• Trump’s track record has been terrible when it came to Palestinian rights and sovereignty but a looming regional war could force him to act.
• Will Trump’s history with Netanyahu impact his decisions now?
After a shocking Trump victory in the US presidential election with Trump winning all the key swing states, the question arises: how could this impact the Middle East and the Muslim world for the next 4 years and beyond?
Donald Trump, 78, is now set to be inaugurated on January 20th after the last few months of Biden’s presidency come to an end.
For the first time in all of Trump’s years as president, he will have secured the Senate, the House, and the presidency under the Republican Belt, something that will give him more power and influence than his previous presidency.
From the huge abstention and rejection of the Kamala-led Democratic party by the Muslim and Arab American voters due to the genocide in Gaza to the massive post-COVID economic crisis in the US with the world becoming ever more unstable under a Biden presidency, it’s no surprise Americans turned to Trump once more, although the confirmation of reasons is yet to reach the surface.
Trump thanking Muslim voters in Michigan, a key swing state where the Muslim vote had a dramatic effect on Trumps re-election.
Could Trump be stricter on Netanyahu than Biden and Kamala?
One of the main reasons for the reluctance of the Biden administration to act and work to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza, even when it is quickly transforming into a regional war that doesn’t befit its interests, is the fact that election day was looming ahead as the genocide continued.
This created a sense of fear for Biden’s Democratic Party to act in fear of losing the support of the Zionist base supporters and powerful Zionist allies it is forced to satisfy, thus impacting the chances of the Democratic Party’s succession in the ballot box.
The upcoming Trump administration, however, does not need to fear such a thing as they now have complete control of both the senate, the House, and the presidency, so number one, they do not need to worry about internal strife among rogue Zionist peers as the administration has such a huge majority, but also because a presidential election is 4 years away, it also doesn’t need to feel fear that Netanyahu could hurt it at home.
Donald Trumps letter to Netanyahu during the height of the election campaign
In a reported letter to Netanyahu at the height of Trump’s election campaign, Trump said that he wants the Gaza campaign over by the time he takes office; however, it must be noted that any peace deal is likely to be heavily in Israel’s favour with the potential of proposed permanent occupation of the Gaza strip along with more areas of the West Bank.
The returning president has also said he wants a quick deal to end the Lebanon conflict if Biden is not able to secure one in his last few months in power.
All in all, this falls into Trump’s vision of an America not involved in everlasting wars in the Middle East, but rather an America that is stable on the international stage and not leaking its tax payers money.
Trump speaks against the Iraq war in the presidential race in 2016
Trump cut off aid to UNWRA years before October 7
In 2018, well before the Gaza genocide began, Trump cut off all US funding to UNWRA (the only UN aid agency in Gaza); only three years later it was restored by the Biden administration.
The reason being was to satisfy Netanyahu and the Israeli administration while also playing into the concept of isolation of the US not being involved and thus not paying for other people across the world.
UNWRA serves not just the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza but also refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Last week Israel labelled UNWRA a terrorist organisation and effectively banned UNWRA from operating after 90 days. The majority of humanitarian assistance going into Gaza comes from UNWRA, and this will leave hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine.
The current secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, and defence secretary Lloyd Austin, both in the Biden administration, have sent a letter to Netanyahu giving a 30-day deadline for reallowing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and challenging Israel’s plan to close down UNWRA otherwise face weapon restrictions.
The deadline ends on November 12; however, if the US government does pursue a weapon restriction, it will not have much effect if Trump decides to reverse it on January 20th, when he is inaugurated.
Trump’s recognition of Golan Heights as part of Israel
In 2019, Trump recognised the occupied Golan Heights belonging to Syria as part of Israel, something rejected by the majority of UN member states.
On top of that, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thus recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and legitimising Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem and their pledge of complete sovereignty over East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims, is located.
Trump is the biggest wildcard for American foreign policy
During Trump’s previous term of presidency, the withdrawal from Afghanistan was planned and commenced.
During Trump’s previous term, the prospective withdrawal from Iraq and Syria became ever closer.
As an isolationist ruler who wants to prioritise the needs of the US over the needs of the international community, it’s very possible that Trump may choose to prevent escalation between Iran and Israel by forcing the need for a pause in fighting. It must be remembered, however, that Christian Zionism is prevalent throughout Trump’s base supporters, and there could be enormous pressure on Trump to withhold hardcore action against Israel to force a peace deal through.
The election campaign that brought Trump on his way to the presidency for the second time was filled with the connotation of retribution and revenge. Instead of making lots of big promises like in the 2016 election, Trump’s campaign was filled with resentment.
It must be remembered that Netanyahu in the past has also angered Trump.
After President Biden was elected in 2021, Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump while Trump was disputing the election.
During two interviews, Trump repeatedly criticised Netanyahu; he said, “The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with. … Bibi could have stayed quiet.
“He has made a terrible mistake.”
Trump believed that he’d helped ensure Netanyahu’s political survival but did not receive the same in return.
If Trump’s presidency is marred with retribution and revenge, as it was in the election campaign on all those who he believes have wronged him, there is no telling whether Netanyahu will escape.
All in all, it is very uncertain which way American foreign policy will go in regards to Palestine, Iran, Israel, and the Middle East.
Trump criticises Netanyahu in 2023
