Are cracks emerging in the West's unequivocal support for Israel's war?

Wider conflict possible

The conflict, which many fear has the potential to engulf the entire region, has been further complicated by border clashes between the Israelis and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.

The possibility that the conflict could spark a major escalation has increased significantly after Iran issued a stark warning that there would be an "expansion of war fronts" if the Israeli offensive in Gaza continued.

The warning by Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, made in an interview with Al Jazeera, came after he travelled to Qatar to meet senior Qatari officials and the head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh,

"Iran cannot stand idly by and watch this situation unfold," Iran's top diplomat warned, noting that every hour, the possibility of a new war front opening was increasing. 

In such circumstances, leading world powers such as the US, Russia, and China have previously managed to set aside their differences and cooperate to find a formula to defuse tensions.

Not this time. Far from seeking to establish a consensus on how to prevent the conflict from spiralling out of control, world leaders appear more preoccupied with asserting their own priorities rather than working for the common good. 

Unequivocal support for Israel

Perhaps one of the more surprising responses to the Hamas attack has come from Washington, where the Biden administration has historically not seen eye-to-eye with the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Despite the unease many Democrats feel about Netanyahu's uncompromising political agenda, especially his government's insistence on expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Washington has swung decisively behind the Israelis in the wake of the Hamas attack, to the extent that the US has dispatched not one, but two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region to act as a deterrent against countries like Iran taking advantage of the crisis to provoke a further escalation.

US President Joe Biden has also been unexpectedly resolute in asserting Israel's right to self-defend, even if Washington's backing for Israel's proposed invasion of Gaza has been tempered by concern about the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

These concerns were reflected in the statement issued by Western leaders following the release of the first two hostages, an American mother and her daughter, at the weekend.

A joint statement issued by Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the release of two hostages by Hamas while calling on the remaining hostages to be freed as well.

"The leaders reiterated their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians," the statement read.

"They welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages. They committed to close coordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza."

Cracks emerge in Western stance

While the joint statement suggested there was a degree of unanimity among Western leaders on the Gaza crisis, tensions within the alliance soon surfaced after France and the European Union backed calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas while the hostage crisis was resolved, while the US and Britain continued to back Israel's right to use military force to defend itself.

Even so, the willingness of Western leaders to declare their support for Israel stands in contrast to the position adopted by China and Russia, which have enjoyed a significant uplift in their involvement in the region in recent years.

Moscow's standing in the Middle East has been enhanced by its military contribution to keeping the al-Assad regime in power during the Syrian conflict, while China's growing influence has been reflected in the role it played in securing a diplomatic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Russia and China position notably different

By contrast to America's robust military response to the crisis, Beijing and Moscow, rather than responding militarily to the crisis, have instead joined forces to work together to establish a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

This difference of approach was clearly evident following the recent meeting in Doha between Zhai Jun, China's special envoy to the Middle East, and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president's special representative for the Middle East and Africa.

"The fundamental reason for the current situation of the Palestine-Israel conflict is that the Palestinian people's lawful national rights have not been guaranteed," Zhai said in a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.

While the prospects of a future round of peace negotiations on the long-running Israel-Palestinian issue currently appear remote, the fact that both these major powers have declared their support for resolving the Palestinian issue, instead of backing Israel's right to defence, demonstrates they are deliberately adopting an opposing view to the US and the West, one that could have profound consequences for the conflict's eventual outcome.