Conflict in Ukraine is war, in Gaza it's Terrorism
What has been happening in Ukraine and what is happening in Gaza are perfect illustrations to describe the difference between war and terrorism.
War is aimed at the landscape of a state and its sovereignty. Its aim is to collapse the economic infrastructures and army. It is not aimed at civilians. The civilians are collateral damage if they are caught in the belligerence.
For this reason, Russia first evacuated children and repatriated foreigners from Ukraine before attacking the buildings and army. We have seen civilians being moved to remote areas where they captured bombings far away from the incidents.
Just recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin met President Cyril Ramaphosa in Russia and stated how children were legally evacuated. Ramaphosa encouraged the evacuated children to be moved back at a "faster pace" after the war. What happened in Ukraine can be classified as war.
However, Russia contravened article 4 of the UN Charter which prohibits the attack of the sovereignty of another state. Putin has been charged at the International Criminal Court for contravening article 4 of the UN Charter and can be arrested for attacking the sovereignty of Ukraine.
Terrorism, on the other hand, is not aimed at the infrastructure of a state or its army. It is aimed at innocent civilians in large numbers. In this case, bombs are targeted at buildings occupied by a large number of civilians, without first evacuating them. Civilians are in this case targets, and buildings are collateral damage.
We have seen how in Gaza, bombs were targeted at hospitals occupied by patients and schools occupied by children. It has been reported that since October 7, more than 3 800 Palestinians have died and more than 13 000 have been injured as a result of the bombings in Gaza.
In addition, Gaza has been recognized by the international community, in a UN Security Council Resolution that was passed, as a territory belonging to the Palestinians. Therefore, Israel is also contravening article 4 of the UN Charter by attacking the sovereignty of Palestinians.
Professor Noam Chomsky, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has written numerous books about the Israel and Palestine conflict. In his book The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians, he wrote that "since 1967, a broad international consensus has taken shape, including Europe, the USSR, and most of the non-aligned nations" to initially advocate for a settlement "to help assure peace and tranquillity".
This was envisaged in UN Security Council Resolution 242, which he further wrote, "from the mid 1970s", according to "(its) terms of the international consensus included the concept of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip".
It is clear that the US fails to respond to Israel in the same way it has been responding to Russia under the same circumstances as Gaza was recognised as belonging Palestine according to a UN Security Council Resolution and also despite the fact that Israel was more atrocious in attacking Palestinians.