Trump’s Second Term Middle East Policy Taking Shape

By
Steve Postal
Steve Postal has been previously published in American Thinker, the Christian Post, the Dark Wire / SaraACarter.com, the Federalist, Israel National News, Newsweek, the Times of...
4 Min Read
Washington DC, USA - September 15, 2020: Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend the Abraham Accords ceremony in The White House.

In the wake of recent meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump’s second-term Middle East policy is beginning to take shape. Some key elements include:

Re-envisioning Gaza

President Trump is seeking to completely re-formulate the political reality in the Gaza Strip. He stated that the US plans to “take over” the Gaza Strip, and develop it into a “Rivera of the Middle East” and make it an “international” area. He envisions re-settling 1.7 to 1.8 million Gazans to countries that could include Jordan, Egypt, or other countries. Addressing the resistance of Jordan, Egypt and other countries to take in Gazans, Trump stated flatly that “I believe we can do it in areas where leaders currently say no.” Trump has reportedly been considering Albania as another country that could take in Gazans, Trump advisor Steve Witkoff suggested that some Gazans could be re-located to Indonesia, and Witkoff also stated that a better life for Palestinians “is not necessarily tied to the physical space” they currently reside. However, Trump did not seem warm to allowing Israelis to move back to the Gaza Strip, stating that “I don’t see it happening. It’s too dangerous for people. No one wants to be there. [Israel’s] warriors don’t want to be there. [Israel’s] soldiers don’t want to be there.”

Re-envisioning Judea and Samaria

President Trump seemed amenable to possible Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the “West Bank.” When asked if he supported Israeli annexation, he stated he wouldn’t talk about it, but stressed that Israel is a small country geographically.

Opposing Palestinian Statehood

In contrast to being at least open to Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria, President Trump seemed opposed to the idea of Palestinian statehood in that area. Referring to his 2020 peace plan that did include the possibility of Palestinian statehood, Trump remarked that “[a] lot of plans change with time…A lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back. Now we are faced with a situation that’s different. In some ways better, in some ways worse.” This is in contrast to the Biden administration, who repeatedly emphasized the need for a Palestinian state.

Expanding the Abraham Accords

President Trump also expressed interest in expanding the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia, stating that “I think peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen.” Trump also claimed  that the Saudis are in fact not demanding that a Palestinian state is a precondition of normalization with Israel. This seems to be a departure from the Biden administration, who repeatedly stressed the linkage between Saudi-Israel normalization and a Palestinian state. Additionally, there are rumors that Netanyahu will be willing to back away from plans to annex the West Bank in order to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu previously made this concession in order to broker the first Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain.

While Israel continues its quest to vanquish Hamas, President Trump is amenable to completely reformulating American strategy in the Middle East. Such a reformulation seems to include materially ending the hegemony of Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, while expanding the Abraham Accords.

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