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Middle East conflict

US military to intervene in Middle East conflict if it expands — expert

Commenting on US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Israel, Boris Dolgov pointed out the trip is primarily a show of support from Washington

MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. The US military may intervene in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict if it gets bigger and draws in other countries, for example, Iran, Boris Dolgov, a leading researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Asian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has told TASS.

"The United States could potentially intervene in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but only if there is some unforeseen setback or at the very least, a request from Israel or meddling by other parties, in particular Hezbollah or Iran," he said.

"I don't think the US will send military units to fight on the side of the Israeli army. It seems to me that America getting directly involved could happen only if the conflict expands," the analyst said.

Ostentatious gesture

Commenting on US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Israel, Dolgov pointed out the trip is primarily a show of support from Washington.

"Russia, China and Arab countries are calling for negotiations and a stop to armed clashes, while the US is offering assistance and is ready to help Israel," Dolgov said. "Biden’s visit to Israel is a demonstrative gesture and a sign that the US fully supports Israel."

On October 16, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Biden would arrive in Israel on October 18 to discuss the authorities’ security needs. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the Pentagon, earlier reported that the US Department of Defense had hand-picked about 2,000 troops to be trained for potential deployment to the Middle East to support Israel.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement attacked Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has announced a total blockade of Gaza and carried out strikes on targets inside Lebanon and Syria. Hostilities have also broken out on the West Bank.

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