Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
It was almost two years ago, when the United States President Donald Trump formally recognized occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The world knew then that this was a reckless and cruelly insensitive act that would do grave harm to the rights and well-being of Palestinians and put an end to any pretense that the United States could help negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Though, the Palestinians’ were hopeful when Trump selected as president, during his presidential debates, he spoke of conflict resolution but when he did later was total opposite, but who knew what Trump intensions were and are? But what the world didn’t know was that this dangerous move will be the beginning of the damage Trump would do to Palestinian rights and the prospects for peace.
During the past two years, the Trump Administration has permanently closed its Consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, closed the Palestinian consular office in Washington, suspended aid to the Palestinians and to American non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in GAZA and West Bank, denied funding to UNWRA which is the United Nations agency that provides essential services to Palestinian refugees, removed the label “occupied” from all official publications and statements referring to the Occupied Territories, declared that in its view Israeli colonies in the West Bank are not “illegal” and even gone so far as to deny that Palestinians should qualify as refugees. While each of these acts presents problems on their own, added together these may result into drastic impacts on the innocent and poor Palestinians. Though, the Palestinians themselves were so innocent that they welcomed the homeless Jews who were thrown out of Europe but now with their humanistic act resulted into their miserable life that they live on, despite colossal psychological distress.
In the short span of only two years, Trump and his administration have attempted to undo all of the gains Palestinians have won during the past seven decades. Because the US has shuttered the PLO office and denied that Palestinian refugees are, in fact, refugees and therefore part of the Palestinian community, the US is saying that it no longer sees Palestinians as a national community deserving of recognition and the right to self-determination. Because the US has repeatedly given carte blanche to every Israeli whim, regarding Jerusalem, refugees, and colonies, they have left Palestinians particularly vulnerable to more extreme Israeli measures like the annexation, massive land seizures, and even expulsion. And because the US has flaunted its contempt for the rule of law and international norms, they have created a far more dangerous and precarious world in which any regional power backed by the US can act with impunity and suffer little or no repercussions for their conduct.
Israel too must be confronted and made to pay a price for its lawless behavior and gross systematic violations of Palestinian human rights. The United States has to be blamed for backing the Israeli clampdown and denying Palestinians rights, there actions and policies are creating a nihilistic order in which the Israelis are free to act out their most extreme fantasies while vulnerable Palestinians are forced to inhabit a dystopian world in which they have no rights and no recourse open to them.
It is so far clear that the majority of the world leaders oppose US stance on Palestine and there declaration of accepting occupied Jerusalem as Israeli capital, the example is that only a smattering of minor US dependencies have considered joining the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem, last month the United Nations reaffirmed its support for UNWRA by a vote of 170 to 2, and then there were the denunciations issue by the Arab states and the Europeans to the new US position on Israeli colonies.
The problem is that while the Trump Administration has become increasingly politically isolated by its reckless behavior, they have not been effectively challenged. To change the current downward spiral dynamic that is unfolding in the Israel-Palestinian arena is a bold confrontation of both the US and Israel. Statements or resolutions will not suffice — since they are routinely dismissed and ignored. What is required is that other nations say “enough is enough” and tell the US that its days of hegemonic control over the “peace process” have come to an end. Israel too must be confronted and made to pay a price for its lawless behavior and gross systematic violations of Palestinian human rights. – The writer is a staff member of The Daily Mail.
