Afrasianet - Walid M. Sadi - Is it possible that the ascendancy of US President Donald Trump to power was not so fortuitous after all, and that there are “hidden” forces behind “hidden” agendas that made that possible in the first place, and for a reason?
Even US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested recently that Trump is God-sent to save Israel from alleged Iranian threats! Yet one must be on guard lest one’s imagination gets carried away with conspiracy scenarios regarding Trump’s election as the president of the greatest and most powerful nation on the face of the Earth against formidable odds.
If Trump came to power to fulfil certain major policy objectives and that some forces lie behind him, then the Palestinians are in deeper trouble than first thought.
First came the unforgiven sin of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017. That was shocking to the Palestinians and the Arab and Muslim worlds at large, but it appears that that decision was not fortuitous after all. The decision was well planned in advance. Then came Trump’s signing on March 25 of a proclamation recognising Israel’s sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights! These decisions did not come without a price.
The bigger trouble lies in the proposition that these related decisions may not come to an end and could very well come to fruition by Trump’s projected extraordinary decision that the West Bank must also fall under the Israeli sovereignty.
President Trump believes in walls and territorial measures for defence. He does not have much faith in international law or peace treaties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must have already convinced Trump not only about the security value of walls, as the one he plans to build on the US-Mexico border, but also about the justification for grabbing territory for security reasons.
Trump believes that countries need more than law on their side to protect themselves. Netanyahu enters the scene with his false argument that given the depth of the Arab hostility, withdrawing from the West Bank would expose Israel to a mortal danger. Netanyahu’s bizarre argument that a country enjoying less than 100 kilometres in depth in troubled neighbourhood could be suicidal, as Israel would become at the mercy of its neighbours. This is music to the ears of Trump, as he is of like mind on the value of territory for defence purposes.
Little did Netanyahu know that that is not the foundation on which state security is measured. When there is peace, real peace, countries do not need territory to defend themselves.
Suppose, however, all these scenarios do, indeed, come pass and Trump not only survives the constant barrage of congressional probes, but also is assured another term in office. What will become of the Palestinians? We are talking about more than 3.5 million Palestinians saddled along and inside Israel.
The Palestinians do not enjoy a military option to guard against these evil scenarios. Is there, God forbid, a master plan for their forced expulsion or, at least, the reduction of their population density to manageable proportions? This is what the Palestinians, with the help of the Arab world, should guard against.
Mar 30,2019