On the question of the appropriateness of comparing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with the current war between Israel and HAMAS, opinions among the respondents are divided. Some respondents point out common features: “Israel is indeed conducting a military operation in the Gaza Strip with the goal of a kind of ‘denazification and demilitarization of HAMAS.'” “Both conflicts are connected to the U.S. struggle for global hegemony. Both are needed by Biden, including for domestic political battles. Both are aimed at the destruction of the sovereignty of Ukraine and Israel.” They are also united by the fact that “Ukraine is the battleground between the U.S. and Russia, fought by Ukrainians, while Israel is the battleground between the U.S. and Iran, fought by Israelis.” “Biden declared war by the Western world against the ‘axis of evil.’ Ukraine and Israel are the front lines of this new global war.” “Ukraine and Israel defend Western values”; “The war between Israel and HAMAS and the Ukrainian conflict are episodes in the war for global restructuring (and financial flows) within the ‘competition of top structures’ in critically important geographic regions (there is already an established term: ‘the struggle for a multipolar world against a unipolar one’).”
However, many respondents categorically disagree with such an approach, as these wars have fundamental differences. Here are some opposing views: “The war in Ukraine began as a civil one. It is a natural continuation of the conflict caused by the compression of Russia’s factual borders beyond the historical territories of the Russian Empire and the USSR. The war with HAMAS is a continuation of the long-standing conflict in the Middle East. This conflict is related to the creation of the state of Israel and is not a result of contemporary geopolitical changes.” “The Ukrainian conflict has not been officially declared a war by either Ukraine or Russia, unlike Israel, which declared war in the first days after the HAMAS attack.” “Russia talks about historical territories and the Russophobic pro-Western policy of the local comprador elites of the newly formed states, essentially engaging in ‘cliocide’ (‘cleansing of historical memory’) of the imperial people of the Russian Empire and the USSR. Israel’s war with ‘Palestinian terrorism’ is routine state operations to localize insurgents within the framework of Israel and HAMAS’ long-standing military-political interactions.”
“The nature of the conflicts is different. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is interstate, while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has asymmetric elements, with the state of Israel opposing a non-state entity fighting for its territories.”
Some respondents, while acknowledging the fundamental differences between these conflicts, attempt to find commonalities: “In both conflicts, the international community is involved, but the nature of this involvement and the sides supporting each participant are different. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. plays a significant role as a party to the conflict, whereas in the Ukrainian conflict, Western countries and NATO support Ukraine in the war with Russia, considering themselves not parties to the conflict.” “In this regard, parallels with the military actions of Ukraine in the territories of Donbass are more appropriate.”