Sunday, 24 November 2019

Trump's favors to Netanyahu


Washington has always been Israel’s main ally, but support to Tel Aviv during the tenor of President Donald Trump is unprecedented. The US President has offered more favors to Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, from recognizing al-Quds as Israel’s capital to backing settlements.
It may not be wrong to say that Trump has provided Netanyahu all the favors for which former Israeli prime ministers were eager to receive. One should not forget that all these favors are in contravention of international law and UN Resolutions,
For Israel, there was no time more pleasant than 13-year premiership of Netanyahu which coincided with Trump’s presidency. No US president has served the Israeli government like Trump.
Netanyahu, who has been facing corruption trial, has remained in power only because of Trump’s assistance. Despite his failure to form a cabinet in the second parliamentary elections in a year, Netanyahu continues to remain in power.
By shifting the forty-year US stance on Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories, Trump dealt his last blow to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process despite talking about the peace project propagated as “deal of the century”.
From 1979, President Jimmy Carter all US presidents have opposed the settlement, but Trump changed the forty-year policy. In 2016 and last days of Barack Obama’s presidency, the UN passed a resolution against Israel, which condemned the settlements in the West Bank.
The settlement policy was so inconsistent with international law and against peace with the Palestinians that even the United States refused to veto the UN Security Council resolution, contrary to what it had been doing for decades.
An extraordinary favor by Trump was to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over occupied Golan Heights. The action also was in line with reinforcing Netanyahu’s position in the election, a move which was objected by his rivals, who viewed it as interference in Israel’s internal affairs.   
The Golan Heights belong to Syria. Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and formally annexed it to the occupied territories in 1981. The annexation has been opposed by the international community. The US is the first country that has recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Syrian territory.
A month later, Netanyahu, in a heavily propagandistic way and in line with his approach of luring Trump, announced that a city will be built after the name of Trump in the Golan Heights. Although, the plan was passed in the Knesset, no budget was approved for its implementation; it did not go beyond propaganda.
 Former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a speech at Harvard University, called Netanyahu “an extraordinarily skilled” politician and said that Trump has been played by Israel’s prime minister.
Trump’s another favor to Netanyahu, but a blow to Palestine was recognition of al-Quds as Israel’s capital and to move the US embassy to the city. The action was considered as a huge success for Netanyahu, especially at a time that he was under political and judicial pressure.
All Palestinian groups, such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) opposed Trump’s action, and the relations between United States and Palestinian National Authority nosedived. Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called al-Quds the eternal capital of Palestine.
Now, one should wait and see whether Netanyahu, who has failed to form a cabinet in the last two elections, will remain in power or face the trial.


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