The gatekeepers

On October 7, 2023, Gaza-based armed group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200. They demanded that Israel free Palestinian prisoners from its jails and withdraw its settlers from Palestinian land. This flare-up in a chain of decades-long conflict led to another chain of reactions, with Israel's all-out war on Gaza killing more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including an overwhelming number of women and children from October 2023 to December 2024. The conflict has gone beyond the borders of these two countries and the cry of the Gazan people has emerged as the biggest question mark rising on the horizon of the global community and the so-called civilisational conscience.

- Snigdhendu Bhattacharya

Gilbert Achcar, a Lebanese professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is known for his deep understanding of West Asia's geopolitics and the international interferences that often drive them. Speaking to Snigdhendu Bhattacharya on the current state of turmoil and uncertainty that the region is passing through, Achcar discusses issues ranging from the fall of the al-Assad dynasty in Syria and its implications on the Palestinians' struggle to the hypocrisy of Western powers reflected by their contrasting role vis-a-vis the Russia-Ukraine war.

The day after Assad's exit, Syrians, including refugees, celebrated in every single city. But the very event pushed Palestinians into deeper anxieties as they feared Assad's fall could embolden Israel. Then, the Syrian celebration was cut short by Israel. Of course, Turkey and the US also bombed Syria but mostly it was the Israel factor that spoiled their celebration. Can you elaborate on the complexity of this geopolitical situation? The humanitarian crisis was already there. In the last few years, Syria already witnessed an economic collapse before the political collapse. A mafia-like economy, controlled by the regime, developed around drugs. For the rest of the population, the economic situation was extremely dire. The local currency collapsed and people's purchasing power collapsed with it. The average civil servant would get something like the equivalent of $25 or $30 per month. Even in the poorest countries, this is extremely low. So, you had a humanitarian situation already developing.