Washington US President-elect Donald Trump did not wait for his return to the White House until he and his team were involved in working to resolve the crisis of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Rather, his envoy for Middle East peace, Stephen Witkoff, plays a major role in the ongoing indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas.” In the Qatari capital, Doha.
A month ago, Trump surprised the American circles monitoring the Gaza crisis with a sharp statement in which he threatened the entire Middle East with “hell” if the detained prisoners were not released before his inauguration on January 20, and after Trump pledged to bring “peace” to the Middle East, in a hint He indicated that he would end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, without mentioning how.
Trump said, “This will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out, and there is no need to say more, but this is the thing, this should never have happened,” referring to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Gregory Avtandilian, an expert on Middle East peace and professor at the American University in Washington, said, “The next Trump administration does not have a clear vision for Gaza other than making sure that Hamas will not rule the Strip again, and (the administration) wants a ceasefire as soon as it takes power.” On the 20th of this month, but it is not clear which political entity you prefer.”
Difficulty defining Trump’s vision
In turn, American foreign policy expert Asal Arad ruled out the possibility of defining a clear vision from the new administration regarding Gaza, given the unpredictable public nature of President Trump. However, Trump himself made it clear that he wanted the hostages to be released before he officially took office and threatened a major response if that did not happen. “.
Arad considered, in an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, that Trump’s record during his first term may “indicate that his second administration may bless the occupation and annexation of lands in Gaza, and if his second presidential term follows the path of the first term, he will not be concerned about international law, and it is likely that he will allow… “For Israel to act with impunity in Gaza, as the Joe Biden administration has done.”
Professor Osama Khalil, head of the International Relations Program at Syracuse University, New York, agreed with the previous proposal, and said, “The Trump administration’s policy towards Gaza will be in line with the preferences of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and even if a ceasefire is eventually reached, Israel will try to prevent preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes and obstructing any reconstruction efforts.
He continued, “It is unlikely that there will be any significant pressure from Washington to allow sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza. Instead, the Trump administration will support Israel maintaining a security zone inside the Strip and its right to targeted strikes, and Trump will also support Israel’s resettlement and annexation of the West Bank.” .
Trump’s choices for Israel supporters
Trump’s choices for his senior aides in the Middle East issues file reflect a great convergence, to the point of matching, between the vision of Trump’s candidates and the Israeli narrative of the conflict.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Ambassador David Mack, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, indicated that “Trump’s statements, in addition to many of his nominations for senior positions, indicate that he will be less prepared regarding two states for two peoples between the river and the sea.”
Mack added that the indicators of Trump’s policy are truly bleak, especially since his choice for the position of US ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, is disappointing in light of Huckabee’s denial that the Palestinians are a nation and a people, and he also views East Jerusalem and the West Bank as parts of The Land of Israel, and there is no room for negotiation about them.”
Trump’s nominated Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, has consistently affirmed his strong support for Israel, and has made several prominent statements regarding Gaza, calling for the elimination of Hamas following the October 7, 2023 attack, as well as his opposition to ceasefire efforts in November. Last November.
Meanwhile, Representative Michael Waltz, Trump’s nominee for the position of National Security Advisor, called in press statements to provide all the support Israel needs, and Waltz called on Israel to “finish the job” in addressing the security threats to which it is exposed.
Trump and the future of Gaza’s governance
Neither Trump nor his senior aides presented any vision for the future management of the Gaza Strip, and some experts depict the inability to predict what Trump will do as a political force and a diplomatic asset through which he can put strong pressure on the parties to the conflict. Observers did not rule out that Trump would submit to Netanyahu’s wishes in particular. Regarding the annexation of parts of the Gaza Strip to Israel.
For his part, Charles Dunn, a former White House and State Department official, currently an expert at the Arab Institute in Washington, and a lecturer at George Washington University, indicated in an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net that Trump might agree to “Israel remaining in northern Gaza, and preventing former residents from returning to their homes.” .
