Russia's Diplomatic Maneuvering In the Israel-Palestine War

Abstract

This article assesses Russia's policy and behavior since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and Israel's war on Gaza. For years, Moscow's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict was based on “equidistance” between the two parties—maintaining working relations with the Israelis and pledging friendship to the Palestinians. However, the outbreak of the latest war led Russia to take a clearly pro-Palestinian stance and harshly criticize Tel Aviv's military response. The analysis shows that while relations were strained by Russian officials’ anti-Israel statements, Moscow did not fundamentally alter its position. It did not cross Israel's red lines by arming Hamas and other militant groups, nor did it abandon its well-established commitment to the two-state solution. Russia's rhetoric and its high-level diplomacy primarily serve to court the pro-Palestinian Global South and to escape the diplomatic isolation sparked by the war in Ukraine.