Israeli media circulated a news regarding Palestine citing a senior Palestinian official that Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas has contacted officials in the future Biden administration asking for resuming negotiations with Israel as soon as possible through American mediation and without preconditions”, After a series of successes on diplomatic front, Israeli guns now turned to Palestinians, to create doubts and suspicions among the ranks of Palestinian and about other Muslims countries in the region through preplanned propaganda campaign. The news report further added while quoting the unknown Palestinian official that the new Biden administration has a lot on its plate including internal problems, policy about Iran Nuclear deal, restoration of relationship with China and EU. Therefore, all these issues will push the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the bottom of its agenda and issue will enter a limbo and will take months to progress.
As per neutral experts, Trump’s era was a golden time for Israel to fulfill its longstanding ambitious agenda and legalized all its illegal actions through US open and obnoxious support at all International forums including UNO. The drivers of Israeli agenda were President Trump himself, Jew Jared Kushner, a stanch Jew, son in law and Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, an Indian American, former US Ambassador to United States. All three are well known pro-Israel and anti-Muslim personalities. The list of their draconian measures against key Palestinian issues are too long. The major step in this direction is; Trump recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocation the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in late 2017 was actual a step to deny Palestinian’s right to east Jerusalem as their future capital. Another dangerous approach was taken by the Trump administration at United Nations in September 2018, when US Ambassador to UNO Nikki Haley denied the right of return for Palestinian refugees whose families had been displaced by the Israeli occupation in 1948.
Furthermore, Trump administration cut all U.S. funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was basically working to provide basic social services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The United States also ceased all USAID assistance programs for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. During same year, Trump administration closed the PLO office in Washington on 10 September 2018, while citing that PLO did not accept US Peace Plan and also prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Later, President Trump announced his “peace plan” prepared by his son in law Jared Kushner with the help and participation of Israeli government. The so-called Peace Plan only served the interests of the Israel and denied all Palestinians historical rights in Palestinian land. It offered Palestinian limited sovereignty on 70 % area of West Bank and Gaza with no authority over territorial waters, borders and security. Palestinian rejected this peace plan, after that US and Israel took another approach to isolate Palestinian authority. Therefore, due to active US support, Israel succeeded to forge diplomatic and trade relations with four Muslims countries in the region.
Israel was hopeful to settle down all its dispute with Palestinians according to its own desire during second term of President Trump, but Joe Biden victory in US President Election threw Israel away from its objective. Presently, Israeli propaganda machinery is playing down the situation and creating psychological impact on Palestinian authority. in fact, President Elect Joe Biden had showed his card on Palestine issue.
He is strongly advocating two states solution, opposing annexation of West Bank, restoring aid to Palestinian Authority and USAID humanitarian programs for Palestinians in the region. Although, Joe Biden is pro-Israel and ready of fulfill all rightful needs of Israel, however, the unwarranted support provided by the Trump is not likely to be available to Israel in next four years. Therefore, Palestinian Authority should certainly engage with Israel but must not show its weakness, PA is a the most important party of the dispute and must stand tall and strong to get its right from the World. If Palestinian authority is alone on the table, it can be its strength in current scenario because any so-called sympathizer will cause negative pressure on it during dialogues. PA should chart out its clear objectives and stick to it, hopefully Palestinians will get better opportunity in near future.
