On Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on civilian targets in Israel, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, and the capture of dozens of Israeli and foreign nationals currently being held hostage in the Gaza Strip. This is the worst attack on the Jewish community globally since World War II. Israel has subsequently been intensively shelling the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinian citizens, and massively mobilizing its troops to Israel's southern border in preparation for a ground incursion.
The situation has been escalating in recent days, with the dissemination of atrocious videos showing the cruelty of the attacks, and with the taking of positions at the international level, in defense of each of the parties. On the one hand, the Western bloc, led by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, unconditionally supporting Israel, and on the other hand, a group of countries, mainly led by Iran, firmly supporting Palestine. This situation has led many to wonder at what level this escalation could reach and how likely it is that we will enter into a major international conflict.
Boom Studiesaware of its social responsibility and role as advisor to the hundreds of students who travel every month to follow higher education or language courses in Malta, has been carefully analyzing the situation and as of October 10, communicates the following to the interested public:
- Malta is a neutral country. Its neutrality is inscribed in the Constitution. For this reason, it cannot constitutionally take sides in an international military conflict. In this sense, Malta does not belong to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) either.
- Although European Union countries such as France, Germany and Italy have taken sides in favor of Israel, in reality they have done so aligned to a transatlantic axis, together with the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union does not have a common defense policy, which means that countries are free to manage their defense policies in a sovereign manner, especially if they do not belong to an Alliance, as is the case of Malta, which is outside NATO.
- Considering that Malta has a majority Catholic population and that Jewish and Muslim minorities are not representative in the local demographics, it is not expected that an escalation of the situation in Israel could immediately affect social peace in Malta.
- At the moment there is no cause for alarm for travel to Malta, nor any tangible element that would allow foreseeing that any situation could affect the daily life of international students on the island.
- International students are advised to avoid any travel to Israel in the near future that is not strictly necessary, and until lasting peace agreements are reached. In fact, the Maltese airline Air Malta, which operated until last weekend the direct Malta - Tel Aviv route, has suspended its flights until further notice, as have several other international airlines.
At Boom Studies, we hope that the peoples of Israel and Palestine can reach a solution that will ensure lasting peace and prevent the deaths of innocent civilians on both sides.
We remind our students that if they have any doubts or concerns regarding the planning of their study trips, please consult with our advisors, who will be happy to help them with whatever they need.
We also pledge to donate as of today €10 to the International Red Cross for each 12-week course purchased during the month of October, to contribute to the much needed medical efforts in the area.
Best regards,
Joaquin Pinto Ferrand
* Political scientist and Master in International Relations / CEO of Boom Studies.
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