Express News Service
BENGALURU: The Hamas attack on Israel, killing roughly 1,400 people and taking about 240 hostage, was “deliberate in design, and planned to be diabolical enough to evoke an aggressive and unprecedented reaction from Israel,” said Israeli scholar, futurist and best-selling author Prof David Passig. He called the October 7 attack a “turning point in the history of the Middle East”.
Speaking to this paper on the sidelines of the Synergia Conclave in Bengaluru, Passig said the Hamas attack was against the emerging power blocks in the world. “It was to destabilise the new block in the Middle East, which was coming up following the Abraham Accords,” he added. The Abraham Accords are treaties normalising diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, which were facilitated by then US President Donald Trump between August and December 2020.
“The Abraham Accords were the first step forward towards an emerging Middle East block, and Israel and Saudi Arabia were in the process of enlarging the new integration in the Middle East. It would have given Israel some legitimacy in the region and there was a possibility of some more Muslim nations joining the block. The other block comprising Iran and Russia found this dangerous and saw it as a threat.
Though Iran has denied involvement in the October 7 attack, we know that Hamas is a proxy of a proxy (Iran-led Hezbollah) of another proxy (Russia). The Hamas attack was not just about (Israel’s) occupation (on Gaza and the West Bank). It was far more layered and was to destabilise the normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It has put the block on freeze, at least for some time,” said Passig.
He added that the attack has also brought Israel to a stage where it cannot have neighbours that will annihilate it. “Israel is facing Hezbollah in the north. It may have to enter Lebanon and Syria, which will not only spill the conflict in the Middle East, but also have a cascading effect and force countries to join the opposing power blocks,” he cautioned.
In September, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had for the first time publicly acknowledged that his country was moving “closer” each day towards normalising relations with Israel and called it “the biggest historical deal since the Cold War”. Passig, who specialises in technological, social and educational futures and is Associate Professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, had predicted 9/11 in the 1990s, when he had stated that a terrorist attack would take place on a major symbol of world order in the early 21st century and the 2008 financial crisis in 1998.
He warned that the Israel-Gaza conflict may not end soon. “It is likely to drag on and may take three to five years. This phase may be more challenging and crueller. The Palestinians are the most tragic group in modern history. They are doomed to have a state and doomed if they don’t,” said Passig.
The Israeli scholar also spoke about the emerging power blocks; one backed by the US and the other by Russia-China. “No country can afford to be neutral any longer. The world entered a decade of confrontation cascading the Russia-Ukraine war, with a greater conflict with China,” Passig added.
‘No quick end to war’Prof David Passig, who specialises in technological, social and educational futures, had predicted 9/11 in the 1990s, when he had stated that a terrorist attack would take place on a major symbol of world order in the early 21st century, and the 2008 financial crisis in 1998. On Wednesday, he warned that the Israel-Gaza conflict may not end soon. “It is likely to drag on and may take three to five years. This phase may be more challenging and crueller,” Passig said. Follow channel on WhatsApp
BENGALURU: The Hamas attack on Israel, killing roughly 1,400 people and taking about 240 hostage, was “deliberate in design, and planned to be diabolical enough to evoke an aggressive and unprecedented reaction from Israel,” said Israeli scholar, futurist and best-selling author Prof David Passig. He called the October 7 attack a “turning point in the history of the Middle East”.
Speaking to this paper on the sidelines of the Synergia Conclave in Bengaluru, Passig said the Hamas attack was against the emerging power blocks in the world. “It was to destabilise the new block in the Middle East, which was coming up following the Abraham Accords,” he added. The Abraham Accords are treaties normalising diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, which were facilitated by then US President Donald Trump between August and December 2020.
“The Abraham Accords were the first step forward towards an emerging Middle East block, and Israel and Saudi Arabia were in the process of enlarging the new integration in the Middle East. It would have given Israel some legitimacy in the region and there was a possibility of some more Muslim nations joining the block. The other block comprising Iran and Russia found this dangerous and saw it as a threat.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Though Iran has denied involvement in the October 7 attack, we know that Hamas is a proxy of a proxy (Iran-led Hezbollah) of another proxy (Russia). The Hamas attack was not just about (Israel’s) occupation (on Gaza and the West Bank). It was far more layered and was to destabilise the normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It has put the block on freeze, at least for some time,” said Passig.
He added that the attack has also brought Israel to a stage where it cannot have neighbours that will annihilate it. “Israel is facing Hezbollah in the north. It may have to enter Lebanon and Syria, which will not only spill the conflict in the Middle East, but also have a cascading effect and force countries to join the opposing power blocks,” he cautioned.
In September, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had for the first time publicly acknowledged that his country was moving “closer” each day towards normalising relations with Israel and called it “the biggest historical deal since the Cold War”. Passig, who specialises in technological, social and educational futures and is Associate Professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, had predicted 9/11 in the 1990s, when he had stated that a terrorist attack would take place on a major symbol of world order in the early 21st century and the 2008 financial crisis in 1998.
He warned that the Israel-Gaza conflict may not end soon. “It is likely to drag on and may take three to five years. This phase may be more challenging and crueller. The Palestinians are the most tragic group in modern history. They are doomed to have a state and doomed if they don’t,” said Passig.
The Israeli scholar also spoke about the emerging power blocks; one backed by the US and the other by Russia-China. “No country can afford to be neutral any longer. The world entered a decade of confrontation cascading the Russia-Ukraine war, with a greater conflict with China,” Passig added.
‘No quick end to war’
Prof David Passig, who specialises in technological, social and educational futures, had predicted 9/11 in the 1990s, when he had stated that a terrorist attack would take place on a major symbol of world order in the early 21st century, and the 2008 financial crisis in 1998. On Wednesday, he warned that the Israel-Gaza conflict may not end soon. “It is likely to drag on and may take three to five years. This phase may be more challenging and crueller,” Passig said. Follow channel on WhatsApp
