Donald Trump Archives - Page 2 of 37

Battle of Wills: Resistance V. Israeli Settlements

CrossFireArabia
June 10, 2026

As a part of its broader policy push to increase Israeli settlement presence in the occupied West Bank, Israel has approved recently the construction of more than 2,000 new housing units distributed across several strategic locations.

Pushing to annex more and more of the Palestinian territory Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a major expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich, who holds authority over parts of Israel’s civilian administration in the West Bank, said on 3 June that a planning committee had approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes, of which 1,006 units will be in a new illegal settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the city of Nablus and 234 near Hebron.

“We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice,” Smotrich said in a statement.

The new homes would “strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel’s security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state in the heart of the country”, he added.

Smotrich has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom, France, and other states, which accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.

The minister has denounced the sanctions and said they would not change Israeli policy.

Besides, on June 4, Israeli forces had delivered demolition notices to a number of shops at the intersection of the town of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus, to make way for a colonial road.

Meanwhile, some settlers stormed the village of Deir Sudan, northwest of Ramallah, accompanied by bulldozers, to seize it.

The developments come months after the Israeli government approved a land registration process in February that allowed Israel to take territory as “state property” if Palestinians could not prove ownership.

Palestinians seek the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as part of a future independent state.

Israel, meanwhile, maintains military and administrative control over large parts of the territory, while expanding illegal settlements in several areas.

The settlement expansion comes amid ongoing debate within Israel’s political leadership over the future of the occupied territories.

The Israeli Knesset gave on June 4 final approval to legislation granting tax exemptions to dozens of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Knesset said lawmakers approved the bill on its final reading, granting tax benefits to illegal settlements located in what it called the “eastern confrontation line zone.”

The legislation was sponsored by Knesset members Zvi Sukkot, from the Religious Zionism party led by Finance Minister

Bezalel Smotrich, and Limor Son Har-Melech, from the far-right Jewish Power party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with other lawmakers.

The bill passed by 32-23 votes. Under the law, occupants will be entitled to tax exemptions throughout the tax year and may choose among available tax benefits if they qualify for more than one exemption.

The legislation is set to take effect in January 2027 and remain in force through Dec. 31, 2027. It also authorizes the finance minister, with approval from the Knesset Finance Committee, to extend its validity for additional periods of up to two years each.

In a report published at the end of May, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said the law would classify dozens of illegal settlements as areas whose residents are eligible for substantial tax benefits.

The group noted that the original bill sought to extend tax benefits to all settlements but was narrowed due to its high cost and professional objections, ultimately applying to 58 illegal settlements.

According to Peace Now, the updated version primarily includes illegal settlements where support for the Religious Zionism party is particularly strong.

The international community considers settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution.

Netanyahu’s government has openly championed a significant expansion of illegal settlement activity since taking office at the end of 2022. According to Peace Now estimates, more than 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem.

While some international actors have warned against further annexation or expansion, enforcement measures remain limited.

The United States has historically expressed opposition to settlement expansion, although its positions have varied in intensity depending on administration policy.

On its part US President Donald Trump ‘s administration has been far less critical of the fast-expanding Israeli settlements.

The approval of thousands of new settlement homes further entrenches Israeli presence in the West Bank and complicates already fragile prospects for a negotiated political settlement.

Additionally, settlement expansion changes demographic and geographic realities on the ground, making territorial compromise increasingly difficult and it reinforces perceptions that a viable independent state is becoming harder to achieve.

For Israel, supporters of settlement growth argue it strengthens security and consolidates control over strategically important areas while critics, , say it increases friction with Palestinian communities and fuels long term instability.

However, with diplomatic efforts largely stalled, continued expansion is likely to remain a central flashpoint in the conflict and a key issue in deepening regional tensions.

Najla M. Shahwan is a Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist and published this article in the Jordan Times

Opinion

World Cup: Trump, Political Footballing and Iran – A View From Amman

Saleem Ayoub Quna
June 9, 2026

This summer promises to be unlike any previous or future summers in the history of mankind. It will witness an unprecedented convergence of two big, unrelated in substance, events that will be the focus of attention of all nations around the globe. One of those events might and indeed, should tip the balance!

On the battle grounds of these two big events, tears will be shed, hearts will be broken and plans flopped! On both occasions, the crucial component of vanity in the human brain would develop into a dubious concept that in each game you play or a confrontation you get involved in, you must be the winner, no matter what!

What would the other side be saying?

As the clock ticks forward, the hostilities in the Middle East or more precisely the off-and-on-rounds of ‘war of choice’ by the US and Israel against Iran’s plans for itself and the region, bounce up and down in a blurred fashion; making it difficult, to see whether those hostilities will continue, as the Israeli Prime Minister wants them to, or whether they will be ordered by Donald Trump to stop, even temporarily, but for completely different reasons.

President Trump’s interest and role in this affair is central and crucial, not only because his country, along with Mexico and Canada, will host the football tournaments matches and because his army is stuck in the quagmire he helped to create in the Middle East since June 2025.

Now and in these final hours before the big sports event kicks off next week, the political ball is also being played, openly bouncing back and forth by Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump and Iran, each according to a specific domestic political agenda and in a dramatic fashion. Indeed, it could threaten the destiny of FIFA’s well-planned agenda, at the expense of letting Israel continue its quasi-impossible crusade against Iran!

Trump on the other hand, and besides the other signs he gave, might opt for a peaceful outcome to his quarrel with Iran. He has few other concerns at home such as the 250th anniversary of his country’s independence, his own birthday party to celebrate, rising prices of gas and inflation to curb, local partisan elections and opinion polls to worry about; lastly off course, he has to guarantee the smooth running of the world cup matches in his country for a whole month.

Now let’s dig deeper in this business of political footballing.

The US and Iran according to the FIFA program belong to two different groups: Fourth and seventh. To qualify for the second level of the tournament, each has to play three matches and win. The US against Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. Iran against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.

Both teams have reasonable chances to pass through this first stage.

Let’s imagine that after a month-long matches between the 48-competing nations, Iran and the US end up facing each other in the final match for the world trophy.

In such a case, heads of states whose teams were playing, are supposed to be present watching and cheering their teams from the premium seating area. Whoever the winner might be, the players, coaches and political leaders would be approaching each other and shaking hands. One saying: “Congratulation” and the other: “Hard luck”!

One more time, picture Donald Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei shaking hands and exchanging these words live, while the whole world is watching!

At such a moment, the real war back on the grounds of the Middle East, would not be more than a fading ripple on the surface of a remote lake!

Opinion

‘I Hate Israel’

marwan
June 8, 2026

By Ismail Al Sharif

On 4 June, the Pew Research Center released a survey titled: “Most People in 36 Countries Have a Negative View of Israel and No Trust in Netanyahu.”

The study, which polled 44,657 people worldwide, revealed that negative views of Israel have become prevalent in most of the surveyed countries. On average, 67% of respondents hold a negative view of Israel, compared to only 25% who expressed a positive one.

Notably, the study found only a handful of countries—no more than a handful—where Israel enjoyed a positive view among the majority of their people.

Perhaps most importantly, this decline is no longer limited to Muslim-majority countries or societies historically known for their negative stance toward Israel. It now extends to Western countries whose people were traditionally considered supporters of Israel.

In Europe, North America, and Australia, negative views are growing, particularly among young people and those on the political left. The study indicates that young people in several countries hold more negative views of Israel than the older generations there, making the crisis far from a passing phenomenon and giving it a generational character that could have long-lasting effects.

The study also shows the division over Israel has become clearly ideological. In the United States, for example, liberals hold far more negative views than conservatives, and young Americans are more critical of Israel than the older generations. This pattern is repeated in other Western countries, where the left tends to hold even more anti-Israel positions than the right.

President Donald Trump was right when he told the war criminal [Benjamin] Netanyahu in a phone call that the world hates him; the world’s hatred for him even surpasses its hatred for Israel. The study found that a majority in most countries do not trust him. In the United States, 59% of respondents do not trust him, compared to only 27% who do. Even among American Jews, although the positive view of Israel remains relatively high, trust in Netanyahu appears to be significantly low.

The study also indicates that some countries register very high levels of negativity toward Israel, such as in Turkey, where the negative view reached 97%. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 85% expressed a negative opinion, compared to only 4% who expressed a positive one. It should be noted that the study did not include Gaza.

The few remaining points of support are mainly confined to some African countries, such as Kenya and Ghana, due to Zionist influence in them, but they do not amount to a clear majority in support of Israel. As for Netanyahu, he enjoys the trust of a majority of the population in only two countries: Kenya and the Philippines, where he is seen as a strong leader.

Unfortunately, this study did not include the opinion of Jordanians regarding Israel or the war criminal Netanyahu, an opinion that, in reality, does not require extensive polling. The Jordanian position on Israel and Netanyahu is well-known and consistent, and is confirmed by other studies.

A recent Arab Barometer survey revealed that Jordanians’ view of Western policies has sharply declined due to the Gaza war, with 81% believing that the United States defends Zionist interests. A 2023 Washington Institute poll found that 84% of Jordanians oppose establishing trade relations with Israel, even if they bring economic benefits to Jordan, and 76% refuse to accept humanitarian aid from Israel, even in times of disaster.

A 2025 survey of Jordanian university students showed that 92.6% consider Israel as the “main enemy” of Jordan and the Arab world.

Besides Jordan, the study omitted the countries surrounding Israel: Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. This omission is perhaps questionable, as the populations of these countries hold a deeply negative view of Israel and its prime minister. Their figures would have provided conclusive evidence that Israel remains a foreign entity in the region, despite peace agreements and economic interests that have failed to alter public opinion.

These figures would have raised broader questions among the world’s populations about the very notion of Israel’s acceptance within its surrounding region. If this entity is indeed surrounded by such rejection and hatred, then the logic of history and geography dictates that the region will ultimately reject it.

This article was first published in the Arabic Addustour daily newspaper and reprinted in crossfirearabia.com

Analyses

‘Insulting Phone Call’, Beirut, Iran and Changing Dynamics

CrossFireArabia
June 3, 2026

By Abdul Bari Atwan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrated his ability to effectively redraw the maps and borders of the Middle East when he backed down from striking Beirut’s southern suburb to completely destroying it. He succumbed to the threats and pressure from US President Donald Trump. In this respect here, Iran can be considered to have become a regional superpower not only in the Middle East, the West and Central Asia, but globally.

Trump, who previously threatened to wipe Iran off the map and unleash hell upon it, destroying all its energy and electricity infrastructure, scurried like a frightened rabbit to the phone to call Netanyahu in a “call of insults,” ordering him to immediately halt all plans to bomb Beirut’s southern suburb and withdraw his troops and warplanes en route to the area, just hours before the bombings and destructions where to begin.

***

In a Washington Post interview, Trump completely changed his threatening tone and began pleading for peace with Iran, after extending the unilateral ceasefire by 60 days. More importantly, he expressed his desire for a summit with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as soon as an agreement is reached, and confirmed that Mojtaba, whom he had previously claimed was no longer alive, is now involved in the decision-making process regarding war and peace in the current conflict.

The new and effective ‘password’ in the Middle East, reflecting Iran’s “power shift,” is embodied in its thunderous response to the Israeli threat to destroy the southern suburb of Beirut, western Bekaa Valley, and Nabatieh. Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones to strike deep into occupied Israel, sending a clear message: “Greater Tel Aviv in exchange for the southern suburb.”

The Iranian leadership, backed by a solid popular base, a highly advanced missile and drone industry, a naval fleet, and over 460 kilograms of uranium enriched above 60%—enriched to produce 10 nuclear bombs in a few days—says what it means and acts accordingly. It will not tolerate injustice and is prepared for all eventualities.

There is ample evidence to support this assertion, as demonstrated early Wednesday morning when Iranian missiles and drones struck US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for attacks on an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and a communications tower on Qeshm Island, both launched from these bases.

The American-Israeli alliance has, since the October War of 1973, grown accustomed to a deeply ingrained official Arab subservience, a failure to respond to any Israeli aggression, and a refusal to reject any American dictates. Most Arab leaders turn the other cheek to Israeli and American slaps, becoming indifferent to the situation. But now, someone has emerged to uproot this system of surrender and usher in a new, truly Islamic era—an era of resistance, where the response is not merely in kind, but in a stronger and more significant way.

Mohsen Rezaei, advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, summarized this new military, political, and moral upheaval in a statement saying, “America and its president, Trump, should expect a barrage of missiles (hypersonic and cluster warheads) and drones should they renew their aggression against Iran.”

Netanyahu, who craved the limelight and the humiliation of Arabs, and who rubbed his hands with glee at the long line of Arab leaders queuing before his office seeking normalization and the signing of the Abraham Accords, has fallen silent and disappeared from the public eye. He no longer dares to threaten to destroy Iran alone, without America’s participation in the aggression.

The dictates Trump issued just days ago, the shifting balance of power on the ground, and Iran’s threat of retaliation for any aggression against Lebanon have evaporated. The American president, as a New York Times editorial acknowledged, has failed miserably in all his wars since arriving at the White House a year and a half ago—in Iran, Ukraine, and the Gaza Strip—and has not achieved his objectives and has become a laughingstock.

As for the Gulf states – those that normalized relations and/or those that were eager to join the “Abraham Accords” to avoid angering Trump and rejecting his demands – they reached a firm conviction that America is incapable of protecting itself, its bases, and its ships.

The most prominent evidence of this is the destruction of American military bases in their countries, including the US Navy base in Bahrain, and the closure of these bases and Saudi airspace to planes and drones, whilst preventing them from launching attacks on Iran from their territory. They saved the Hajj season, just as they saved themselves and their people from the consequences of the mirage of American power.

***

In conclusion, we sympathize with our Kuwaiti brothers who were injured as a result of an Iranian missile attack on the passenger terminal at Kuwait Airport, whether by mistake or deliberately. However, the blame lies entirely with those who allowed America to use Kuwaiti territory as a launching pad for aggression against Islamic Iran. America possesses three aircraft carriers and more than 300 warships in the Arabian Sea, so why didn’t it use them in this aggression? And why does it insist on using its bases in the Gulf states, thereby endangering millions of their citizens?

Abdul Bari Atwan is the Chief Editor of the Arabic Al Rai Al Youm and his piece has appeared in the English crossfirearabia.com English website.

Opinion

Oslo: Strangling The Dove

Dr Khairi Janbek
May 10, 2026

By Dr Khairi Janbek

When we do a recap of the Oslo Agreements, they were a series of accords between Israel and the PLO signed in 1993. It was a process meant to lead to a permanent settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within five year, including decisions on borders, refugees, security, Jerusalem and settlements.

But right from the start, voices were divided over the process, while for others, the whole idea had a built-in mechanism for failure from the start. The Palestinians started seeing that the Oslo Agreements were neither ending the establishment of Israeli settlements nor the end to occupation, while for the Israelis it didn’t seem to end their security concerns.

Indeed, it is pointless to think which comes first, the chicken or the egg, because two different fears and logistics persisted from the start. But also, it is important to think about the circumstances which brought about the idea of launching the process, and which did put the PLO in a tough position for being perceived as supporting the wrong side which lost; Iraq.

The room for manoeuvre for the late Yasser Arafat was very tight as he stood to lose the legitimacy of the PLO.

What one is trying to say is that, right from the start, outside official circles, many on the Palestinian side were against Oslo probably as many as was the case on the Israeli side.

The gradual erosion of Oslo mainly through the continued Israeli actions kept feeding extremism on both sides. Nevertheless, the concept was not revoked by any Israeli government because of its effect on Arab public opinion, pressure which is likely to block any peace initiative. Moreover, the international atmosphere was not conducive for such an initiative.

Having said that, one cannot claim that the international atmosphere is currently more indifferent to the abrogation of the Oslo, rather Israel seems to have more leeway in undertaking unilateral actions with more impunity.

Of course, it is not international law that can be counted on in this respect but rather, at least for the time being Donald Trump’s disapproval of the idea of annexing the West Bank by Israel. This is despite the fact that all the Israeli actions of dividing the West Bank from north to south first and currently from west to east, goes unnoticed. But the important thing has been till now, and don’t say the magic word, end of Oslo.

However, the recent development is that Israeli political parties, the partners in Netanyahu’s government are all pushing openly, for the abrogation of the Oslo agreements and cancelling out all the Israeli obligations towards it.

One can only say such an open declaration is a matter of principle by the Israeli government, because the changes on the ground are there for all to see. One supposes all parties are playing for time to see the end of the Palestinian national aspirations.

The columnist is a Jordanian writer based in Paris, France