The online event “Israel in the aftermath of the recent Gaza conflict” was organized by the think-tank Geocase. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Victor Kipiani, Chairman of Geocase. In the framework of the Geocase webinar series, H.E. Ran Gidor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Georgia, and Dr. Emil Avdaliani, Director of Middle East Studies of Geocase, discussed important factors of Israel's domestic and foreign policy, current situation, and the recent change of Government in Israel amid fierce military confrontation and conflict in Gaza.
 

At the beginning of the discussion, Mr. Kipiani highlighted the importance of the relations between Israel and Georgia: “Israel is Georgia's partner country. We, Georgians, are delighted with such a close partnership. Israel supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity and this is of great importance".
 

The honorable guest, H. E. Ran Gidor, reviewed the coexistence of Jews and Palestinians in a historical context. The Ambassador examined in detail the reasons for the start of the Israeli-Hamas conflict and its further implications. The sequence of military confrontations, focusing on Israel's military readiness was also discussed. Ambassador Gidor noted that despite such large-scale air strikes, their repulse was successful and only 9 people were killed, which is a great tragedy, but the state of Israel owes much to the casualties. “Friendship is valid amongst the individuals, however, at the state level, countries are acting according to the national interest. Those interests may change over time but even if the governments change, or there is a temporary lack of personal chemistry between the two leaderships - the commonality of interest is there, it's durable and is not going to change”- said H.E. Ran Gidor.
 

Dr. Emil Avdaliani, Director of Middle East Studies of Geocase, discussed the present changing world order in the region, noting that the recent Israeli-Palestinian confrontation is part of Iran's foreign policy strategy. Comparing the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the previous conflict, he highlighted the use of drones by Hamas, the production of which can be easily traced in Iran.
 

While analyzing the stance of the Western and Eurasian powers in the region, Dr. Avdaliani implied that “Eurasian powers strive to build orders of exclusion in Central Asia, the South Caucasus and parts of the Middle East. This means there are consistent efforts to sideline the collective West from participating in peacebuilding and other initiatives for the conflict regions.”
 

In the context of foreign policy, the discussion also observed the support of the United States to Israel and relations between the two countries. Speakers extensively focused on the new White House administration and a recently approved new coalition Government in Israel.

See the online discussion