One might wonder if, behind the diplomatic curtain, discreet bargaining would not be out of the way: a tacit green light given to Israel to crush Gaza, in exchange for an implicit recognition of the Russian occupation in the east-but also in the South-East-of Ukraine. Of course, no tangible evidence has yet leaked, no official agreement has been signed on this frozen paper called international law. But between the lines, in the shade of the summits and the well orchestrated press conferences, the logic of a giving-back could well dictate the decisions of the powerful.
Israel, armed to the teeth, benefits from unshakable support from Washington, ready to look at devastation in Gaza under the guise of anti -terrorism. In parallel, we see Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin exchanging in Alaska, evoking in half a word the possibility of a territorial sharing in Ukraine. One crushes, the other nibbles, and the great powers would look elsewhere, tacitly accepting this forced recomposition of the cards.
We can gladly imagine that behind the scenes of power, an informal “deal” would circulate: you, Israel, you have a free field in Gaza, and you, Russia, you keep your achievements in the east and south-east of Ukraine. Everyone wins, provided that the great geopolitical balances are respected. It would be a cynical scenario, but not improbable, in a world where the rights of peoples disappear before the strategic and economic interests of superpowers.
This hypothesis, of course, denounces the bankruptcy of the international community to impose a minimum of justice and equity. It highlights the ambiguous, even accomplice role, of the great democracies which prefer to negotiate behind closed doors rather than to clearly defend the principles which they claim to embody. In this shadow theater, the victims, Palestinian or Ukrainian, are only sacrificed pawns on the altar of secret arrangements.
So yes, all this is only assumed, but the facts and the coincidences feed this suspicion: the diplomacy of silence and compromise would prevail cold pragmatism on morality and legality. And while these invisible negotiations take place, reality on the ground is written in blood and pain.
It is up to us, vigilant citizens, to denounce this cruel chess game and to recall that behind each geopolitical transaction, there are human lives, broken hopes, and a glaring emergency to redefine a fairer world order.
By Issa Ben Hmida
