Trump's transformation in the second phase

Trump belongs to the conservative populist thought, as he has a special charisma that qualifies him to address the masses in simple but revolutionary language, capable of influencing public opinion on many issues that are sensitive to them, such as fighting corruption, controlling public funds, improving education, reducing taxes, and other issues. As for the Palestinian issue, he seeks in his second term to resolve or settle the conflict and win the Nobel Peace Prize, in addition, of course, to maintaining the security of Israel as an advanced American protectorate in the Middle East.

Trump introduced the theory of deals in the first phase of his administration in 2017 in order to resolve the Palestinian issue, as he introduced his famous deal, the deal of the century, according to which he cancelled the right of return and proposed the principle of land exchange or geographical annexation within the framework of the principle of demographic displacement. He also removed Jerusalem from the Palestinian state, which he stipulated in return for recognizing it, impossible conditions that would make it closer to expanded self-rule, not an independent, connected and sovereign state. When his deal failed in the face of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their leadership’s historical rejection of this deal, Trump shifted in the second phase of his administration this year to another principle, which is imposing peace by force, as stated by his Middle East advisor, “Witkov.” Working with this principle requires making peace, according to the American perspective - which is represented by the deal of the century - a realistic, sustainable and binding matter for all parties by imposing it by force on everyone. In order to impose this perspective, the Trump administration announced a set of political directions represented by the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the annexation of the West Bank, and the suspension of UNRWA grants. This administration also froze grants to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the occupied Palestinian territories, in Egypt, and in Jordan, and threatened to cut off all types of aid to these countries.

What distinguishes the second phase of the Trump administration is its determination to pressure not only the Palestinians but also the Arab countries, as they are the environment that supports the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their leadership in the face of the liquidation projects of the Palestinian cause. This shift was clearly evident in the meeting between Jordanian King Abdullah and Trump at the White House, when Trump insisted on presenting the theory of displacing the Gazans in the press conference that was not previously scheduled. However, the Jordanian monarch was smart and diplomatic in his responses, when he said that there is an Arab-Egyptian plan that will be adopted at the Riyadh and Cairo summits, and that it will express the Arab position to achieve stability and security in the region and the interests of all countries and partners. Leaks from Cairo indicate that the elements of this plan will include reconstruction starting from the south to the north, in addition to receiving the sick and wounded in a number of Arab countries.

In fact, the plan to displace the Gazans cannot be underestimated in its importance and seriousness, nor can it be considered a negotiating event or blackmail of Arab and Palestinian positions. Displacement has been present since the first day of the war on the Gaza Strip, and had it not been for the Palestinian and Egyptian rejection of this plan, which was presented as a temporary act to protect civilians, the displacement would have become a lived reality. In addition, the insistence of the Israeli occupation army on destroying the Gaza Strip and making it an uninhabitable place is a necessary step in implementing the plan for forced or voluntary displacement in the Strip. This is why we find that the destruction of buildings and property in the Gaza Strip was comprehensive, ranging from 90% of these buildings in the north of the Strip to 70% in the south. The United States was not far from this plan for genocide, as the Biden administration provided the occupation forces with thousands of smart and non-smart bombs with high weights, with the aim of destroying the residential areas of citizens. Despite some restrictions on the supply of these weapons imposed by the Biden administration as a result of the rise in popular demonstrations demanding an end to this aggression, the Trump administration lifted these restrictions. In fact, some leaks indicate that Trump’s electoral team coordinated with the Netanyahu administration on the displacement plan since last August, even before Trump’s victory in the elections was confirmed. According to a report published by the Times of Israel magazine, the displacement and reconstruction plan was presented in a study for the Trump team in early July by Joseph Pilzman, a professor at George Washington University, as an expert in economics and international relations and head of the Center of Excellence for Economic Studies for the Middle East and North Africa at the university.

Finally, I almost assert that confronting Trumpism in its second phase cannot be purely Palestinian, as was the case in the first phase of his rule when Trump proposed the Deal of the Century. In fact, the confrontation plan must be primarily Arab. For this reason, we are counting on the five-party summit meeting in Riyadh, which includes, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the Emirates. We are also counting on the Arab Summit that will be held in Cairo on February 27. It is clear that the decisions of these summits must go beyond the framework of condemnation, denunciation, and affirmation, as they must propose operational programs to confront the idea of displacement by developing models for economic pressure on the United States, freezing the Abraham Accords, rebuilding the Gaza Strip, and establishing Arab funds to enhance the steadfastness of Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian National Authority.