1、 The Russian Bear and the Molotov Cocktail:The Palestinians and the Crisis in Ukraine Noa Shusterman|No.1579|March 27,2022 While most Western countries condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United National General Assembly,the Palestinian Authority remained silent.The Palestinians regard
2、the Ukrainian struggle against the invasion as competing with them for international attention.They are frustrated that their struggle is cast by many as terrorism,while the struggle in Ukraine is treated as a just war for freedom.The Palestinians have accordingly neither expressed any public empath
3、y for the Ukrainians nor demonstrated any solidarity with them.In addition,the Palestinians are careful to avoid any possible damage to their relations with Russia,which they consider an ally.While the Palestinians hope to upgrade Russias status in the efforts to promote a political process with Isr
4、ael,however,Moscow sees the Palestinian question as a means of furthering its status in the Middle East and scoring points against the United States although it is doubtful whether on this issue Russia will go beyond rhetoric in the foreseeable future.To the extent that the international community i