During his inaugural address, United States President Donald Trump said the “proudest legacy” of his presidency would be “peacemaking and unifying.”
“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end,” he said, referring to the earlier release of Israeli prisoners from Gaza on Monday. An early political victory
Later that day, while signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he was “not confident” that the deal he was credited with forcing through would hold.
But, Trump added, “This is not our war. This is their war.”
Trump made no secret of his desire to see an end to Israel’s war in Gaza before taking office, and he won a second term on a promise to put “America first” and resolve conflicts abroad. Will give up. But his initial moves, along with his first four years in office, cast little doubt about his administration’s unwavering support for Israel, analysts warn, even as Trump projects a tough image. are trying and have succeeded in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a deal he rejected months ago.
“What was needed was a threat,” Diana Butto, a Palestinian analyst and former negotiator, told Al Jazeera, crediting Trump with leveraging his position in a way former President Joe Biden never did. . “That said, I think we shouldn’t give Trump all this fanfare and applause because I don’t think this was a deal that came without reward and without cost to Netanyahu. [Palestinians]”
Israel’s reward
Butto said if a reward was promised in exchange for the deal, Trump’s first hours in office could tell what it was. Trump wasted no time in lifting Biden’s sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and on Tuesday his handpicked delegate to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik, said during his confirmation hearing that Israel has a “biblical right.” “To the West Bank. Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has also previously cited the Bible on the subject when he said: “There is no such thing as the West Bank. This is Judea and Samaria.”
The actions and statements only build on what Trump already did during his first term as president from 2017 to 2021, including cutting funding to UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees; Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel despite the occupation of the eastern part of Palestine. moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory.
Israeli forces launched an attack on Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the fourth day of the cease-fire in Gaza At least 10 people and raised fears that Israel would intensify its attacks there. There has been no US pushback because the ceasefire does not include the West Bank.
“This was always going to have big rewards for Netanyahu,” Butto said, noting that she also expects the president to soon crack down on the pro-Palestinian movement in the US, which That Israel has another priority. “Trump gave the Israelis everything they wanted, and all they said to them was, ‘Just don’t wake me up at night.’
Still, Trump’s first-day indication of a cease-fire may not signal that even such rewards will not be enough to keep Netanyahu committed to a cease-fire he has fought for months for his political survival. have been
HA Heller, a political analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., suggested that Trump is already blaming others — possibly Hamas — for the possible collapse of the deal. Preparing for Credit for brokerage.
“Trump wanted a deal so he could say he got a deal,” Hellier told Al Jazeera, adding that “he’ll be surprised if we even get past the first phase, unless We don’t have too much interference from DC.”
He pointed to Netanyahu’s repeated claims that Israel has the “right” to resume fighting in Gaza – and that the United States has the backing to do so – as an indication that Israel is There is no real commitment to a ceasefire.
“Everyone is calling it a cease-fire, but a cease-fire indicates a commitment not to return to war. We don’t have that yet,” Hillier said. “Various Trump administration officials, as well as Trump himself, are not good at this. Is Trump going to use American leverage to ensure the Israelis complete phase one and move on to phase three? The signs are not encouraging. “
‘Deal of the Century’
Some analysts said that as much as he sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “not our war,” however, Trump may be genuinely interested in his legacy as a dealmaker.
In his first term, Trump proposed a “peace deal” for Israel and Palestine that his administration described as the “deal of the century,” and it has strained relations between Israel and several Arab states while ignoring the Palestinians. tried to “normalize” . This time, he is widely expected to once again seek a deal that, while cementing his legacy, will also benefit his business interests in the region.
But normalization requires a more comprehensive political plan than the Abraham Accords, which Trump promoted in his first term, said Matt Diss, executive vice president of the progressive Center for International Policy think tank.
“If Trump is serious about making peace as he claims, if he is serious about winning the Nobel Peace Prize, if he is serious about doing what is necessary to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians and Israel It is absolutely necessary for him to reach a just and reasonable solution for the Palestinians in a real and lasting way.
“The way to get to Trump is to appeal to his own sense of grandeur,” Diss added. “I think they need to make the case that the peace and normalization agreement is actually real and sustainable, not just a set of arms deals, which was the Abraham Accords, to be a real one. Will have to, resolution for Palestinians only.
That’s a tall order. Israel has shown no interest in anything that would bring the Palestinians closer to statehood in the face of Israeli expansion into the occupied territory – which many analysts said was long-overdue anyway. There is a possibility of
This week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has previously paid lip service to the idea of a Palestinian state, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 would be “a wake-up call.” “are Call” about his abilities.
And then Trump has his own sometimes conflicting loyalties: to a large Christian Zionist political base that is strongly aligned with Israel’s far-right political elements; to donors such as Israeli-American billionaire Miriam Adelson, who backed her campaign with nearly $100 million. As well as partners in the Gulf such as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has so far indicated that normalizing relations with Israel will be predicated on statehood for the Palestinians.
For a president who has said he wants to put “America first,” it’s hard to see how Trump can distance himself from the controversy.
“I think Trump is truly America’s first man. He doesn’t want to worry about wars. He doesn’t like to think about them, and he’s repeated that over and over again,” Butto said. “But at the same time, I don’t know who’s going to pull it off.”
