When will America get it?

Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka, the daughter of President Donald Trump, were not chosen by accident to represent the US administration at the opening ceremony of Washington’s Embassy in occupied Jerusalem. They are both Jewish and advocate the most extreme Zionist tendencies. They acted as if they were in a family gathering that brought together its members on a special occasion.

Kushner’s speech was a pure Zionist speech, no different than those given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It lacked diplomatic gravitas and phrases typically used by US officials. The failed and corrupt businessman thus handed over a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as if it were a family heirloom and it was his to give.

Washington has never been so blatant and adventurous, putting all of its cards in Netanyahu’s pocket. This same Prime Minister and his wife are drowning in corruption scandals and he is planning openly to drag a superpower into a destructive war in the region. With near total immunity, his government is also committing the most heinous massacres against unarmed and defenceless Palestinian civilians.

The level of brutality witnessed on the Gaza border over the past couple of weeks, and especially last Monday, would not have happened if it wasn’t for the US cover given to the Israeli government. Hundreds were killed and wounded by Israeli soldiers within a matter of hours while Kushner was gloating in Jerusalem and praising Netanyahu and his government which has Palestinian blood on its hands.

Massacre in Gaza: Beyond the two-state solution

Only months before Trump became president, Kushner was begging around the Gulf capitals looking for business deals that would save his crumbling company. Now he has returned as a Zionist conqueror, throwing money as he pleases, bargaining and trading Palestine and the people’s cause, and promising to put an end to the ongoing conflict in favour of his cousins.

The aftermath of black Monday will not pass over the region peacefully. The funerals of the dozens of martyrs killed that day will not be the end of the fight, and nor will Kushner’s speech be the end of the conflict. Those who believe otherwise are naïve. This decades-long struggle will not end if the Palestinian people do not gain their legitimate rights to freedom and independence.

No “deal of the century” will bring about peace if it does not put an end to the suffering of the Palestinians. Kushner is delusional and ignorant of the region’s history. The years of murder, occupation and siege have not dissuaded the Palestinians from holding on to their land, and the thousands who led the Great March of Return on Gaza’s borders were children and young men. These generations will grow up and they will neither forgive nor forget.

The progression of history will never allow the Palestinian people alone to remain without a state, sovereignty and freedom. Why should Palestinians have to accept humiliation, degradation and occupation?

Israel defends attacks on Palestinians in Gaza

Kushner is a greedy businessman who will be forgotten by history and the people will not be subject to his will. The Palestinians and their cause will go through some difficult days, as the situation in the Arab world is dire and the region is engulfed in chaos. However, the cause and the region have gone through worse and no one has yet dared to sign a deal to surrender.

All that Washington earns from this blind favouritism towards Israel is increased extremism and hostility in the region, which the people pay for in terrorism and murder. When will America get it? When will it understand the reality and stop adopting such stupid and damaging policies?

This article first appeared in Arabic in Arabi21 on 18 May 2018

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.