ABSTRACT
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been present in the Middle East since the beginning of the epidemic, and it is constantly on the rise in terms of new infections. The use of HIV/AIDS in the politics of the Middle East was not reserved only for the Israeli-Arab relationship. The case of the death of Dr. Yarub Mudrik Al-Mahawi in the United Kingdom in March 1993 is instructive. The negative role that HIV/AIDS can play in international politics is not new globally, but it is new for the Middle East. Factors such as travel, contaminated blood transfusions, societal taboos on homosexuality and the patterns of HIV transmission in neighboring countries, including the Gulf states, will exert a significant influence on the spread of HIV/AIDS among Palestinians. While the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases is low in Palestinian society, the risk of spreading the disease is significant and needs to be taken seriously.
