Washington: A wider conflict in the Middle East stemming from the Israel-Hamas war would likely disrupt oil markets and destabilise the global economy, Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, told Sputnik.
“If there is a wider war in the Middle East, the oil markets will likely be disrupted,” Sachs said. “This in turn would of course further destabilise the world economy.”
Sachs expects that an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza will likely lead to a widening war.
“I don’t believe that the Muslim world will look on quietly and passively if Israel is committing mass killings in Gaza, especially in a ground offensive,” Sachs said.
The United States has reportedly been urging Israel to delay its ground invasion in order to buy more time to negotiate the release of more hostages held by Hamas. Moreover, President Joe Biden said in later remarks that any talks about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas may only be possible if all hostages are released.
Meanwhile, the United States is deploying the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf amid an escalation of attacks on US forces in the region by Iran’s “proxy forces.” Moreover, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is positioned in the Eastern Mediterranean to serve as a deterrent to any third parties that might consider joining the conflict against Israel, according to the Pentagon.
The Muslim world, Sachs said, should immediately call for a political solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis, meaning establishing a Palestinian state combined with a plan for the demilitarisation of the conflict, including the disarming of Hamas and the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers.
According to Sachs, Hamas may have many motives for conducting its attacks against Israel on October 7, including to disrupt the Israel-Saudi normalization talks.
US officials have indicated that Saudi-Israel normalization talks have not been scrapped, but negotiations are reportedly at a pause amid the Israel-Hamas crisis.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.
