BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR AND CHANGING GEOPOLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST: FUTURE OF THE PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

Author: Mahbubur Rashid Bhuiyan

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2024v45n2a5

ABSTRACT

Attacks against Israel by Palestinian armed militia group Hamas on 7th October 2023 ignited a gory war between the two parties. Several reasons worked behind its outbreak. It is now running for about six months1 and Israel is laying everything to waste in Gaza. Ceasefire attempts failed and both sides are adamant on eliminating each other. The Middle East’s position in global affairs means any event here will have global repercussions and this war is no exception. It is and will be impacting Middle Eastern geopolitics in a variety of manners: Israel’s invincibility myth debunked, restoring the importance of Israel-Palestine conflict, Arab-Israel normalisation stalled, humanitarian catastrophe and ensuing refugee crisis, energy markets upheaval, reemergence of big power rivalry, possibility of conflict spillover into neighbours, etc. Extra-regional actors and factors have always influenced this region’s affairs to a considerable extent. The article reveals that, the role played by outside actors like the US and the European Union (EU) in this war will have significant impacts on the prospects of Palestinian statehood, while they remain steadfast in backing Israel. There have grown considerable divisions in those regions and they are facing other challenges themselves, which indicate lesser sympathy, and will further jeopardise the cause.