It would, of course, be unfair to blame Israel as a whole. There are good people in the country who have been protesting on behalf of the Palestinians. Unfortunately, power in Israel rests in the hands of a far-right fanatic. We in South Asia are all too familiar with what happens when countries fall under such leadership. But unlike South Asia, there is only one world power that can stop Israel in its tracks, but that country is currently led by the most incompetent leadership team in its history. It was, in fact, the explicit backing of US President Donald Trump that gave Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu the confidence to go ahead with this entirely illegal move. The Trump peace plan for the Middle East was to give Israel everything they have historically demanded, then throw in some extras that even the most extreme groups didn’t think they could get. The Palestinians were expected to be happy to be allowed to exist.
This is why the European leaders even directly called him out for how his “plan departs from internationally agreed parameters and principles”. Interestingly, they did not refer to Netanyahu, at all in the letter, knowing that he is a pawn in this game. They also know Trump doesn’t really care about Israel. He only made the offer to help him get Jewish and Evangelical Christian votes in the upcoming US election. And while it is unlikely that Europe’s leaders will take the unprecedented step of placing sanctions on Israel, it is not impossible.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2020.
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