Evgeny Satanovsky, the President of the Middle East Institute, joined Russia Today to comment on the conflict in Gaza.
Russia Today: The Palestinian Autonomy is basically to be split in two with Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Fatah-run West Bank. There are two Prime Ministers. Do you expect a new surge of violence in the Palestinian Autonomy? Evgeny Satanovsky: First of all, I would say that even the term “Palestinian Autonomy” is a mistake. I would call it “Palestinian Administration” and not “Autonomy”, autonomy from whom – from Israel, from Egypt, from Jordan? As for now, we have two powerful groups there. One is in Gaza, another one is in the West Bank. They hate each other, they do not control their own soldiers, and they do not control the situation. So this is the civil war, same as it was in Russia almost a century ago. I think that now there is no chance for all this long-time conflict, which lasts for so long, to come to an end. RT: How can the situation be resolved peacefully or there is no peaceful resolution to this? E.S.: There is a chance that the grandchildren of those who are now killing each other in this conflict and organise mass assassinations and kidnappings will sit together 50 years later and find a peaceful resolution to this. But before that, I don’t think so. There is a very strong Mideast and Asian “blood” tradition there, the tradition which prolongs for years and centuries. We can see the same situation in Iraq – in the conflict between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis. So, there is no sign for peace on the Palestinian territories. There are actually two possibilities there for peace. The first scenario is one dictator in Gaza and one dictator in the West Bank, a small Palestinian Saddam Hussein, who will keep the situation under control and stop the shooting after rivers of blood. The second scenario is a full and immediate occupation, and a very serious one, not in the Western style. Nobody needs these territories, neither Egyptians nor the Chinese, nor the Americans, nor the Israelis. Jordan is also not very happy to keep their hands on the process. So, there is no chance for peace. RT: Do you think that international peacekeepers might help in resolving this conflict? E.S.: The situation that we have now is the result of the international peacekeepers and multi-billion investments into this situation. So, the only thing they can help with is to sit somewhere in the corner of the UN and try to work in the region they know better than this one, because the situation of this anarchy is the result of billion dollars which they invested not in infrastructure, economy, education or future of Palestinians, but gave to the hands of the Palestinian leaders, both Islamists and non-Islamists.