Donald Trump expresses support for a one-state solution, which would mean the permanent subjugation of the Palestinian people and accelerated alienation from their homeland.
UNITED STATES PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP seems determined to give the occupied territories to the Israelis on a platter and junk the two-state solution, if the statement he made at a joint conference he addressed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is any indication. He seemed to go back on more than 20 years of stated American policy supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has raged for the past seven decades. Trump said he was looking at both “the two-state and one-state solution”, and added that he would accept either solution if the two parties involved in the conflict agreed. It was the first time a U.S. President had openly expressed support for a one-state solution to the conflict. A one-state solution, which is what the Israeli state has been building a case for, would mean the permanent subjugation of the Palestinian people and accelerated alienation from their homeland.
Netanyahu exulted when Trump won the presidency, especially after his statement that he would shift the American embassy to Jerusalem. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to be “the most pro-Israeli President in history”. After his swearing-in as President, better sense seems to prevailing in the corridors of power in Washington. There at least seems to be no rush to shift the embassy to Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is the designated capital of the state of Palestine.
But Palestinians continue to be deeply suspicious of the Trump presidency since avid supporters of the Zionist project now play an active role in the Trump administration. Among them is Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is now an adviser to the President. Kushner’s father has donated generously to the right wing in Israel, including to settlement projects in the West Bank.
This story is from the March 17, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the March 17, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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