Trump’s Al-Quds Move is a Natural Progression of US Policies

Darko Lazar

In its pursuit of legitimacy, the political and military establishment in Tel Aviv has often attempted to justify the "Israeli" occupation of Palestine by claiming that it was an embodiment of a biblical covenant.

In 1971, then-"Israeli" Prime Minister Golda Meir famously claimed that "Israel" "exists as the fulfillment of a promise made by God Himself. It would be ridiculous to ask it to account for its legitimacy."

Aside from justifying hypothetical "Israeli" military adventures from the Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq, this claim also guarantees perpetual war in the region - driven by one side's uncompromising notion of a moral high ground and its rejection of the ‘other'.

Unconditional American support for this "Israeli" narrative, as well as the shared geopolitical interests of the elites in Washington and Tel Aviv, have insured the aggressive expansion of the Zionist entity over the last seven decades.

Donald Trump's recognition of Al-Quds as the "Israeli" capital is little more than a continuation; or rather the ramping up of the same old policies - ensuring that the highly unstable Middle East continues to burn.

Of course, this decision has nothing to do with "the pursuit of peace between "Israel" and the Palestinians", as Trump proclaimed during his announcement on Wednesday.

The so-called ‘peace process', in which the Americans play the role of a self-appointed mediator, can best be described as a scheme guaranteeing the annexation of Palestinian land and the suppression of Palestinian rights.

Former US diplomat Jim Jatras believes that Trump's Al-Quds move further underscores the fact that the negotiations were never meant to spawn "an independent Palestinian state."

"I think this simply makes clear what has been latent all the time; there will not be a peace settlement," Jatras opined.

In the best interests of the United States

During his short speech at the White House, Trump also directed the state department to start making arrangements to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Al-Quds.

He asserted that this was in "the best interests of the United States".

However, Trump's announcement did not only manage to provoke condemnation from US foes, but its allies as well.

The move infuriated Palestinians and the entire Muslim world. Within minutes of the speech, US embassies in Turkey, Jordan, Germany and Britain issued security alerts urging Americans to exercise caution.

Meanwhile, US troops in Afghanistan were put on a special notice and threats from a number of armed groups in the Middle East only stoked fears of attacks on American military installations.

Grant Smith, who works as the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, warned that "unless the US can free itself from the "Israel" lobby's hold over the political campaign contribution process, it is just going to reel from disaster to disaster and undermine its own national security and credibility".

A violation of international law

Trump's Al-Quds move does not only offer renewed support for illegal "Israeli" settlement expansion, it also endorses the decades-old religious obscurantism articulated by Zionist heavyweights like Golda Meir - validating their claims to the ‘promised land'.

Often lost in the translation is the fact that Al-Quds is an indisputable part of occupied Palestine, recognized as such by both the UN General Assembly and multiple Security Council resolutions.

As such, Trump's declaration is a blatant violation of international law.

"The message that Trump sent out from the White House is that the United States under the Trump Administration will reward countries for violating international law," said Ramallah-based political analyst Nour Odeh.

"[They] will reward countries for being bullies, will reward countries for violating human rights and shield them from any kind of accountability," she added.

The barrage of international criticism directed at the White House over the announcement testifies to the illegality of the move and Washington's seemingly reckless approach to international affairs.

The deal of the century

Amid growing fears over the possible repercussions of Trump's announcement and a spike in violence across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told his Russian counterpart that Trump's announcement is part of an elaborate plan.

"Rex [Tillerson]... hinted to me that the United States is expecting to strike a ‘deal of the century,' which would resolve the Palestinian-‘Israeli' problem in one swoop," Sergey Lavrov said.

"We certainly want to understand how they see this happening," he added.

And Lavrov is not the only one beaming with anticipation.

During an emergency meeting of the Security Council, convened to discuss Trump's decision, UK's ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, called on the US to release detailed proposals for an "Israeli"-Palestinian settlement.

Few are buying Trump's now widely discredited ‘art of the deal' tactics.

According to Grant Smith, "there is no plan".

So if Trump's policy is really more of the same and if his maneuvers are largely driven by his domestic concerns as some have suggested, what comes after the Al-Quds declaration?

Fueling more hostilities in the Middle East risks further undermining "Israel's" regional clout at a time when countries like Iran and Turkey are only strengthening and expanding their regional alliances.

Such schemes can only translate into further losses for Washington and a further suppression of American influence in the region.

Source: Al-Ahed News