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.
