When, in 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to provide weapons and training to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), the Israelis had little idea that the Kremlin’s offer would one day include Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups.
According to the Hebrew-language daily Maariv, the Zionist President Isaac Herzog, in a phone conversation with Putin, voiced his serious concerns over the Russian-origin weaponry shipments that found their way to the Palestinian armed resistance. [i]
In the past six months, at least two Hamas delegations have visited Moscow, suggesting that the Russians have partially abounded their decades-long policy of neutrality vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli conflicts; and that, unlike the West, they do not lay all their eggs in Mahmoud Abbas’ little basket.
Moscow-Tel Aviv relations were even more strained during the recent 3-day Zionist brutal campaign against the besieged Gaza Strip, a densely populated enclave with a population of around 2 million.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, reacted to the latest Israeli raid against Palestinian civilians, in which 47 Palestinians, including four children, were murdered, by blaming the Zionist regime for the recent escalation. Zakharova said, “Moscow is deeply concerned about the upsurge in hostilities between Palestine and Israel, which would further deteriorate the already deplorable humanitarian situation in Gaza.” In the meantime, the Russian embassy in Cairo released a rare communiqué saying that the United States and the European Union adhere to a policy of double standards and continuously back Israeli actions.
Furthermore, the Russian legation in Cairo lambasted Zionist interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid of hypocrisy for indiscriminately bombing Gaza while condemning Russia’s special military operation against Ukrainian Nazis, denouncing him for disregarding the lives of Palestinians.
“To maintain [their] image of peacekeepers at the global level, they often issue routine statements about their support for Palestine and [the so-called] two-state solution. However, in the [Western] “flourishing democracies” that claim to be cradles of the defence of human rights and respect for human feelings, nobody cares about the plight of the Palestinians,” the Russian embassy in Cairo asserted.[iv]
What made the Russians make a U-turn in their relations with the Zionist regime?
Political analysts believe that the presence of pro-Western political elites and policymakers in the new Israeli government has played a significant role in the deterioration of ties between Russia and the Zionist regime, thus tearing down the delicate long-term balance in Israel’s relations with both Russia and the United States.
Many political experts prognosticated that Israel’s international diplomatic equilibrium would eventually be shattered since influential lobbies within the fragile coalition government sought to align Israel’s foreign policy closely with the European Union and the White House.
Throughout Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, Tel Aviv maintained its traditional neutrality despite “special relations” between Israel and the United States. In contrast, the Bennett-Lapid duo were more vociferous in their criticism of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and adopted strident anti-Russian rhetoric.
It is a known fact that the Zionist regime considers the positioning of Iranian-led Axis of Resistance forces in Syria as one of its greatest national security concerns. Consequently, in recent years, there has been tacit military cooperation involving Israel and Russia in war-torn Syria.
To put it in other words, Moscow and Tel Aviv settled their clash of interests in Syria by achieving a modus vivendi; the Israeli jets carried out raids with the Russians’ prior knowledge while the S-300 missile system remained dormant.
However, when a plethora of political contradictions arose in Moscow and Tel Aviv affairs after the Ukraine crisis, some of the former collaboration between the two sides in the Middle East was dramatically attenuated.
The recent visit of Mr Putin to Tehran, where he met with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, lends more credence to this theory. Through their discussions, it became apparent that both parties have many common interests and concerns in light of seismic shifts in global hegemony. However, according to reports, Ayatollah Khamenei reminded Putin that Iran and Russia must remain vigilant against “Western deception.”
Simultaneously, given that Ukraine has become an existential priority for Russia and there is a need for Russian troops and equipment in Ukraine’s entrenched battles, there will be, in the long run, a military vacuum in Syria, which Moscow does not want the United States to fill.
Since February 24, when the Kremlin deployed tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, Russia has taken major steps to enhance its ties with Tehran.
In the wake of the recent trilateral summit in Tehran, which brought together Putin, Turkey’s Erdogan, and the Iranian president, Ebrahim Rais, it was reported that Putin asked the Iranian leadership to boost its military existence east of the Euphrates River. This strategically vital area has long been of paramount significance to Iran and its allies.
Russia, Iran, and Ukraine’s support for the Zionist regime’s attacks on the Gaza Strip
Despite their historical connections, since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, a bottomless abyss has emerged between Moscow and Tel Aviv, reaching the nadir of ties between the Russians and the Zionist regime.
In addition, Israel’s unequivocal military and diplomatic backing for Zelenskyy’s puppet administration contributed to escalating Russian-Israeli tensions.
These political conflicts reflected themselves to the extent that Putin
issued an order to close the renowned Jewish agency’s Moscow and St. Petersburg headquarters. Yet, in spite of their ceaseless efforts, the Zionist authorities were not successful in overturning Putin’s directive.
The surge of the Kremlin’s outraged indignation undoubtedly reached its climax when the government in Kyiv reiterated its most egregious and abhorrent positions in defence of the heinous atrocities committed by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian civilians, announcing its solidarity with Tel Aviv about the Israeli campaign against the Gazans.
Earlier, Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, Ukraine’s First Lady, claimed that Israel’s history serves as an example of inspiration for Ukraine’s resistance.
v]Russian officials decided to establish more coherent ties with Iran to thwart Western sanctions and to deter the expanding military bond between NATO-Israel-Ukraine.
Much to the chagrin of Zionists, last Tuesday, a Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launched a homegrown Iranian satellite dubbed “Khayyam.” The Washington Post reported last week that American officials are extremely alarmed by the incipient space alliance between Moscow and Tehran, concerned that the modern Iranian satellite could offer Iran “unprecedented capabilities” to monitor potential targets in occupied Palestine [Israel].
To compound the intense dread that has already rippled through the Pentagon, Russian servicemen have just finished their drone training in Iran in recent weeks as part of an agreement on the transfer of advanced Iranian drones to Russia. According to Reuters, American officials claim that Iran is purportedly preparing to equip Russia with hundreds of its indigenous drones, which could be a game-changer in the raging war in Ukraine.
Conclusion:
As a result of the military confrontation between Russia and NATO members in Eastern Europe, a tectonic geostrategic shift in global dynamics is taking place.
Moreover, the relatively friendly ties between Moscow and Tel Aviv are steadily eroding, whilst Iran and Russia no longer regard one another as tactical partners; rather, as strategic allies.
The ongoing political strife between Moscow and Tel Aviv has been increasing, maybe forever, given Russia’s growing isolation by the EU and the US, necessitating a robust military and economic union with independent nations like Iran, China, Syria, and Venezuela.