a full-scale conflict?

The current Arab-Israeli conflict differs in many ways from previous similar wars. The following is interesting to note:

– The duration of the conflict, which has already lasted 9 months;

– The ferocity and destructive nature of the actions of the Israel Defence Forces;

– The large number of victims (more than 40,000 dead and over 90,000 injured);

– Pro-Iranian proxy forces being involved in the conflict on the part of Hamas, the Collective West led by the US on the part of Israel;

– Finally, the aggravation of the issue of the recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the international agenda.

Earlier Israel was limited to only the desire of achieving a blitzkrieg, but now Tel Aviv is practically boycotting the cessation of hostilities, torpedoing the negotiation process for a political settlement, clinging to maximalist ideas of the total destruction of Hamas and rejecting plans to recognise the independence of Palestine. The Netanyahu government is trying in every possible way to escalate the conflict and initiates provocations against Iran, which it sees as the main military and political adversary, in order to draw the US into the war and inflict an irreparable blow to the foundations of Iranian statehood. Now Netanyahu’s only hope is for Donald Trump, who is opposed to Iran, to win the presidential election.

The Muslim world is far from military-political consolidation

Although the rich Arab monarchies condemn Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, they are not ready to join Iran and its proxy forces in attacking Tel Aviv. Iran’s April missile and drone attack on Israeli military positions has clearly revealed the disunity of the Muslim world. It’s not only the oil and gas-rich Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Algeria, Libya), but other states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are also not in a hurry to resort to military assistance to the Palestinians and declare an economic embargo on the Israelis (for example, Egypt, Azerbaijan and the Turkic........

© New Eastern Outlook