US President-elect Donald Trump was sworn into office this evening, bringing about a new era to Washington’s Middle East policies. President Trump has already announced several steps against the Palestinians’ interests, such as the moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and his inauguration today has increased tension in the Palestinian territories. An Israeli security official said that the IDF has prepared for an escalation in light of the president’s speech, noting that his statements are expected to inflame the situation on the ground.” Dozens of Palestinians have already flooded the streets of the West Bank to demonstrate against the new American President, saying that Trump’s pledge to move the US embassy to Jerusalem will end all options of achieving peace, while promising to fight against Washington’s decision. The Palestinian frustration has brought about a strong warning from their leadership, stressing that if Trump follows-through with his decision, it would end all relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Definitely this step will put an end to any relationship between the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian state and the state of Israel, if this is a serious step. This will put an end to any serious hope for peace, especially that this settlement is illegal and it would divide the West Bank and would lead to a situation that nobody can control,” said Nabil Abu Rdainah, Palestinian Presidential Spokesman.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, following an emergency meeting he held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, voiced hope that Trump would not follow through on his embassy pledge and will assist in restarting negotiations that would bring about a viable solution to the decades old conflict.
“We say to Mr. Trump that we hope he will not move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem from the Israeli point of view is a united city and this is not correct and illegal. Therefore, moving the embassy to any place will be a step ahead of anything that may happen in the future and will damage the peace process. Also, we hope to stop this (referring to Trump’s comments) and to start negotiations depending on the international legitimacy,” said Abbas.
The Palestinian leader’s hope might be naïve, however, as President Donald Trump decided to appoint Jewish Advocate, Professor David Friedman, as his new ambassador to Israel, a man who has been advocating and fund-raising for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and has declared favor to annex Judea and Samaria, the biblical name for the West Bank, to the rest of Israel, rather than pursue a two-state solution. The decision to appoint Professor Friedman has encouraged Israel’s right-wing factions, whom have voiced hope that President trump will usher in a new era of support for Israeli settlement-building on lands Palestinians demand for their future state, and abandon the notion of establishing a Palestinian state, altogether.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett, in a press conference ahead of the American President’s inauguration, declared that his faction will move forward to advance in the Annexation of the West Bank city of Ma’aleh Adumim, as a first step in annexing the entire West Bank to Israel.
“The founding of a Palestinian state will flood us with refugees. We will not assist it. We will move forward already in the current (parliament) session to apply sovereignty on Maale Adumim, and we will move on from there,” Naftali Bennett, Israeli Education Minister. Trump, who has said he wants to meet Netanyahu “at the first opportunity”, promised to bolster the relations with Israel by pursuing a more pro-Israeli policy, yet only time will tell how he would advance that policy in practice.