⚔️ The sharp escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict became the main event of October 2023, pushing into the background the recent fall of Nagorno-Karabakh and even Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Such attention is entirely justified. First, the barbaric attack by Hamas, and then the disproportionate Israeli response, causing untold suffering for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, attracted the attention of the entire world community.

When observing the progress of the current phase of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is worth noting an important feature of modern armed conflicts. In recent years, we have observed the blurring of the boundaries between war and peace, the convergence between military and non-military instruments of confrontation, the “weaponisation of everything,” and the active development of the concepts of multi-domain operations, hybrid wars and integrated deterrence.

The Hamas attack on October 7 forces us to think about what the outbreak of a major regional conflict might look like in the near future, given the experience of the operation in Ukraine and the rapid, difficult-to-predict development of new technologies, writes Prokhor Tebin, Head of the Section of International Military-Political and Military-Economic Problems, HSE Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/hamas-israel-dead-end-the-military-dimension/

#EconomicStatecraft #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #war

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🇵🇸 The recent crisis in Gaza was totally unexpected and confusing to the entire world, which was not prepared for the greater magnitude of escalation in the strategic region.

The impact of the conflict was more severe for North African countries, as they are already experiencing worsening economic and political crises. The region is struggling, with instability in Libya and chronic tension between Algeria and Morocco. Egypt has suddenly found itself facing a war on its borders, as it neighbours the two sides of the crisis, the Gaza Strip and Israel.

There is an urgent need for serious and active move from all countries to stop the war. The risks of a widening war are increasing. The burning fire must be extinguished before it turns into a regional or international war, a worst-case scenario that nobody wants to see happen, writes Nourhan ElSheikh.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/north-african-countries-and-the-palestinian-crisis/

#ModernDiplomacy #Palestine #GlobalSouth

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🇺🇳🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israel and Palestine are the focus of attention of the regular ordinary sessions of the UN General Assembly every year, and more than a dozen resolutions are adopted on the issue on an annual basis. 

The 10th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to Israel and Palestine, which was held several years after the previous meeting, and its adoption of resolution A/RES/ES-10/21 “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” returned to the agenda the question of the global balance of power and how countries stood with respect to this issue.

In this regard, it is interesting to both analyse the results of voting by countries on this resolution, and compare them with previous votes on the topic, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Oleg Barabanov.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/votes-on-israel-and-palestine-in-the-un/

#Norms_and_Values #UN #Palestine #Israel

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📆 ANNOUNCEMENT: On November 27 at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to the Asian perspective on the Middle East crisis.

The sharp escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict has become the main event of late 2023, pushing the conflicts in the South Caucasus and Europe into the background. Its political significance extends far beyond the Middle East region. International relations, including in Asia, will now depend on how the Middle East crisis develops further.

More than half of the total Muslim population lives in the Asia-Pacific region. How will the Arab-Israeli conflict affect the politics of the Asia-Pacific countries?

❓How does the prospect of an aggravation of the Arab-Israeli conflict threaten international security?
❓How do states in South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region perceive the Middle East crisis?
❓Which Asian countries could be involved in the conflict?
❓What might be their role in the settlement?

Participants in the discussion will try to answer these and other questions.

🎙️ Speakers:

🇮🇳 Rakesh Bhadauria, Major General (ret.), Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Modelling, Joint Institute for Defence Studies of India (New Delhi)

🇮🇩 Rahakundini Bakrie Connie, Lecturer at Jenderal Achmad Yani University, Indonesia

🇨🇳 John Gong, Professor, Vice President of Research and Strategy at the University of International Business and Economics – Israel (UIBE – Israel)

🇵🇰 Raza Muhammad, President, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan

Moderator:

🚩 Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai  Discussion Club

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/valdai-club-to-discuss-the-asian-vision-of-the-middle-east-crisis/

Working languages: Russian, English.

ℹ️ Information for the media: Dear journalists, in order to be accredited for the event, In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our web site. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763.

A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#Norms_and_Values #Palestine #Israel #AsiaPacific

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⏰ TODAY at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to the Asian perspective on the Middle East crisis.

❓How does the prospect of an aggravation of the Arab-Israeli conflict threaten international security?
❓How do states in South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region perceive the Middle East crisis?
❓Which Asian countries could be involved in the conflict?
❓What might be their role in the settlement?

Participants in the discussion will try to answer these and other questions.

A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#Norms_and_Values #Palestine #Israel #AsiaPacific

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🎥 LIVE: at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), we are starting an expert discussion dedicated to the Asian perspective on the Middle East crisis.

https://vk.com/video-214192832_456239148

#Norms_and_Values #Palestine #Israel #AsiaPacific

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🗣 On November 27, 2023, the Valdai Discussion Club held an expert discussion dedicated to the Asian perspective on the Middle East crisis.

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#Norms_and_Values #Palestine #Israel #AsiaPacific

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🌏🌍 The Middle East Crisis through an Asian Prism

On November 27, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion on the Asian vision of the Middle East crisis.

💬 Moderator Oleg Barabanov, programme director of the Valdai Club, noted that since the Middle East is part of Asia as a larger region, the political, economic and humanitarian consequences of the Middle East conflict cannot but affect all Asian countries.

💬 Rakesh Bhadauria, Major General (ret.), Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Modelling of the Joint Institute of Defence Studies of India (New Delhi), called the crisis in the Middle East a legacy of colonial times. Describing India's position, he noted that it has good relations with both Israel and Palestine, but that India condemns harm to civilians on both sides and attaches importance primarily to human suffering as a result of the conflict. According to him, it is now important to prevent the expansion of the confrontation, because if it grows, then the entire Global South will be involved and, in addition, energy security will be at risk.

💬 Rahakundini Bakrie Connie, Lecturer at Jenderal Achmad Yani University in Indonesia, called for a search for a political solution within the framework of the UN. She emphasized that Indonesia, as both a Muslim country and a trading partner of Israel, favours a peace process with the active participation of Russia. In her opinion, in order to establish peace in the Middle East, it would be useful to return to the idea of a Middle East Quartet consisting of the European Union, the UN, the United States and Russia, in order to provide mediation efforts. However, the confrontation between Russia and the Western countries makes this unlikely.

💬 John Gong, Professor, Vice President of Research and Strategy at the University of International Business and Economics – Israel (UIBE – Israel), briefly outlined the situation around the Gaza Strip and the main trends in Israeli politics at the moment, noting that the consequences of what is happening will have a long-term impact on the world in the future. Speaking about China's position, he pointed out that it is gradually changing and becoming more balanced. At first, Beijing did not directly condemn Hamas, but later it put forward a draft resolution that contained a condemnation. Nevertheless, Israel considers the Chinese position to be rather pro-Palestinian, the analyst admitted, adding that, in his opinion, China seeks to maintain neutrality and achieve a truce between the parties, advocating the two-state principle.

💬 Raza Muhammad, President of the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, presented the Pakistani perspective on the issue. He said Pakistan has always supported the Palestinian people and called Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip unacceptable, underscoring that what is happening there is a full-blown humanitarian disaster. In his opinion, ultimately everything depends on the position of two countries – the United States and Israel. Until they decide to end this conflict, there is nothing the world can do.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/the-middle-east-crisis-through-an-asian-prism/

#Norms_and_Values #Palestine #Israel #AsiaPacific

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🗣 TODAY, on February 13, at 09:55 Moscow time, the opening of the Valdai Club 13th annual Middle East Conference, titled “Time for decisive action: a comprehensive settlement for the sake of stability in the region,” will take place at the Club’s headquarters in Moscow.

📆 Programme for February 13, Tuesday

09:55 – 10:00 — Opening of the conference (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

10:00 – 11:30 — Session 1. Towards a Comprehensive Settlement in the Middle East (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The world is witnessing another round of violence in the Middle East, triggered by the unsolved crisis in Palestine. It has been going on for more than seventy years, despite a series of UN Security Council resolutions that should have paved the way for peace settlement. In recent years, there have been attempts to essentially freeze the peace process, which has only made the status quo more dangerous. Only realization of the legitimate rights of the peoples living there can serve as foundation for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and this requires a constructive approach of all parties concerned.

12:00 – 13:30 — Meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

14:30 – 16:00 — Session 2. Heritage of Colonial Policy and Its Echoes in the Middle East (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The clash of interests between Russia and Western countries in Eastern Europe accelerates the crumbling of the global post-colonial system. Regional in its nature, the security crisis in Europe indirectly triggered developments in other regions of the world. A chain of conflicts of varying degrees of intensity leads to a change in the overall balance and generally contributes to the weakening of Western dominance. Double standards in the West's assessment of the developments in Ukraine and Palestine, bias and lack of desire to find a fair and balanced solution give additional impetus to changes on the world stage.

16:30 – 18:00 — Session 3. Question of Palestine – What Is Next? (live: English, Arabic, Russian)

The crisis of autumn 2023 has brought the question of Palestine back to the centre of the political agenda in the Middle East and around the world. Those who in recent years were inclined to think that the issue was peripheral have been convinced that this is not the case. The war in Gaza has shown that there is no solution by force, but that the political and diplomatic process requires fundamental rethinking. How can we respond to the challenge of the situation while ensuring the legitimate rights to security and development of all the peoples involved.

Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

Links to the live broadcast of open sessions will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast #colonialism #Palestine #valdai_programme

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🎥 LIVE: at 16:30 Moscow time, the third session of the Valdai Club Middle East Conference, titled “Question of Palestine – What Is Next?,” will start. Watch the live broadcast:

In English

In Arabic

In Russian

📌 Programme of the 13th Middle East Conference

#MiddleEastValdai #MiddleEast #Palestine

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