As of the time this article was written, nearly 30,000 individuals, over 5,000 of whom are children, have been killed at the hands of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.
Approximately 1.5 million Palestinians find themselves displaced, with one out of every two homes in the besieged enclave reduced to rubble. Targets of the strikes have ranged indiscriminately from schools and hospitals to archaeological and religious sites.
Swiftly, the response to the atrocities of Oct.7 assumed the grim semblance of a massacre. Over four months later, this massacre persists unabated, shielded by a cloak of complete impunity.
Expressions of condemnation have crescendoed, often accompanied by fervent pleas for a ceasefire. Yet, they ring hollow, resembling little more than insincere posturing that fails to resonate with the daily struggles of a populace seemingly forsaken by the international community.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s objective appears clear: to reduce Gaza to ashes, eliminate every last member of Hamas, and force a significant portion of the populace into exile.
His resolve shows no signs of waning unless and until someone, beginning with US President Joe Biden, compels him to halt his campaign of devastation.
At the time this article was written, Ukraine steadfastly resisted the ongoing onslaught by the Russian military for nearly two years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initial ambition to seize Kiev and eradicate Ukraine from both the map and the annals of history may not have come to fruition.
Nevertheless, he finds cause for satisfaction.
As the conflict persists, weariness creeps into Western attitudes, accompanied by increasing doubts. There’s a growing inclination to entertain negotiations with Putin, seemingly immune to the incontrovertible evidence presented by his words and actions.
Putin, poised for triumphant re-election this year, and having recently eliminated his main opponent, Alexei Navalny, remains inclined to negotiate only when positioned for victory or to fortify his position for future conflicts.
His resolve shows no signs of relenting unless and until external forces compel him to cease his pursuits.
A significant segment of pro-Palestinian advocates appears indifferent to the conflict in Ukraine, viewing it as a struggle “amongst whites” — a geopolitical standoff between the US and Russia stemming from NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe, which they perceive as disconnected from their cause.
Conversely, many liberals, who perceive the Ukrainian conflict as existential, remain conspicuously silent, ambiguous, or even overtly supportive of Israeli actions in Gaza.
To them, the conflict becomes solely framed within the context of the war on terror, wherein actions are justified under an Israeli exceptionalism deeply rooted in the collective trauma of the Holocaust.
This dichotomy suggests a troubling trend where the defense of international law and the dignity of peoples is perceived as mutually exclusive.
It’s a binary outlook: either attention is directed everywhere but Palestine or it’s focused exclusively on Palestine.
Yet, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza share more similarities than they might initially seem to have.
While Hamas and its Iranian supporters are not analogous to the Ukrainian army and its Western allies, it’s important to recognize that the triumph of the self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” would not bode well for the Palestinians, the broader region, or the international order.
Yet, the systematic suppression of both the Palestinian and Ukrainian populations, all in the name of a revanchist and extremist ideology, is indicative of a shared underlying dynamic.
In both Kiev and Gaza, we bear witness in silent despair to the erosion of the liberal order.
It’s a time where might usurps right, where impunity reigns unchecked, and injustice prevails. This marks the zenith of dictators, autocrats, and populists.
And it’s all intricately connected; for nothing epitomizes this era more than the law of the jungle.
Putin’s brazen elimination of Alexei Navalny, without the slightest attempt to conceal his involvement, underscores his confidence in evading repercussions.
This mirrors Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza and Hezbollah’s conduct in the aftermath of Lokman Slim’s assassination three years prior.
Whether allies or adversaries, these leaders, among many others, harbor a shared ambition: to bury the post-World War II international order in favor of the law of the strongest.
The decline of the liberal order bears heavily upon the shoulders of the West, a consequence of its arrogance and self-deception.
The custodians of this order, blinded by their own arrogance, recklessly sawed off the very branch upon which they perched, heedless to the inferno it would ignite elsewhere.
The US intervention in Iraq marked the initial blow to the contemporary liberal order. In its pursuit, the foremost global power trampled upon international law, setting a precedent that emboldened, if not outright sanctioned, similar actions by other powers.
Former US President Barack Obama’s reluctance to engage in Syria represented the second blow.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal massacres of his own populace demonstrated that such atrocities could be perpetrated with impunity. This message reverberated across every corner of the globe, a stark reminder of the erosion of accountability and the emboldening of authoritarian regimes.
The West finds itself adrift, its moral compass lost amidst internal decay.
Both the US and Europe appear consumed by internal strife, unable to effectively prioritize pressing issues or muster the resolve necessary to uphold the pillars of order and justice within the international system.
However, the disintegration of the liberal order extends beyond the confines of the Western world. Its repercussions are felt far and wide, even in places like Lebanon, where forces of obscurantism are steadily gaining ground across all communities.
Regrettably, the prospect of a brighter horizon remains elusive, with significant progress appearing utopian at best. Barring a miraculous shift, the immediate future appears bleak.
This outlook is further darkened by the looming possibility of Donald Trump reascending to the presidency in a few months time.
Such a scenario is eagerly anticipated by figures like Netanyahu and Putin, for it would signal a potentially fatal blow to the liberal order.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Sahar Ghoussoub.