Trump's gifts to Israel:
Jerusalem, the Golan and now the settlements
Since coming into office, the US Trump administration has promoted
Israeli interests at the expense of the Palestinians
The Trump administration's bombshell an announcement that it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the
occupied West Bank illegal under international law has sent
shockwaves through the region.
But it's only the latest in a long line of
unilateral gifts offered by Donald Trump to Israel since the president took up
residence in the White House in January 2017.
Middle East Eye takes a look at how Trump has
promoted Israeli interests at the expense of the Palestinians:
Pro-Israel
aides: Friedman, Kushner, and Greenblatt
From the first moment, Trump stepped in the Oval
Office he appointed a raft of aides with close ties to Israel and the
settlement movement.
Two of the first, and most prominent, tasked with
dealing with the Israel-Palestine conflict were Jared Kushner, his son-in-law,
and Jason Greenblatt, his personal lawyer.
Kushner and Greenblatt have been heavily involved
in the so-called "deal of the century" peace plan, however there
loyalties are heavily weighted in Israel's favor.
Kushner's family are close friends of Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and donated
money to settlement organizations.
In June he said that Palestinians are not yet
capable of governing themselves, though conceded: "I do think they should
have self-determination."
When his Bahrain economic summit fell flat as
Palestinians boycotted it over the United States' bias towards Israel, Kushner
described Palestinian Authority officials as “hysterical and stupid".
As Middle East envoy, Greenblatt, meanwhile,
has consistently defended Israeli actions against Palestinians.
When it was announced in September he was leaving
his post, Trump tweeted that "his dedication to Israel and to
seeking peace between Israel and the Palestinians won't be forgotten. He will
be missed”.
Meanwhile David Friedman, US ambassador to Israel,
has been the Israelis' chief cheerleader since taking office in May
2017, telling the New
York Times that
“under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but
unlikely all, of the West Bank".
In July, Friedman and Greenblatt opened a
highly controversial tunnel under the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in
occupied East Jerusalem.
The US ambassador was seen taking a hammer to a
wall in the ancient archeological site with particular zeal, in an event
organized by the settler group ELAD.
Recognising
Jerusalem as Israel's capital
In a clear sign that Washington was prepared to
upend years of convention and consensus in Israel's favor, Trump announced in
December 2018 that the United States recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli
capital.
East Jerusalem has been occupied since 1967
Middle East war and the Palestinians seek it as their capital of any future
state.
The international community has maintained that
Jerusalem's status must be agreed upon in a settlement between the Israelis and
Palestinians, and in response to Trump's move 128 states condemned the decision
in a UN General Assembly vote.
On 14 May 2018 - the 70th anniversary of
Israel's founding - the US officially moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem.
Demonstrations erupted in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank, with Israeli forces killing at least 57 Palestinians as Kushner and
his wife Ivanka Trump grinned at the embassy's opening.
Cutting funds
for UNRWA
In early 2019, the US cut all funding to the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, saying its business
model and fiscal practices were of an "irredeemably flawed
operation".
UNRWA provides services to about five million
Palestinian refugees, with the US a significant donor since the agency's
founding following the 1948 creation of Israel.
In 2018, Washington gave UNRWA $125m in
aid and the agency has scrambled to make up for the sudden shortage.
More than 700,000 Palestinians were forced from
their land in the events leading to the establishment of the state of Israel in
1948.
Surviving refugees and their descendants still live
in camps in neighboring Arab countries, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, many in
poverty.
The Golan
Heights
In another unilateral decision, Trump in March
announced that the US recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan
Heights.
The Golan was captured from Syria in 1967 and is
both highly strategic and resource-rich. The majority of its inhabitants are
Syrian Druze, who largely refuse to engage with Israeli rule.
Some 20,000 illegal Israeli settlers also live on
the plateau.
Trump's decree was a gift to Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the April elections, and was signed
in his presence alongside Friedman, Greenblatt, and Kushner.
Returning the favor, Netanyahu announced that
Israel was renaming an illegal settlement in the Golan as Trump Hill.
"All Israelis were deeply moved when President
Trump made his historic decision," Netanyahu said in a video
statement.
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