In a meeting with Palestine leader Mahmoud Abbas, The US Secretary of State claimed that the US will continue to support Palestinians in Israel, despite Biden’s commencement of Netanyahu, who intends to implement an anti-Palestinian regime. He also reaffirmed US support for making Palestine its own state as Israel continues building internationally illegal settlements that will prevent the formation of an independent Palestine. On behalf of the US, the Secretary of State claimed deep support for the violence in the West Bank of East Jerusalem where the ultra-nationalist Jewish population conflicts with Palestinian Arabs, and said they will provide aid if violence intensifies.
I find it interesting that the US has claimed they will provide aid to the West Bank “if violence intensifies,” since there have already been bombings taking place nearly every day in the region. Recently, there have been even more rising tensions between israelis and Palestinians on West Bank after a mystery bombing that the Israelis blame on Palestinians. Despite this, Israel has been firing daily air attacks on Palestine that have only intensified, and are sure to go even farther once Bezalel Smotrich takes office (who will demand the Minister of Defense position). Bezalel is the leader of Israel’s Religious Zionism Party, a Jewish supremacist group that is known for their anti-Arab beliefs. I am curious to see how/if the US will respond to his appointment, considering their more progressive stance on human rights and social justice.
It is interesting to see the US interact with such issues in Israel, as they have expressed clear national interest in keeping close ties with the nation for many reasons. For one, it is important for the US to have strategic relations with countries in the shatterbelt region of the Middle East. In remaining loyal to Israel, they are establishing alliances with who they think will remain dominant in the shatterbelt, as we’ve learned about in class. The US also pledges loyalty to Israel to uphold democratic values, as stated by Biden in his commencement, because Israel’s electoral processes are very similar to the US. And although they are pulling away from it, the Middle East has oil reserves that can be beneficial to the US.