Trump: The mediator or the deceiver?

Since the start of the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, a mediation committee consisting of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States was formed with the aim of achieving a ceasefire and a truce. While the Egyptian and Qatari positions were clear in their goals of halting genocide, preventing the displacement plan, and rebuilding the Gaza Strip, the American position was characterized by bias toward the Israeli position.

It goes without saying that the US administration is a full partner of the occupying state in committing acts that amount to genocide, as described by both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and by reports by the most prominent and credible human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

This partnership emerged through funding, arming, and participation in the preparation of plans that extended beyond the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to include attacks on Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran.

The US administration shares the same goals with the occupying state regarding the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, the resistance activities in the region, and the containment of Iran's capabilities, all with the aim of shaping a new Middle East in which the occupying state dominates the decision-making process.

There may be tactical differences between the occupying state led by Netanyahu and the US administration led by Trump.

The first wants to accelerate the process of settling the issue and implementing the decisive plan, as well as striking Iran, leading to the overthrow of the regime. The second wants to cool the conflict in Gaza through a temporary truce that would see the release of the Israeli hostages held by the resistance as a common goal.

Some analysts have recently speculated that Trump pressured Netanyahu to sign Witkoff's latest proposal during the latter's visit to the White House. The aim was to advance Netanyahu's personal goals, including pressuring the judiciary not to prosecute him for the corruption cases against him, in addition to a promise from the Trump administration to approve the annexation of large swaths of the West Bank, particularly Area C, in addition to promoting the Abraham Accords normalization process.

Optimism about the imminent conclusion of a prisoner exchange and truce deal, as proposed by Witkoff, was spread as Netanyahu's visit to the White House coincided with the dispatch of an Israeli delegation to the negotiations in Doha.

I think we need to reconsider this assessment, which is not supported by facts on the ground.

Netanyahu returned after his visit and repeated the same previous phrases, which specifically called for the elimination of Hamas, disarming it, and removing its leaders. He and Defense Minister Katz also invented the issue of the “humanitarian” area after the Mawarij point to accommodate 600,000 citizens who will be thrown into this mass detention center, which paves the way for the implementation of the process of displacement and ethnic cleansing.

The occupying state's negotiating delegation in Doha has published maps that show the occupation's military control over large areas of the Gaza Strip, demonstrating the aggressive intentions of the occupying state.

It's worth noting that the occupying state's delegation is still showing no flexibility regarding the aid mechanism, given that the Gaza (humanitarian) foundation has proven to be a death trap. The same applies to Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons, where approval has not been granted for the release of some prominent figures and leaders with long sentences. Accordingly, Netanyahu has placed numerous obstacles in the way of negotiations for a ceasefire and exchange.

The above reflects the inaccuracy of the political analyses undertaken by some analysts, which led to a kind of optimism.

It is important to note that Trump gave Netanyahu the green light when he reversed the Doha agreement concluded on January 17, and then returned to his former ways in mid-March when the Israeli army carried out the Gideon Carriage operation.

Trump and his envoys, especially Boehler and Witkoff, also deceived Hamas by releasing Idan Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen, as a goodwill gesture without offering Hamas anything in return.

Trump also deceived Iran when he was scheduled to send a US delegation to meet with an Iranian delegation in Muscat. Two days before the meeting, he gave Netanyahu the green light to launch a surprise military strike against Iran, accompanied by a cloud of deception and misinformation.

The following can be concluded from the above:

Trump approaches politics like he approaches real estate and business deals, which involve evasion, deception, misleading, and fraud.

The Palestinian negotiator's insistence on personal guarantees from Trump to halt the war, while justified, has proven that Trump is a deceitful person who changes his positions, and his personal guarantees cannot be relied upon under any circumstances.

We need to reconsider the notion that Israel is dependent on America and that the latter can easily dictate its decisions to the former.

This may apply to some regional issues that could threaten vital American interests and Israel's standing, as occurred with Trump's decision to halt Israeli aggression against Iran after twelve days due to the risk of the situation spiraling out of control.

The Palestinian issue is decided by the occupying state, and America is working to adopt it and try to pass it on. Let us remember that Trump referred the question of the future of Gaza, displacement, and the state to Netanyahu, not with the aim of embarrassing him, as some analysts have claimed, but rather out of his conviction that Netanyahu is the one who decides these issues, and that America's role lies in adoption, support, backing, and promotion.

Trump implemented this in the so-called Deal of the Century, which was the product of Netanyahu's orientations and proposals and was adopted by Trump.

It is clear that the relationship between Israel and the United States has moved from the state of dependency that existed previously, that is, after the establishment of the occupying state. Everyone remembers Eisenhower's warning to Ben-Gurion during the 1956 tripartite aggression against Egypt, which led to the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army from Sinai and Gaza.

The relationship has changed so that Israel has become a partner in some issues, especially the Palestinian issue, the decision of which has become exclusively in the hands of the occupying state, and some other regional issues. This is due to several reasons, including the growing influence of the Zionist lobby (AIPAC) in the United States, the wars that the occupying state is waging in the region, which serve the interests of the United States and the West and aim to strengthen American hegemony over oil resources, trade routes and sea straits, and with the aim of monopolizing the region at the expense of the potential influence of both China and Russia, in addition to America’s desire to delegate many regional issues to the occupying state so that it can devote itself to confronting China in particular, due to the growth of its economic influence, which is worrying to the United States.

Trump is putting pressure on Netanyahu only because he feels his interests could be harmed if he continues to support Netanyahu.

This could happen if the Arabs leverage their financial and oil power and strategic location, as Trump received $5.5 trillion during his visit to some Gulf countries.

The equation of money in exchange for stopping the destruction in Gaza and ensuring the rights of the Palestinian people could influence Trump's decisions.

Netanyahu feels he can continue with his plan for ethnic cleansing in Gaza and annexation and Judaization in the West Bank without hindrance and without it affecting American interests.

This is due to his sense that there are no Arab power cards that could pressure Trump and affect American interests.

Or that these papers, even if they are raised, are not strong enough to play a serious and pressing role.

Therefore, the obstacles placed by Netanyahu regarding the ceasefire and exchange negotiations are not tactical in nature, but rather entail serious risks, especially regarding the issue of establishing a mass detention center in Rafah that would pave the way for displacement.

Confronting the existential threat facing our people in Gaza, which could potentially spill over into the West Bank, requires a change in the rules of engagement. This includes forming a unified negotiating delegation under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with the participation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as was the case in the 2014 war. This is in addition to turning to the Arab League and leveraging the economic influence of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and the political influence of Egypt.

This proposed mechanism will shift the balance of negotiating power and may lead to influencing and pressuring Trump, who will inevitably influence Netanyahu not only regarding a temporary truce, but also toward a final ceasefire and the implementation of the Egyptian-Arab plan instead of the occupying state's schemes.