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Israel gains from regional alignment, Hamas deal timed with Trump’s inauguration — expert

According to Boris Dolgov, Israel has already managed to establish the desirable balance of power in the region

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Israel has already benefited from the current regional alignment of forces in the Middle East and will continue to enjoy the advantages gained during the term of the agreement with Hamas reached the day before. The deal itself is coinciding largely with the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, Boris Dolgov, a leading research fellow at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, has told TASS.

Earlier, Qatar's head of government and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani announced that as a result of mediation efforts by Doha, Cairo, and Washington, Israel and Hamas had agreed on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and the introduction of a ceasefire. The agreement will take effect on Sunday, January 19. During the first 42-day initial phase, Hamas will release 33 Israeli military and civilian female hostages, as well as wounded civilians, children, and the elderly, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Dolgov says the main beneficiary of any agreement will be Israel, for it has already managed to establish the desirable balance of power in the region.

"The latest developments: the overthrow of the leadership of [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad, the elimination of a number of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, their weakening as well as the rise to power of Trump, who previously supported Israel to a greater extent and is now likely to support it again - certainly play into Israel’s hands. It is certainly a winner," Dolgov emphasized. "Now it has a free hand in the region. As soon as there is anything the Israeli leadership may regard as a threat to the Israeli army or the country as a whole, including threats in Palestine from Hamas, strikes are carried out regardless of the agreements reached.

According to the expert's assessment, such Israeli tactics will continue throughout the operation of the agreement with Hamas. To a great extent it was timed for Trump's inauguration.

"The position of the United States is important here. It can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that the US leadership, as represented by Trump, will support Israel along these lines."