George Melashvili – the president of Europe-Georgia Institute was a guest at the program of Palitranews – “Resume”
The topic of discussion was the escalation between Israel and Hamas. George Melasvhili reviewed the historical context of the conflict, from 19th century to today. Following this, he talked about the chronology of the recent escalation. What started as clashes between Israeli police and Arab demonstrators ended with air strikes against Israel by Hamas. This is regarded as a Red Line by Israel, therefore it won’t leave this escalation unanswred.
In addition to this, Melashvili highlighted that there is no singe perspective on this conflict and that it’s multidimensional. The first one is the conflict between Israel and Hamas, another dimension is the fight for influence between Hamas and Fatha. The role of Hezbollah – the organization founded by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, shouldn’t also be underestimated.
Melashvili talked about the possibility of ground strike by Israel on Ghaza too. He said that this is the last resort. Considering the political instability inside Israel, as PM can’t form the government, it’s less probable for Israel to engage in ground assault.
In the end, Melashvili discussed the reactions of international powers. He highlighted the importance of the position of the USA, also of Turkey, the interests of which extends beyond Syria. He also said that it’s interesting what will be the reaction of Arab World, considering the Normalization Processes which started during the previous US President administration.