In Light Of International Solidarity With Ukraine, Disappointment Prevails among Palestinians

By: Mohammad Shaban, MINA Correspondent in Palestine

The world became very turbulent following the recent events in Ukraine, where the categorical rejection of the Russian attack on Ukraine was evident as it’s illegal and inhuman occupation and colonization.

The letters of denunciation were accompanied by great support for the Ukrainian people and government, to overcome this humanitarian crisis that lasted for days.

The strange thing is that an entire people have been experiencing daily the same crisis in more brutal conditions for more than 70 years.

The strangest thing is that the Western governments that reject the Russian occupation of Ukraine are the same ones who see the crimes and violations of the occupation committed against the Palestinians without moving a finger.

As soon as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Western countries, that are the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan, rushed to announce their imposition of economic sanctions on Russia.

Then, the statements of condemnation followed, leading to inviting the Security Council to convene to issue an international resolution against the Russian military operation.

Western media and leaders talked again about resistance as a legitimate right of the Ukrainian people in the face of the brutal Russian occupation.

The humanitarian slogans calling for the right to self-defense and liberation from the occupation in all its forms have returned, which we all agree on.

The Ukrainian people have the right to defend themselves by all means and to be free from occupation and to confront it.

However, this resistance is the same one that has been criminalized by some Western governments, and heavy unjust punishments have been imposed against those who deal with the resistance movements in Palestine, describing them as terrorists when they defend themselves.

The most prominent was Britain’s decision to ban the resistance movement Hamas with its military and political wings in November 2021 as a terrorist organization.

As for the US administration, it is not hidden that it clearly biases the Israeli occupation and supports it politically, militarily, and economically to enable it as a strategic ally in the Middle East, ignoring its crimes and systematic violations committed against the Palestinians and the apartheid regime that it practices.

At the same time, America was one of the first supporters of the Ukrainian army in this battle in the face of the Russian occupation, where the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced the assignment of the Ministry of Defense to provide support to the Ukrainian army worth 350 million dollars, against the background of the Russian attack against Ukraine.

Blinken noted that the Ukrainian people are sovereign, democratic, and peace-loving. He added that today Ukraine is fighting with courage and dignity against the unjust Russian attacks.

Blinken explained that the value of US aid to Ukraine will exceed one billion dollars over the past year, with this decision.

On the Israeli side, the position of the occupation was not surprising, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s position was limited to calling on the Jews of Ukraine to immigrate to “Israel”, and to ensure the exit of about ten thousand Israelis residing in Ukraine outside its western borders.

It is unable to condemn the Russian military invasion, or the occupation by some countries of the lands of other countries, as it is basically an occupying country. Although Ukrainian demonstrators demonstrated in front of the Russian embassy in the state “Israel”, the position of the occupation was clear in its attempt not to anger Russia.

From the Russian occupation of Ukraine to the apartheid Israeli occupation of Palestine, there is not much difference. Both colonial systems are based on looting the lands of other peoples, destroying their countries, and killing large numbers of people without guilt.

This may justify Israel’s precarious neutral position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How can a racist, colonial occupation based on others’ land condemn another occupation?

This is what British Labor MP Julie Elliott said. She emphasized that what is happening in Ukraine from a Russian invasion is similar to what is happening in the occupied lands of Palestine.

Her statement was attacked by her colleague, former Labor Secretary Stephen Crabb, of the Conservative Party, who said she was “historically wrong, factually wrong and morally wrong” for comparing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to the situation in occupied Palestine.

Despite the attack she faced and the attempt to justify the crimes of the occupation and not link them to those same events in Ukraine, Elliott insisted that international law was “appropriate” in both cases as she pressured the government to consider recognizing the state of Palestine alongside Israel as a two-state solution to end the conflict in the region.

If we look at the Palestinian position on the official level, the silence regarding what is happening seems clear. There is no clear position on the part of the Palestinian government other than neutrality.

While the unofficial position sees the Western world as hypocritical and arrogant, as this war revealed the roots of racism in Western culture; I mean Western governments and leaders.

They showed sympathy and support for those with whom they share common interests, despite the fact that the victims of defenseless Palestinians are many times greater than what is happening in Ukraine.

The position of the Palestinian people towards the Ukrainian people remains that they do not and will not accept the Russian occupation of Ukraine in any way, and they reject the war and destruction committed against Ukraine as it is being committed against the Palestinians. (AKG/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)