Trump's Jerusalem decision: US isolated, world's solidarity with Palestinian cause reinforced

The United States has never been an honest peace broker in the Middle East. Since the Balfour declaration, the United States became an ardent sympathiser of the Jews clamouring for a separate homeland for them. The gruesome persecution of the Jews in Europe, under German occupation, during the World War II generated profound sympathy for them in Europe. Following the termination of the World War II, the United States collaborated with Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union in carving out a homeland for the Jews right in the heart of Palestine.  Israel was established in 1948. Arabs living in the territory fought against the intruders but could not withstand a well-armed population. Arabs, in thousands, were expelled to neighbouring countries and have been living as refugees for the past nearly seventy years.

The Muslim world never acquiesced to implanting of Israel in Palestine. Egypt, Jordan and Syria collectively attempted to regain the territory in June 1967. But Israel in a preemptive strike destroyed the Egyptian air force and scored a victory in the war. It annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and occupied Golan Height from Syria and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. Israel established its capital in West Jerusalem. The international community did not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, instead set up embassies in Tel Aviv. The United States established its embassy in Tel Aviv but set up a consulate in West Jerusalem as well.

Six years later Arabs tried again. Though they fought better than before and inflicted severe casualty on Israeli army, nevertheless, could not achieve their objectives of either extermination of Israel or recovering the lost territories. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made a dramatic shift and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. A few years later, Jordan followed the suit.

The United States was the major source of procurement of arms for Israel and the American Jewish community was the strongest lobby in securing economic assistance to Israel. Following the 1967 war, the US government became progressively engaged in providing economic and military assistance to Israel. Arab countries, in general, were aligned towards Moscow in adhering totalitarian political system and centralised economic management. Israel was the lone country in the Middle East practising democracy and laissez-faire economy in tune with western countries. It thus became a darling of the West, especially of the United States.

Following the Oslo Accord in 1993, the United States focused on the Middle East. It hijacked the key role from Norwegian government which for years had facilitated secret talks between Israeli and Palestinian representatives. By that time, Egypt had switched from the Soviet bloc to the Western bloc and the PLO, led by Yasser Arafat, got isolated due to its unequivocal support to Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. The PLO was longing for an opportunity to reassert its position and the United States was aspiring to get engaged in the Middle East. President Clinton seized the opportunity following the Gulf War and set the stage for the Peace Agreement ratified by Israeli government and the  PLO in 1993.

The PLO returned to the West Bank and established its headquarters in Ramallah. In exchange, it recognised the State of Israel. The United States and the European Union (EU) provided financial support to the PLO to build institutions including its security forces and infrastructure. Palestinian refugees were allowed to return home but only in the West Bank and Gaza. The status of Jerusalem was left to further negotiation between Israel and the PLO - both claimed the city as their capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995 which marked the beginning of derailment of the peace process. Israeli government began building settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem in defiance of the international community, including the United States. Palestinians rose in protests and the Israeli army forcefully tried to quell the unrest. The violence led to mass uprising called Intifada. Till now, three intifadas have occurred and hundreds of Palestinians have been killed. Excessive force applied by the Israeli security forces led to the death of unarmed civilians and drew worldwide condemnation. Washington, however, chose a different course; it would condemn the violence but at the same time reiterated "Israel has the right to exist". It would not denounce the murders of unarmed women and children by Israeli security forces. This ambiguity cast doubt on the role of the United States in brokering peace deal in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The United States has never been even handed in dealing with the parties involved in the conflict. It would sanction $2.00 billion to Israel in economic and military assistance annually while a few million to the Palestinian Authority as emergency assistance. Iron Drone System was built in Israel costing about $1.00 billion, funded by the US, to neutralise the rockets fired from Gaza. President Obama, in his last days in office, approved $33.00-billion aid to Israel for the next ten years to improve its infrastructure and strengthen its security. No package was offered to the Palestinians.

Washington warned the Palestinians not to seek UN membership arguing that it would jeopardise the peace process. When the Palestinians, in defiance of the pressure, approached the UN, the member states overwhelmingly voted in favour of Palestine. Only nine countries, led by the United States, opposed the resolution. Washington vetoed resolutions critical of Israel in the Security Council several times reinforcing the notion that it would firmly defend Israel regardless of merits of the resolutions. In November 2017, Washington decided to withdraw from UNESCO due to its report highlighting Palestinian heritage in Jerusalem.

The massive expansion of settlements has left not much land for the proposed state of Palestine. International community, including the United States, declared the settlement illegal. The Israeli government built a huge long wall separating the Palestinian homes from agricultural land and rendering the lands inaccessible. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed the idea of creation of Palestine under his watch but at the same time wanted the Palestinians to return to negotiating table. What a travesty! If the goal post has been removed, what is there to negotiate? The US officials very often complain that Palestine's inability to return to negotiation is disrupting the peace process, knowing well that the peace process has been stalled years ago by Netanyahu.

Under this backdrop, President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has exacerbated the situation. Though the US Senate passed a resolution in 1995 declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital, successive administration withheld the recognition to give peace talks a chance. Trump decided otherwise - the entire region is now in turmoil.

The EU President has rejected Netanyahu's plea to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Germany, France, Great Britain and other European countries have denounced Washington's recognition as counterproductive. The Muslim countries condemned US action. The Organisation of Islamic Conference  (OIC), in its emergency meeting held in Istanbul on December 12, declared East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. China and Russia have also condemned the US recognition.

On December 18, an Egyptian drafted resolution was moved at the UN Security Council proposing "any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded." The US vetoed the resolution though all remaining 14 members welcomed it.

The UN General Assembly voted on an identical resolution on December 21 and once again Israel-US coalition was totally rejected and isolated. As the New York Times reports:"A lopsided majority of United Nations members rebuked the United States on Thursday, denouncing its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ignoring President Trump's threats to retaliate by cutting aid to countries voting against it.

"In a collective act of defiance toward Washington, the United Nations General Assembly voted 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions, for a resolution demanding that the United States rescind its Dec. 6 declaration on Jerusalem, the contested holy city.

"The resolution is nonbinding and therefore largely symbolic, but the vote indicated the extent to which the Trump administration's departure from a 50-year international consensus on Jerusalem's status has unsettled world politics and contributed to America's diplolmatic isolation."

The US decision on Jerusalem has reinforced the long held view that Washington has been a part of the problem and it cannot play the role of a peace broker.

The writer is a former official of the United Nations.

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