August 29, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
- The twin-like alignment between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the occupying entity’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, extends beyond their shared political backing by Washington or their engagement in simultaneous wars funded and armed by the United States, both facing similar challenges in the supply of ammunition and weapons.
- Zelensky and Netanyahu share a common approach to politics and war, marked by a flair for showmanship, a focus on media manipulation, and a propensity for corruption – traits that seem to run in their families. Their methods of waging war also mirror each other.
- This alignment is not just about the arrogance that comes with power, nor is it merely based on their reliance on fascist, racist forces – be it the neo-Nazis in Ukraine or the extremist settlers in the occupying entity – who both engage in ethnic cleansing. Zelensky took his actions to a religious level by banning the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, splitting it to establish a Ukrainian branch loyal to his regime, now the only permitted church. Similarly, Netanyahu’s ally, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has proposed establishing a Jewish synagogue within the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
- In the war, Netanyahu has hit a dead end. He failed to defeat the resistance in Gaza, recover captives, or prevent ships bound for the entity from passing through the Red Sea. He was equally unsuccessful in ensuring the return of settlers displaced from northern occupied Palestine. Rather than seeking a military solution or engaging in serious negotiations, he compensated for his military failure and refusal to negotiate with a theatrical manoeuvre, launching two major operations in Tehran and Beirut with Washington’s backing. This was an attempt to fabricate a victory and establish a stable balance for future negotiations. However, these dreams have turned into nightmares, and the situation has reverted to its original state, leaving Netanyahu with the unresolved question: war or negotiation? His answer has been to avoid war, yet he has not pursued serious negotiations, possibly still clinging to the unrealistic hope of a decisive outcome in the West Bank.
- Zelensky, much like Netanyahu, avoided facing his inability to reclaim eastern Ukraine by force or engage in meaningful negotiations with Russia that acknowledged the balance of power. Instead, with Washington’s support, he launched a massive operation in Russia’s Kursk region, aiming to create the balance that Netanyahu failed to achieve after the Tehran and Beirut operations. But just as Netanyahu found that his actions only accelerated the timeline of challenges from opposing forces, Zelensky is now realising that the remnants of eastern Ukraine are falling into Russian hands as he faces difficulties in Donetsk and the strategic city of Pokrovsk. Soon, he may wake up to find that his forces have lost all of eastern Ukraine, with his troops in Kursk facing the threat of annihilation.
- The decline in leadership is a reflection of the decline in the projects they represent.
