‘Israel’ Plays its Trump Card
Local Editor
Right-wingers in occupied al-Quds are ecstatic; Palestinian leaders are apoplectic. Welcome to a new era of the Arab-‘Israeli' conflict.
On the issue of Trump's presidency and the ‘Israeli' benefit, Neri Zilber wrote for the Foreign Policy:
"We are entering a new era," Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed last month, the day after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning illegal ‘Israeli' settlement construction in the West Bank and east occupied al-Quds/Jerusalem.
"Just as President-elect [Donald] Trump said ... it will happen much sooner than you think. In the new era there is a much higher price for those who try to harm ‘Israel,' and that price will be exacted not only by the US, but by ‘Israel' as well."
The Zionist government, as Netanyahu made clear, views the new US administration as a ‘shield' against the rest of the world, and "anti-‘Israel'" measures like the Security Council resolution the Obama administration allowed to pass last month.
The US President called brokering ‘Israeli'-Palestinian peace the "ultimate deal." Yet the only diplomatic activity taking place right now is focused not on any positive steps toward a two-state solution, but managing the impending rise of Trump.
The Netanyahu government's optimism appears to be well-founded. In the immediate aftermath of the US election, Trump invited the ‘Israeli' premier to the White House "at the first opportunity," adding for good measure that the two leaders have known each other for years.
Trump's choice for ambassador to the occupied territories, David Friedman, is a long-standing supporter of West Bank illegal settlements, even heading the US fundraising arm for one prominent settlement. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior advisor, is also known for his pro-‘Israel' activism, with his family's foundation donating to various West Bank illegal settlements.
Coming on the heels of the UN Security Council resolution and former Secretary of State John Kerry's subsequent speech excoriating ‘Israel' for its illegal settlement project, Trump tweeted that things will be "very different" when he officially takes office, imploring the Zionist entity to "Stay Strong."
‘Israeli' Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon made the threat first articulated by Netanyahu more explicit. "Perceptions," he told ‘Israel' Army Radio late last month, "are important" for the other Security Council members. Recent comments by both the British prime minister and Australian foreign minister, blasting Kerry's speech and the Security Council resolution, respectively, proved Danon's point. If foreign leaders want good relations with the new US administration, the path runs through ‘Israel.'
While the first test of the Trump administration's intentions will come with respect to al-Quds, ‘Israeli' intelligence assessments peg the adjoining West Bank as the most unstable arena over the coming year.
This "new era" of Trump, peremptorily embraced by Netanyahu and belatedly feared by Abbas, will without doubt put one central article of faith so common among both ‘Israelis' and Palestinians to the test: that world affairs, whether in Washington or other major capitals, always inevitably revolves around them.
Source: Foreign Policy, Edited by website team
