Much as all politics is local, this time around, for the United States foreign policy, it is equally significant. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees, respectively, have demonstrated their discredited positions on the Middle East.
As Israel announces a new illegal colony in the occupied West Bank, near Shiloh, in order to accommodate 40 families who are being evacuated from an illegal colony of Amona, a few kilometres to the south, Hillary has just come out with a letter condemning the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions movement (BDS) as a form of anti-Semitism. This surprise response occurred on the eve of a Methodist General Conference that will consider measures to divest from three companies that do business in the occupied West Bank, namely Motorola, Hewlett Packard and Caterpillar. Philip Weiss, co-editor of Mondoweiss, quoted what the former US secretary of state said, describing Israel in her statement as being “a modern-day miracle — a vibrant bloom in the middle of a desert — and we must nurture and protect it”.
In a letter addressed to the Israel Action Network and the Jewish federations of North America, she continued: “Fighting for Israel isn’t just about policy; it is a personal commitment to the friendship between our peoples and our vision for peace and security ... We must never tire in defending Israel’s legitimacy, expanding security and economic ties and taking our alliance to the next level.”
The illegal Israeli colonies are now home to more than 570,000 Israelis, according to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now — 370,000 in the West Bank and 200,000 in occupied East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to establish their capital. Weiss explains that the “[colonies] range from small wildcat outposts on the West Bank hilltops to developed towns with shopping malls, schools and suburban homes”.
Similarly, and unashamedly, Republican presumptive nominee Trump told the Britain’s Daily Mail that there should be no pause in Israeli colony construction. According to the website of Times of Israel, Trump was asked if there should be a pause in illegal Israeli colony-building, to which he replied: “No, I don’t think it is, because I think Israel should have — they really have to keep going. They have to keep moving forward. I don’ think there should be a pause ... Look: Missiles were launched into Israel, and Israel, I think, never was properly treated by our country. I mean, do you know what that is, how devastating that is?”
Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he was a “very good guy whom he did not know that well. I think I’d have a very good relationship with him”. He added that he thinks “Obama has been extremely bad to Israel”.
No wonder Paul Krugman, a leading columnist with the New York Times had the following opening paragraph in his column last Monday: “Truly, Donald Trump knows nothing. He is more ignorant about policy than you can possibly imagine, even when you take into account the fact that he is more ignorant than you can possibly imagine. But his ignorance isn’t as unique as it may seem: In many ways, he’s just doing a clumsy job of channelling nonsense widely popular in his party, and to some extent in the chattering classes more generally”.
The expectations nowadays is that the Obama administration is reportedly expected to endorse a tougher tone with Israel in an upcoming international report over colonies, demolitions and property seizures on land the Palestinians claimed for a future state, unidentified diplomats told the Associated Press (AP).
The US approval of the hard language marks a subtle shift. Washington has traditionally tempered colonies by the so-called “Quartet” of mediators with careful diplomatic language, but the diplomats said the US in this case will align itself closer to the positions of the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, who emphasised Israel’s role in the Middle East impasse. The report’s release is sure to infuriate Israel, where officials are already bracing for expected criticism. And on the other side, AP added that although the mediators will endorse some long-standing Palestinian complaints, the Palestinians are likely to protest that it does not go far enough.
Since the Obama administration will be involved this time, it will be very appropriate that it takes the overdue step of recognising the state of Palestine, a gesture that has been overdue for several decades. Obama will thus crown his legacy in his last months at the White House, something none of his predecessors did.
George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com
