The farce that was the US elections provided no real choice between two reactionary candidates. Nowhere was this more evident that in their policy towards Palestine. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump guaranteed the continued alliance of the US government with the Israeli occupation with unconditional support for the expanding number of illegal Israeli settlements.
Jason Dov Greenblatt and David Friedman, Co-Chairmen of the Israel Advisory Committee to Donald Trump, released a statement on 2 November 2016 outlining the core positions of a Trump Administration which spoke of an ‘unbreakable bond’ between the US and Israel. It acknowledged Israel as ‘a staunch ally of the US and a key partner in the global war against Islamic Jihadism’ and promised that
‘a Trump Administration will ensure that Israel receives maximum military, strategic and tactical cooperation from the United States, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will not limit the support that we give. Further, Congress will not be limited to give support greater than that provided by MOU if it chooses to do so.’
To appeal to Republican Zionists who were initially doubtful of Trump’s commitment to Israel compared to Hillary Clinton’s more obvious support, he promised under his presidency to ‘recognise Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state’ and move the US embassy to Jerusalem. Should this happen, it would make a ‘two-state’ solution impossible and strengthen those Zionists who want to seize the entirety of historic Palestine.
Nica Evans
