Trump’s return to the White House – what does it mean for the Middle East? – DW – 11/11/2024

Immediately after Donald Trump announced his victory again in the presidential race, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly congratulated the US President-elect, saying: “Congratulations on the greatest comeback in history! “

The issue was not limited to Netanyahu, but his ministers in the hardline coalition, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, cheered Trump’s return even before his victory was officially announced.

Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister was “one of the first to contact” the president-elect, saying the talks were “warm and friendly” with discussion of “the Iranian threat and the need to work together for Israel’s security .”

Trump’s victory came just hours after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who was seen as the main link between the current US administration and the Israeli government.

In a poll conducted after the US elections, 67 percent of Israelis expressed that they were “happy with Trump’s victory.”

This coincided with Israeli reactions on the street. The young woman Binaya Kohler, who lives in Jerusalem, said in a statement to DW that she “hopes that Trump will do good things for our country and for America. He has made many promises. If he can achieve half of them, that’s enough.”

However, some voices criticizing Netanyahu’s government believe that Trump’s return is not “good news”.

In this regard, Yehuda Shaul, co-founder of the Ofek Israel Research Foundation, said, “I think that Smotrich and Ben Gvir seeThe current Israeli government, which is considered the most extreme in Israel’s history, is like winning the Israeli lottery ticket.”

He said, “Trump’s return to the White House is like them also winning the American lottery ticket.”

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon Can he do that Image from: Israel Defense Forces Alliance / Leaflet / Xinhua / photo

Trump’s first presidency…pro-Israel policies

During his first term as president, Trump made controversial political decisions to support Israel, the most prominent of which was his announcement in 2017, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the moving the American embassy there from Tel Aviv, in an anti-American position. and international policy that has spanned decades.

In addition, the Trump administration recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel illegally annexed in 1981, after capturing it during the 1967 war.

Trump is considered the architect of the Abraham Accords, which paved the way for relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, which observers saw as carrying a crime against of the Palestinians and any solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. .

Some analysts believe Trump could push toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in his second term as part of the “deal of the century,” which includes Israel’s -into all settlements in the West Bank while giving some autonomy to the Palestinians in the remaining blocks.

However, the trend of rapprochement between Trump and Netanyahu has stabilized in recent years when Trump lost the 2020 elections, Trump seemed upset after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden after to win the presidency.

After the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 last year, Trump criticized Netanyahu for being unprepared, and said that this would not have happened if he had been president of the United States.

Some analysts say Netanyahu’s relationship with Trump is complicated. “I think he’s a little afraid of Trump,” said Alon Pinkas, an Israeli writer and former diplomat in New York. angry if he finds out, unlike Biden,. that for some reason did not pressure Netanyahu and did not.” “He resists Netanyahu’s attempt to manipulate him.”

The Middle East needs “more” American attention

Experts believe that the situation in the Middle East requires more American attention from the Trump administration, even if the latter has not published any policies regarding the Middle East except his promise to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Mr. Trump made it clear to Mr. Netanyahu that he wants this to be over by January 20, which is when he will be inaugurated,” Pinkas said.

It is worth noting that last April Trump said that Israel was “losing the public relations war” because of the images coming out of Gaza, asking it to “work to end its ‘war quickly.’

Opponents of the Netanyahu government accused the latter of playing with the time factor while waiting for the arrival of a new American president, despite the full military and political support of the Biden administration to government of Israel since the start of the war.

In this context, Pinkas said that Netanyahu was happy with the return of Trump, because he “will not pressurize him in relation to the Palestinian issue at all.” “

It should be noted that the American administration during Trump’s first presidency rejected the current international position that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.

In his statement, Yehuda Shaul, who co-founded the organization “Breaking the Silence” in 2004, which includes veterans who are vital to the Israeli military occupation, said, “The main reason afraid of the concern that (Trump) will give. full mandate for the Israeli government to do whatever they want in the country. “

He said: “The annexation of the West Bank is part of the Israeli government’s agenda.

Although the Biden administration has reversed many of Trump’s policies, locals indicate that Trump’s first term is on track to push toward full integration. Israel to the West Bank, especially since Netanyahu’s efforts are gaining momentum at this time.

Saul said, “The great support that the pro-annexation camp is getting inside Israel would not have been achieved without Trump’s victory in the 2016 elections, so I fear that more American diplomatic decisions will a repetition that bends international norms and laws, such as his. decision to recognize Israel’s contribution to the Golan Heights.”

The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza said that more than 43,000 people have been killed since the start of Israeli military operations in the Strip Photo: Ashraf Amra / Anadolu / photo alliance

“Can’t” among the inhabitants of Israel

In a related context, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said on Thursday, November 7, that there was “euphoria” among the ranks of the camp for settlement after the re-election of Trump.

The newspaper said that the leaders of this camp are working on preparing an action plan that will be released after Trump’s inauguration, including “launching a campaign to impose Israeli sovereignty on Judea and Samaria (meaning the West Bank) and seizing land to establish a new settlement. posts in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.”

On the other hand, observers believe that annexing more land would effectively end the idea of ​​a two-state solution and establish a sovereign Palestinian state.

Although Netanyahu denied any plans to re-establish settlements in Gaza, statements by officials and ministers in his government indicate otherwise.

Observers fear that the displaced people in Gaza will not be able to return to their homes in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, as Israel expanded its ground operations against what it said was targeting on Hamas activists. Residents say they live in terrible conditions amid the fighting.

It is estimated that 90% of the population of Gaza was displaced during the war. Like thousands of displaced people, young Gazan Shadi Asaad says he has little hope for the policies of the new American administration.

He said in an interview with DW that he “just wants to come home. Kamala Harris was part of the American administration that supports Israel and the war. We are groaning under the weight of unprecedented humility. wants the war to stop, whether an agreement is reached or not.” “With or without Trump.”

Prepared by: Muhammad Farhan