Trump and international decisions

The USA has witnessed a great controversy since Donald Trump assumed its presidency in 2016, for the man, as described by the American media, lacks political diplomacy, violates his constitutional powers, attacks the media according to his personal interests and commits some actions of snobbery with world leaders. He also raised the problem of Mexico and immigrants, attacked North Korea reaching a critical situation, intentionally escalated the economic relations with China, and withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement unilaterally. Also, he is dealing with the Middle East in a clear blackmail manner, in addition to other issues that turned against him in the US Congress, which is considering isolating him and reducing his powers in fear of pulling the United States into an unanticipated war.

Among the files that have caused great chaos in this context, is Trump’s peace plan in the Middle East, or what is known as the Deal of the Century to solve the Palestinian cause. Despite his claim to announce his plan several times, he excluded Palestinian rights with practical steps since he took office. He recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on 6 December 2017; he moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on 14 May 2018, thus bypassing the United Nations Resolution 2253 in the emergency special session on 4 July 1967, which called on Israel to cancel the taken measures to change the status of the city of Jerusalem and refrain from it in the future.

READ: Trump’s deal aims to marginalise Palestinians, says expert

Trump has paid no attention to the resolution of the UNESCO Executive Board at its 207 th session, which unanimously rejected Israeli unilateral violations and measures in historical locations, and demanded Israel to halt its illegal measures against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Haram esh-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls. In 2017, the UNESCO Executive Board voted on a resolution stressing on the organisation’s previous resolutions, considering Israel as an occupying state of Jerusalem, and rejecting Israel’s sovereignty over it.

In the file of the Palestinian refugees, the Trump administration is seeking to abolish the right of the refugees to return and compensation, by reducing its aid to the Palestinian Refugee Relief Agency. It has frozen 300 million dollars out of 365 million dollars, and on 3 August 2018, it has cut all aid to UNRWA, thus violating the UN Resolution No. (194), paragraph 11 of 11 December 1948, which stressed that refugees who wish to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbours should be allowed to return as soon as possible and that compensations must be paid for the properties of those who decide not to return to their homes and for every lost or damaged property.

READ: Number one priority of Trump plan is Israel’s ‘national security’, says Nikki Haley

With regard to the necessity of Israel’s withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, Trump’s administration does not endorse the path of a two-state solution as a political breakthrough for the Palestinian issue, while considering the settlements’ presence in the West Bank as legal.

This position violates the UN Security Council Resolution 242, which states that the Israeli army must withdraw from the lands occupied in June 1967 (West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and parts of Arab countries), in addition to ending all allegations or states of war, and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state.

Trump’s violations of international resolutions have led to an increase in the number of Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 65 people were killed during the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, while the Independent Commission for Human Rights announced that 476 people were killed in the Palestinian territories since the transfer of the US embassy to this day.

READ: Trump proposes Palestinian state with capital in eastern Jerusalem

The US administration’s stance also encouraged the Israeli Knesset to issue 12 discriminatory decisions against the Palestinians, the most dangerous of which are the Jewish nation-state law and the decision to cut the salaries of Palestinian prisoners.

A report submitted by the United Nations Coordinator in the Middle East, Nikolai Miladinov, revealed an increase in the number of Israeli settlement units, which construction was approved in 2019 compared to previous years, to reach 10,000. On the other hand, the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs (JCPA) stated that the Israeli government demolished 842 houses and structures in 2018 and 2019, and confirmed that most of the demolitions took place in Wadi Al-Humus area in Occupied Jerusalem.

As far as these violations, and others, are concerned, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on 20 December 2019 that the investigations indicated that Israel had committed war crimes in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Given the preceding analysis, we may ask the following questions: What are the reasons behind Trump’s violation of international resolutions? Why is the world silent in front of Trump’s reckless decisions? Who will benefit the most from eliminating the two-state solution project? Will the free world accept that the Palestinians lose their homeland? Is Trump’s political future more important than the fate of 14 million Palestinians who have dreamed of peace and security for decades?

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