How does a war end? That’s the age-old conundrum the parties involved in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are being asked to solve—and, paradoxically, given its intractability, to do so themselves.

And if things are a little clearer in the Middle East, they remain anything but in Ukraine.

In the Middle East, the Palestinians have once again missed a historic opportunity to build a peaceful and unfanatical state entity that could over time seek a basis for coexistence with Israel.

It is not clear if another such opportunity will present itself, and if it does, on what terms.

In Ukraine, no such opportunity has ever existed, and it is unclear whether it will any time soon.

Russia has been seeking to mold a subservient, truncated and Russophile Ukraine by various means, military and non, since the 2010s. The ideal for them would be a sort of “21st-century Finland.”

Readers will recall that even before the invasion, Putin had publicly denied the existence of a “Ukrainian nation”, repeating an old trope of Russian politics.

For their part, however, the Ukrainians have shown no inclination to go along with Russia’s plan. Understandably, having gained their independence, they do not want to exercise their freedom under Russian tutelage. And who could blame them.

In both cases, we have “a denial of the Other”, along with the wielding of political power.

But because I doubt there are any logical people who do not want the see the wars end, I think it more likely they don’t know how to end them.

That, and two unfortunate circumstances.

No one really foresaw the world having to deal with a second Trump administration, nor that its policies would be so chaotic that Washington would be stand accused of pro-Moscow bias!

Just as few expected Europe to prove quite so weak and indecisive.

Given all this, ending the wars is looking increasingly unlikely, and it is far from obvious that a possible ceasefire will lead to peace.

Of course there is one limiting factor: the endurance of the warring parties.

Israel has already achieved military dominance, and Iran has fled the scene. For its part, Ukraine has not managed to expel Russia from the Ukrainian territories it has occupied.

Over and above that, one thing is certain: there can be no settlement without the Palestinians, nor any solution without Ukraine.

And for the wars to really end, everyone has to grasp that.