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Trump, Gaza and The New Political Ploy

CrossFireArabia
February 7, 2025

Dr Sami Al-Arian

The infamous 19th-century imperialist and racial supremacist, Cecil Rhodes, once remarked: “It is our duty to seize every opportunity to acquire more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race.” He then added: “Just fancy those parts that are at present inhabited by the most despicable specimens of human beings, what an alteration there would be if they were brought under Anglo-Saxon influence.”

More than a century later, US President Donald Trump expressed similar attitudes during his meeting on Feb. 4, with the Israeli prime minister and indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, when he said: “We will take over the Gaza Strip, will own it long-term and will redevelop it … I do see a long-term ownership position.” In a settler-colonialist spirit, Trump callously continued, “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza is not a place for people to be living.” He neglected to mention, of course, the exception for Jewish settlers in prime real estate along the Gaza beach. He then added, “They’re living in hell,” without any hint of irony, considering the 15-month US-sponsored genocide, supported by funds, bombs, and diplomatic protection.

Strategic agenda and regional dynamics

There were many items on the agenda between Trump and Netanyahu, including Iran’s nuclear program, the future of Gaza and the West Bank, and normalization with Saudi Arabia.

To be sure, Trump was not an unknown quantity. In his first term, he demonstrated total hostility towards the Palestinians and embraced the most radical positions espoused by extremist Zionists. These included recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocating the US Embassy there, the annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights (occupied by Israel since 1967), the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, DC, ending all humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) or US agencies, and integrating Israel within US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military command responsible for a region stretching from Egypt to Afghanistan.

Furthermore, throughout his presidency Trump completely disregarded the so-called two-state solution — a long-touted US goal — in favor of Netanyahu’s approach of normalizing relations with Washington’s Arab client regimes while pursuing an aggressive settlement expansion policy intended to establish a de facto Greater Israel. In effect, it appears that “Trump 2.0” is trying, in his own way, to fulfill his promises of securing a greater Israel for his right-wing Zionist donors [1], benefactors [2] and appointees [3]. The proposal to forcefully remove over 2 million Palestinians from Gaza does not appear serious or achievable, since the Palestinians will never cooperate in their own displacement, nor would neighboring countries be willing to support a dangerous plan that would destabilize the region. In the past, Trump proposed similar hyperbolic ideas that failed to materialize, including his calls [4] for constructing a Riviera on the beaches of North Korea.

Netanyahu came to the White House with several objectives in mind. He sought Trump’s support to continue his war of extermination in Gaza after freeing many Israeli captives at the end of the first stage of the ceasefire deal. His political allies pressured him to resume the war in order to achieve his elusive objective of dislodging Hamas and eradicating the resistance — an aim he has not accomplished during the 15-month onslaught. It would appear that Trump wants to achieve this goal using political means through his outrageous proposal rather than through military pressure. If that is the case, this would be Trump’s way of handing Netanyahu the fig leaf he needs to silence his hard right critics and conclude the second stage of the ceasefire deal.

On Iran, Trump has doubled down on his policy of applying extreme pressure through economic sanctions in order to get the Iranians to negotiate a deal on their nuclear program. In return, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called [5] for “maximum wisdom” to be applied to relations between Washington and Tehran, instead of the “maximum pressure” policy Trump has espoused. Since these are the early stages of diplomatic maneuverings, it’s very doubtful that Netanyahu received a green light from Trump to use military strikes against Iran in the near term.

On the West Bank, the Zionist regime has been escalating its aggressive settlement policy as well as its unprecedented attacks on several Palestinian cities, particularly against refugee camps in Jenin, Nablus, Tobas and Tulkarem.

Towards a Saudi-Israeli accord and its fallout

In the past, Trump and many of his administration officials, such as the new US ambassador to the Zionist regime, Mike Huckabee, have endorsed the expansion of Israeli settlements and the calls for annexing large parts of the West Bank. But backing such a policy now will certainly impede the central piece of Trump’s main objective in the region, which is to conclude a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. To negotiate a deal with the Saudis, Trump must rein in Netanyahu and his extremist allies by promising them what they desire most: a Gaza free not only of Hamas’ rule but also of Palestinians, as well as the annexation of a large part of the West Bank, in exchange for a normalization deal with the Saudis and possibly beyond.

The Israelis certainly know that they will not get the Palestinians to leave voluntarily when they could not compel them to do that through their genocidal war. They recognize that they cannot unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank before the normalization deal with the Saudis is concluded. They also know that Trump has a very long agenda, both domestically and internationally, particularly with regard to the Ukraine war and China, and will not allow a devastating war with Iran to disrupt his agenda. Once the fog of the visit clears, it will become apparent that Trump’s primary policy in the Middle East is to cement a Saudi-Israeli agreement, one that cannot be finalized without putting a hold on other contentious issues such as a military escalation with Iran, West Bank annexation, or the resumption of the Gaza genocide. But that does not mean that the Zionist regime and its supporters within the Trump administration will not push hard to achieve all their objectives in Gaza, the West Bank and against Iran. Regardless, the Palestinians and their supporters worldwide must be vigilant to resist and defeat all their nefarious plans, particularly in Gaza, the West Bank, as well as any plans to integrate a genocidal regime in the region.

People across the Middle East have witnessed the true colors of the Zionist regime. Achieving a normalization deal with the Saudis or any other party would require nothing less than the total erasure of their collective memory. It would appear that the main lesson of the Oct. 7 attacks has not been learned. They took place at a time when regional and international actors had all but buried the Palestinian cause and ignored the plight of the Palestinians in pursuit of their own interests. Not only will none of the policies advanced by Trump address these issues, but they will exacerbate them. And thus, like his forgotten deal of the century, these policies are doomed to fail.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/us/politics/miriam-adelson-trump-israel.html

[2] https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/from-jared-kushner-to-miriam-adelson-meet-the-jewish-figures-in-trumps-inner-circle-sllz2ky1

[3] https://www.palestinechronicle.com/from-stefanik-to-hucabee-donald-trumps-cabinet-is-a-pro-israel-swamp/

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-iTikGb-CY

[5] https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/02/06/irans-foreign-minister-calls-for-maximum-wisdom-in-response-to-trumps-maximum-pressure-tehran-policy/

Dr Sami Al Arian is public affairs professor and the director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Sabahattin Zaim University in Istanbul.

Opinion

Oslo Accords, Old Memories

Dr Khairi Janbek
October 24, 2024

By Dr Khairi Janbek

When the Oslo Accords was signed, the greatest achievement was seen as being, the breakthrough in the impasse of mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel. They both recognized each other’s right to exist, and that was all about it. Of course everyone knew then as much as now, that crucial issues were not addressed, but the whole picture was: Israelis and Palestinians will no longer kill each other.

As for how to proceed in order to establish a two-state solution from there on was left to the future to take its own course without any hint even at the end of the five-year transitional period when there was supposed to a be sovereign Palestinian state. From then on it was a matter of illusions; Palestinian illusions as well as Israeli illusions.

For the PLO, the hope was that by accepting 22% of the Palestinian lands and relinquishing the right on the rest of the territories, a Palestinian state can be built with parts of East Jerusalem as its capital, while for the Israelis, a Palestinian “ bantustan” governed by the PLO, dependent on Israel with limited ‘petro-dolar’ support was the limit.

But who came out to make a name for himself right from the start as the fierce opponent of Oslo; it was of course Mr Benjamin Netanyahu. Was his opposition taken seriously, indeed it was, but all hopes were pinned on US support to keep the situation stagnant in the format of a no Palestinian state but also no Israeli re-occupation.

However, this stagnation is brought in back today as Oslo came to end by the Palestinians and Israelis effectively killing each other and a situation of non-contextual relevance to the once seen as a historical agreement. Indeed, when the guns spill death, words tend to be superfluous, but ultimately the guns will stop and the words will start flowing again with the Oslo Accords consigned to the shelves of history.

What would all this mean in a US election year it is hard to say, and even harder to predict. How would the future occupant of the White House call the shots in the Middle East, given the fact, and forgive the cliche, the region is indeed on the brink of a big war.

Will there be a new pressure from the US for a new wider peace accord between the Arabs and the Israelis that can guarantee within it at least, the minimum of Palestinian rights, or a semblance of an accord forced on the wreckage of a post big regional war, for which the winner gets the spoils? It is a hard to tell, but it won’t take too long to find out.

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian writer based in Paris and the above opinion is that of the author and doesn’t reflect crossfirearabia.com.

Analyses Features

‘God Will Avenge Us’ – Lebanese React to Israel’s Cyber Terror Attacks

CrossFireArabia
September 20, 2024

By Sama Abu Sharar

Editor’s note: This article was written before the second wave of explosions that hit Lebanon last Wednesday, also killing a number of Lebanese civilians and wounding hundreds.

BEIRUT – Beautiful Lebanon woke up sad this morning following the massive Israeli cyberattack that hit the whole country last Tuesday afternoon. The streets are gloomy and traffic is less heavy than it usually is on a busy weekday, as people are still in utter shock, trying to process the events of 17 September.

All public and private schools and universities are closed today and a general strike was called by the General Workers Union in memory of the victims who were killed and the thousands who were injured.

Beirut-based journalist @RaniaKhalek describes the act of terrorism that the Israeli government carried out against Lebanon by rigging pagers with explosives. “It was an attack on civilians. [Israel] turned human beings into bombs." https://t.co/7RDm9VqNx0 pic.twitter.com/J6SWejNB9S
— Katie Halper is a Jew For #CeasefireNow (@kthalps) September 18, 2024

‘Shock and Astonishment’

Joanna Nasserdine, the Beirut correspondent for the Jordanian Roya TV who covered the events of Tuesday, told the Palestine Chronicle that she was as puzzled as the rest of the population when news of the attack started coming in as there were numerous questions and unclarity.

“Today, I can say that I am in a state of shock and astonishment over what happened yesterday because it is a crime that was committed against Lebanon, which did not differentiate between a civilian or a child or a military man, it is a disaster for the whole country,” Nasreddine said.

She told the Palestine Chronicle that what touched her most as a Lebanese citizen and as a reporter were the horrific scenes in front of the different hospitals in the capital Beirut.

“The scenes of victims, injured, with blood everywhere was a stark reminder of the explosion of the Beirut port in 2020, along with all the feelings of fear, anxiety, and panic that reigned yesterday,” the Lebanese reporter added.

According to Nasreddine, the criminal Israeli cyberattack is unprecedented in the long Arab-Israeli conflict and is extremely dangerous since it was able, in one minute, to harm at least 4,000 people, 300 of whom are in critical condition, and kill at least 12, including two children.

“How can an entity be so criminal to attempt to take the lives of thousands in one minute,” she questioned, expressing the fear of all Lebanese of what is to come next, given how vulnerable the country is at the moment.

Indeed this is what people feel: Vulnerable and exposed.

One of the incidents that took place in Tuesday’s attack involved a young man who was passing by a building in Mrijeh, in the southern district of Beirut.

The young man was seen by the neighbors bleeding. They all thought that he had been shot by stray bullets in the air so they grabbed him and tried to hide in one of the buildings.

Israeli pager attacks on Lebanon backlashing
Whole LEBANON is now supporting hezbollah leader HASSAN NASRALLAH against Israel.

Lebanon is getting united against Israel. Something big is coming against Israel pic.twitter.com/JMq4OjjDmi
— Syed Husain Zaidi (@_Syed_Husain_) September 19, 2024

When it was clear there was no shooting in the area, they asked the man if it was his phone or the battery trying to pinpoint the source of bleeding, until the man realized that the pager on his waist had exploded, according to a friend who preferred not to be named.

“People were everywhere, their clothes stained with blood, the smell of blood reminded me of what happened after the Beirut port explosion, I could not bear it, I left in a hurry,” a businessman, who preferred not to be named, told the Palestine Chronicle, recounting his experience while passing by one of the hospitals yesterday.

Following the ‘pagers’ attack, messages heavily circulated on WhatsApp groups requesting from people in their homes to disconnect their wi-fi from their home inverters since many of the inverters work on lithium, which apparently detonated the pagers in the cyberattack.

The majority of people in Lebanon depend on inverters for electricity, which feed on generators or the solar system due to electricity shortages or lack of electricity altogether. A state of panic reigned amongst the majority of Lebanese in fear that the inverters might be hit as well.

An expert on technology told Sawt el Chaab (La Voix du Peuple), a local radio station, in answer to people’s fears regarding their inverters and mobile phones, that “batteries in mobile phones have higher protection,” admitting nonetheless that the gap between Lebanon and Israel is immense in regard to technology.

‘A Child Just Died’

The scene by the American University Hospital (AUH) and other hospitals in Lebanon was indeed a stark reminder of the Beirut port explosion in 2020. Hospitals were flooded with the injured and relatives and friends outside of the medical facilities were packed trying to get any news about their loved ones.

10-year-old Fatima Jaafar Abdullah was among those ki!!ed in the “israełi” attack on Lebanon, and BBC News are framing this as “Hezbollah pager explosions.” https://t.co/gjkTLY9Ak4 pic.twitter.com/HKQNjrZveK
— Friendly Neighborhood Comrade (@SpiritofLenin) September 17, 2024

A day after the Israeli attack, people still gathered around hospitals, waiting for any piece of news on their loved ones. The only topic of conversation is the attack of yesterday and the state of the patients inside. The streets by the hospitals are dotted with doctors and nurses running in and out of the hospital.

“A child just died,” one man said while on the phone coming out of AUH.

A group of young men in front of the hospital were discussing the insanity of these devices being detonated all at the same time.

I approached two women sitting on a bench by the AUH and asked them if they were waiting for someone.

“My nephew is inside,” she said. “How is he?”, I asked. “He’s ok, thank God,” she answered, “God will avenge us,” she added.

At the nearby Clémenceau Medical Center (CMC), and Makassed General Hospital further away, although less crowded, the scene is similar to military presence around the medical facilities.

“The situation is bad, the hospital is full, they are even opening the outpatient departments due to the flooding of patients, it’s very bad,” a registered nurse at one of Beirut’s hospitals who spoke to the Palestine Chronicle on condition of anonymity.

She explained that most injuries are in the fingers, face and hip.

“It depends where the pager was, most people held the pager when it beeped to check if there was a message and it exploded in their hand so some endured injuries in the face and in the fingers. Others the pager was on their waist,” the registered nurse added.

The Palestinian hospitals, especially in the south of Lebanon, namely Al Hamshari Hospital in Saida, received numerous injury cases due to the over-flooding of the Lebanese hospitals.

Also, Palestinian hospitals throughout Lebanon mobilized their staff and volunteers throughout the country to receive the wounded and “provide (the victims) with all support and assistance,” according to the Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), along with all Palestinian groups in Lebanon, condemned the criminal attack and expressed their utmost “support and solidarity with the Lebanese people in the face of the Zionist attack.”

Lebanese political analyst Hussein Ayoub and editor in chief of the Arabic website ‘180 Post, told the Palestine Chronicle that Tuesday’s events are unprecedented due to the unconventional method that was used and the extremely high number of casualties, which he says is expected to rise.

“It was a sudden and unexpected terrorist attack and a huge security breach,” he said, adding that he’s been asking himself since the attack yesterday what if this attack happened during the war and why didn’t the Israelis leave it till the war breaks.

According to Ayoub, the answer to this question could surface in the coming hours, because had Israel done this during a war the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The political analyst admitted that “at one point in a battle you have to admit that your enemy did hit you but that this strike does not determine the outcome of the battle.”

🚨Terrorist attack by Israel on Lebanon using pagers 📟. (5)

World must be made aware of the danger we are all living in because of what we witnessed what Israel is capable of doing to unarmed civilians. These pagers are used by doctors as well.
pic.twitter.com/duJW6fZZVU
— 🇺🇸 Bilal Khan ﷽ (@Peace4allpak) September 17, 2024

Ayoub says that Hezbollah must reconsider all its approaches, military formations and the subject of communications during the war.

“I believe that the matter requires a different kind of discussion, first, regarding seizing the national unity in the country, since everyone is in solidarity right now regardless of whether they are with the Resistance or not,” he stressed.

“Secondly, in light of the Israeli superiority in war of technology, Hezbollah must return to the traditional and primitive means of previous guerrilla work,” the political analyst added.

Ayoub believes that this is extremely necessary because we must understand that “the world’s capabilities are mobilized in service of Israel, including weapons, technology and AI, and all these are not in our service, on the contrary, they are fighting us.”

This article is reproduced from the Palestine Chronicle.