Defeatism cannot be an answer to a brutal display of power

Sometimes it seems like there's no stopping it. Within 24 hours, the two wars deeply affecting Europe this week attracted attention with a sensational escalation by leaders who believe they are untouchable. On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a building in Doha where Hamas leaders were reportedly discussing a new American peace proposal. Qatar has been trying to establish a reputation in recent years as a safe haven for difficult talks. With the missile attack, Israel violated Qatar's sovereignty and flouted all diplomatic norms.

With this maneuver, Israel also made it perfectly clear once again that it is not at all interested in an agreement with Hamas. Israel wants Hamas wiped off the map. Israel wants capitulation, not agreements. There is no Gaza peace process; there is only a Gaza siege.

Israel is exhibiting the behavior of a rogue fighter for whom the end justifies the means. With a superior air force and years of experience carrying out assassinations abroad, Israel is attempting to manipulate the dynamics of an entire region. It accepts difficult relations with Arab countries as part of the deal, presumably hoping to work towards normalizing relations later—after Gaza.

For now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is getting away with this all-or-nothing approach thanks to steadfast American support. The only person who could persuade Netanyahu to moderate is President Donald Trump, and he's failing to do so.

Trump and Netanyahu share a dangerous trait: Trump, too, thinks he is above the law and the rules, that he can get away with anything. He, too, operates according to the adage attributed to Louis XIV: L'État, c'est moi (It is my state ). Washington should be making efforts to stop the genocide in Gaza in accordance with international law. Instead, the White House dreams of a commercially attractive coastline.

Barely recovered from the latest Israeli escalation, Europe awoke Wednesday morning to the news that NATO, for the first time in Putin's war with Ukraine, had shot down Russian drones over NATO territory. Putin's drone provocation is one of a long series of incidents and bears all the hallmarks of a hybrid attack: easily deniable and not so serious as to practically compel the enemy to retaliate. The Russians quickly denied that it was intentional, but it is unlikely that they were strays, actually intended for Ukraine. Approximately 20 drones reached Poland via two different routes, with several penetrating quite deeply into Polish airspace.

Vladimir Putin is another man who, by invading a sovereign country, has proven his disregard for rules. And he, too, acts as if he's untouchable. He has responded to countless peace initiatives in recent months with drone and missile strikes on civilian targets. In Ukraine, too, despite all Western initiatives, there is no peace process.

The world is thus being scourged by men who believe themselves untouchable – during a visit to China, Putin even speculated with President Xi Jinping about the possibility of living to 150 thanks to medical advances. Confronted with such unchecked power, there are theoretically two options. Defeatism, because there's no way to deal with such power and intimidating behavior. Or perseverance in the arduous struggle for law, justice, and humanitarian decency.

The reactions to Doha and the drones were not particularly impressive, but they also showed that not everyone has yet accepted that the only right is the right of the strongest. The UN Security Council, barely able to do anything in recent years, condemned the Israeli attack on Doha. The US did not use its veto to protect Israel this time. Israel had little to fear from Europe until now either. The EU is divided, and only a few countries—Spain, Ireland—are taking serious measures. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally called for a partial trade embargo this week. She may be speculating that the EU member states will not reach an agreement, but it is at least something. It remains unacceptable that Europe is not taking tougher action against a friendly country waging a genocidal war.

In response to the drones, several European countries, including the Netherlands, summoned the Russian ambassador. The drone provocation is a political test for the alliance, which took some time to formulate a collective response. A strong political response from NATO is essential. If that response is not forthcoming, the next provocation will not be long in coming.

A convincing NATO response, however, requires Trump to side with the Europeans. His initial reaction was half-hearted and strikingly pro-Putin: it might be a mistake, he thought.

Anyone who cares about the fate of the Palestinians and a sovereign Ukraine, who cares about an independent and democratic Europe and an international order in which rules provide stability for small countries, cannot afford the luxury of defeatism. And: invulnerability is never eternal. Just ask former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was forced to leave power at the end of last year, or Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison this week for an attempted coup.