Hamas, with its brutal attack on October 7th, consciously wanted to provoke a response from Israel to, among other things, prevent the reconciliation of that country with Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia, which is a crucial player and with which a historic reconciliation has already been announced, says Petar Boskovic, who has spent time in Serbian army peacekeeping missions in the Middle East, in the "Half an Hour of Demostat" show.

He reminds that Israel has already warmed up relations with other Arab states in the vicinity, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, knowing that to "finish the job at home," that is, to resolve the Palestinian issue, it must ensure that its neighbors do not attack it.

This is the key to Hamas attack on Israel.

"Such agreements bother Iran and, of course, Hamas. When I say Hamas and Iran, I am inclined to put an equal sign between them. Without Iran, Hamas would have difficulty functioning without support in every sense. We see that they are now distancing themselves. This is the language that Iran understood - that it must not admit to giving support, but on the ground, we see that they stand behind it because Hamas cannot carry out such a thing on its own," says Boskovic.

He emphasizes that Hamas knew precisely where it was hitting and aimed to draw the entire Arab world into the conflict with the Jews.

He notes that the brutality of Hamas and what was done on October 7th was unimaginable until yesterday and adds that the Jews recognize the fight of armed people against armed, but that the family is the most sacred to them and that after the massacre, they experienced, they will have no mercy.

He recalls that in previous conflicts, 1,200 people died on the Israeli side and about 1,500 on the Palestinian side and that in 72 hours, Israel gathered 300,000 reservists, who are ready to fight for the country they believe belongs to them, just as the Palestinians believe it belongs to them.

Asked if we can expect the Arab world to rise against Israel, Boskovic responds not currently but adds that we will see that in the coming period, in two weeks, reminding that Hezbollah and Hamas cooperate when it comes to Israel and want to open a front from Lebanon.

"Of course, Iran is behind everything, have no doubt. As far as logistics, philosophy is concerned," he says.

He emphasizes that the only litmus paper and stabilizer is America, which has already sent an aircraft carrier and several ships to the Mediterranean Sea, as the only force that can keep things under control so the conflict does not escalate.

He adds that the US has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, but it must be kept in mind that the US is already spread out on two or three fronts and faltering.

"This suits Russia because tensions will subside a bit, and China benefits the most, which is waiting. They are old waiters, they are not in a hurry, they are waiting for their opportunity, and Taiwan is their obsession, which will be the next hotspot," he says.

Asked how it is possible that the Mossad did not react in time and gather data, Boskovic says that he would not play when one of the two most serious intelligence services in the world is in question, emphasizing that their intelligence data certainly cannot be compared to, for example, those that Vladimir Putin received before invading Ukraine.

"There is no theory that someone bribed the members of Mossad or put a blindfold over the eyes of Mossad. I am more inclined to believe that nothing is accidental, that the bowl has overflowed, and that this is one way to clean Gaza for all time. They are going like Nagorno-Karabakh on exodus, resettling, so that as few people as possible remain in Gaza. If there is a ground offensive, I am afraid they were looking for legitimacy from the whole world, for the whole world to stand behind them, and I see that they have succeeded in that," he says.

He emphasizes that Europe is aware of what it has in its backyard, especially Germany and France, which have millions of Muslims. 

In response to whether the world will allow a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Boskovic adds that it will tacitly do so.

Asked whether we should fear terrorist attacks in Europe, which would be a kind of response to what is happening in Gaza, Boskovic says that action breeds reaction and that specific cells that indeed exist in Europe will represent a challenge and danger, for which security services will have to work dedicatedly, especially in France, Germany, and Britain.

Speaking about the possible ground invasion, Boskovic says that it depends on calculating losses, among other things, but also notes that Israeli officers will be much more humane than Hamas in this case.

Boskovic reminded that the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been resolved for years and that PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Fatah, who conducted a completely different policy from Hamas, participated in it earlier.

He also makes a comparison with the conflict between Belgrade and Pristina.

"If we compared it to our frozen conflict in Kosovo, I would say it is not the same as talking to Rugova and Demaçi. These are the differences. Just as Kurti is a pupil of Demaçi and cannot escape that policy, just as Vu?i? is a pupil of Šešelj and cannot escape that policy," he states.

We did not impose sanctions on Russia because we like them but because we do not want to go to the EU

Boskovic, a member of the opposition party Serbia Center, states that the case in Banjska was a massive slap in the face to Serbia and a finger in the eye to Europe, a dilettante attempt by people who, as he says, have neither the capacity nor the training to do what they wanted.

"What our government did is disastrous for the people down there," says Boskovic, adding that this is another in a series of failed moves.

He also sees that Belgrade withdrew all people from institutions as another failed move, thus leaving a blank space for Kurti to do as he pleases.

Boskovic assesses that Belgrade, the Kosovo authorities, and foreign military services knew what was happening in Banjska, adding that all these events gave legitimacy to the Kosovo police to do what they are now doing - searching and harassing Serbs again.

He states that Europe does not understand the justification of the actions of Milan Radoi?i?, the former deputy president of the Serbian List who took all the responsibility upon himself. Unfortunately, he understands what Kurti is saying - and that is the fight against terrorism and crime.

Boskovic states that the Kosovo issue is a frozen conflict, unlike in Cyprus, where institutions, tourism, culture, and sports are developing… 

Asked how he sees the further development of events and the fate of Milan Radoi?i?, Boskovic says that there are two variants.

"If Europe and the world accept Radoi?i? as the sole responsibility, then Vu?i? still owes something that he has to respond to and finish. If they do not accept, it means that this is the end of Aleksandar Vu?i?," he states.

He adds that he thinks Radoi?i? and the entire group should be convicted. Still, he emphasizes that he does not care what will happen to Radoi?i? or Vu?i?, but with the position of Serbia, which he said earlier is diplomatically worse than during Miloševi?s time.

"We are not using the opportunity again. Instead of recognizing that Europe wants enlargement because it has changed its policy due to Ukraine and Moldova and will solve the Balkan issue, we are again doing the same thing that Miloševi? did - the world on one side, on the other. And then you conclude that we did not impose sanctions on Russia not because we love them, but because we would not go to Europe," says Boskovic.

He adds that Serbia is pushing itself into sanctions if it does not remove certain officials, such as the director of BIA, and does not condemn Radoi?i?, emphasizing that these measures will affect ordinary people, while the elite will not suffer.

"The story about the armys return to Kosovo is a deception of the people"

When asked whether the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija (KiM) and their problems would be more accessible to solve and different if Serbia were hypothetically in NATO, Boskovic says that everything would be more accessible if Serbia used the capacity it is in, and that is the Partnership for Peace.

If we had used the Partnership for Peace to its total capacity, as we could have, it would be different, but you cannot go to KFOR, to the barricades, and not cooperate to the total capacity. Because Banjska was another scenario to raise tension again, but that was a wrong assessment," he notes.

He also emphasizes that the return of the Serbian army to Kosovo, which is constantly talked about, is deceiving the people and a constant mantra that is spread at the expense of the Serbian people in KiM.

Boskovic, when asked to compare the state of the army and the position of the Serbian soldier from the time of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), through Miloševi?, Tadi?, to Vu?i?, said that the situation is incomparable and that the army has now lost all possible benefits, such as adequately paid transportation, hot meals, year-end bonuses, which is why it is facing a massive outflow of people.

For example, he cited that the daily allowance for military personnel in 2012 was 2,600 dinars and that today it is 500 dinars. He also stated that experts working in the army earn incomparably less money than they would make if they were employed in other sectors, such as IT.

"If you want to raise the army, weapons and equipment are useless, tanks are useless - we have 250 tanks, but not even 50 crews, not to mention pilots. It is a shame and a crying shame what they have done to the people," concludes Boskovic.