Written by Adam Garrie; Originally appeared at The Duran
Upon entering office, Donald Trump frequently complained about “inheriting” wars from his predecessors. Of course this was true. Afghanistan and Iraq were George W. Bush’s wars while Libya, Syria and Yemen were Barack Obama’s wars. If one wants to refer to the crisis on the Korean peninsula, one can say that it was Harry S. Truman’s war, one that every subsequent US leader has inherited.
While Donald Trump was only a child during Nakba, the tragic expulsion of Palestinians from their homes at the hands of the still unrecognised Israel, today’s war in the region is very much his.
Just as George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush had unique wars which both took place in Iraq, so too has Donald Trump lit a fire under Palestine, even according to many pro-Israel voices in the United States, including the highly influential pro-Trump radio host Michael Savage who has scathingly criticised Trump’s move.
WRONG TIME TO MOVE US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM WILL PROVOKE VIOLENCE AND INSTABILITY
— Michael Savage (@ASavageNation) 6 December 2017
Palestine has never had a day of peace since 1947, but the lack of peace has not always necessarily meant the presence of full scale war.
Now though, with several lives already being taken in Gaza and with clashes continuing throughout the occupied territories, it is impossible not to trace the casus belli of the current tensions which appear to be the early stages of the Third Intifada, to Donald Trump’s recent speech in which he recognised Jerusalem/al-Quds as the Israeli capital.
While many in the US are in collective denial about the significance of Trump’s statement, in many ways it is the most Trumpian declaration of war imaginable, because it is a ‘branding war’.
Many are quick to point out that the US recognising Jerusalem/al-Quds as the Israeli capital does not change realities on the ground, has not convinced any other major nation to follow suit, has brought universal condemnation upon the US for toying with a fragile peace process and has not actually moved a single brick and mortar of a single embassy.
While this is true, it is also incredibly disingenuous to say that there have been no tangible results of Trump’s statement. The dead bodies and those of wounded Palestinians are a testament to the fact that Trump’s move was not at all insignificant. It also demonstrates that Trump’s predecessors were in fact wise, to continually suspend the execution of an act of Congress which called for the dangerous move.
According to Donald Trump’s apologists, the US President merely ‘branded’ Jerusalem/al-Quds with ‘brand Israel’, just as Trump branded so many hotels which he neither built nor owned as ‘brand Trump’. But as Trump certainly knows himself–names carry weight. Trump hotels signify something to American consumers, just as al-Quds signifies something to Palestinians.
However, far from something as frivolous as a hotel, for Muslims, al-Quds signifies a holy city from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven after his Night Journey. By branding the city as an Israeli capital, it deprives Palestinians both manifest and spiritual ownership of a place that is at the heart of the political resistance, spiritual purpose and religious identity.
This is not to say that countries like Russia and China want to exclude any group from the city. Russia and China, as neutral superpowers, seek to work within the framework of the UN peace process, in order for Jerusalem/Al-Quds to one day be a city of communal harmony, rather than one of exclusion and division.
It is equally naive to say that because Trump did not use the words “undivided capital” in his announcement, that the insult would not run as deep as if he did. The facts on the streets of Palestine speak for themselves, as virtually every country in the world as well as numerous Muslim and Christian leaders warned that they would.
Donald Trump is notoriously attached to his secular, profiteering brand, as the world knows all too well. How then, can any commentator say with sincerity that Palestinians are supposed to behave placidly when the identity of their state, the land of their ancestors and their two primary religions, Islam and Christianity, are so deeply insulted. Is the United States so lacking in spiritual and historical awareness that much of the population can relate to passions aroused over a business identity, but feel no empathy with those whose personal, religious and national identity has been stripped away?
Indeed, America is such a land of brand identity that when ABC news falsely reported that Trump’s campaign team rather than his transition team spoke with the Russian Ambassador in Washington, the biggest catalogue of profiteering brands in the world, the New York Stock Exchange, temporarily experienced a nosedive.
The pen can indeed be mightier than the sword and in Donald Trump’s case, his pen stroke has resulted in the firing of weapons and the taking of lives in occupied Palestine.
No one can exculpate Trump from the responsibility he bears for this disastrous decision, even though some commentators on both sides of the Israel-Palestine divide are trying to do so.
The causal relationship between Trump’s proclamation and the bloodshed in the streets of Palestine today, is beyond question. As someone who built much of his career selling a name rather than actions, he of all people should have been aware of how seriously the entire world would take his decision to defy international law and unilaterally rename Jerusalem/al-Quds as the capital of a state he likes, while plunging a state whose existence is suppressed, into a state of war.
George W. Bush declared war on Afghanistan less than nine months into his presidency. Trump has declared war on Palestine less than eleven months into his.
Trump’s war is not being fought by American soldiers, but is being outsourced to regional players. Nevertheless, the war is very much his. It is now all but undeniable that one cannot be a US President without starting one’s own war.
Trump’s announcement may well bring about the ‘ Third Intifada ‘. Without wishing to sound dismissive who remember the other two? People talk in grave terms ( like the article) about about Palestinian rage and international condemnation. But such thing have been ongoing for decades. All that will change is the body count as more Palestinians die throwing stones, just adding to the already huge total of dead.
My memory goes back as far as the Suez crisis. No body really cared about the Palestinians then and no body in a position to do anything cares now. Sure may be you can get crowds on to the street, and some will riot and smash thing up, and at the end of all this the Palestinian cause will have been pushed back not advanced.
Which only makes it worse. Had the third infiada had a chance of success (success being the destruction of the state of Israel), it would probably the biggest achievement of Trump’s presidency.
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I never sees to be amazed of the sickening hypocrisy even in here and the Duran about ISISrael contra the Palestinians.
Yeah, its both parts right, when IDF snipers blows the brain out of an child sitting in His school chair, and what is the response, huh, yeah, both parts have to be blamed, do you creeps know how many children the brave Jews have shoot with high power sniper rifles, do you scums have any idea, do you, children down to baby’s, shoot thru their backs, huh, only sick people and terminally insane creeps finds this justifiable, only Khazars like the Norwegians is ejaculating from this monstrosity, only evil monsters is applauding this. When the scums pollute large areas in Gaza with toxic waist, you MoFO claims this rest on both sides. When the scums take house by house, throws out the native, from village to village, you scums whines about BOTH parts have to restrain them self. This lis,t scums are an mile long, why do you creeps never report that, huh. This is the sole reason for me to know that even Russia, whom people so brain dead anuf to think their would help the Palestinians are so far, that its an bloody shame, even this scumbag, spineless back stabbing Putin is sucking the JooJos dicks, and when Russian Corps is in the Mediterranean sea where regions are disputed and some in Palestinian economic zone to you MoFo think Russia cares, huh.
I have watched the ABCDEFGRwhatever, every single on of the, even the rotten Al-scam-jazz is saying the same, never ever to this scums place anything where it should be, on the scums of this earth, the f…… jews.
Yeah, I wounder, when I read Norwegian News sites like VG, where ever single comment, every single f…. comment, said straight out that wack the Palestinians from the face of the earth, thats not hate speak, no, yeah, just wipe them out, and that is allowed on an nation wide news site, I wounder what are you, I know some of the FaceBook comments are paisted in by the News sites them self, and why are this open hate allowed, its becoming more and more evil, like the resent hate rhetoric against Russians, increasingly worse, they now in Facebook in Norway openly advocate that Russians and people married to Russians, should be executed or hunted down, wiped out, like their insane howling for Korean slaughter, nuke the NK, yeah, the Piss price nation, the same nation whom have trained and armed ISIS for soon an bloody decade.
I again, my only recommendation is this, to the Arabs, burn down the Kingdom of the Saudi-Barbarians, send small groups armed to their teethes, fire rockets on every single oil installation, every single refinery, every single airport, every single house complex owned by the Saudi-barbarians, burn the scums down to the ground.
Then take ISISrael, flood the land with people, as soon you are in their land, the war is much more difficult for the scums to conduct, never let the scums decide where the fight will be held, make it happen to your advance, attack ISISrael, go straight into the devils hart, and wipe them out from within, and wipe the scums from the face of this earth, what are they going to do, nuke them self, of course not, you get it, hit em hard, and show no mercy. This is how the ancient Varagians crushed the Khazarian empire, dont go for the open land, go straight for their after their head, and then outward, they usually collapses much faster that way than an conventional old time war fare.
This way, you neutralize the wankees, takes their army out of the field, since ISISrael is basically urban areas, just flood the land and kill everything in it.
Never give up, and never give in. This is about survival, because when Palestine is gone, they will come for you, and never forget that this treason was an pay back, an deal done to make the Saudi-barbarians have their war in Yemen, to the Rat is RyHad made an deal, and now this ISIS is fighting the Houtis, the sole reason for the latest advantages in the Yemen war theater. Thats the ugly truth, the Saudis, the Guardians of the Holy sites of Islam, sold Jerusalem it to the devils spawns, and the Russians will do nothing, they even sold Missile systems to this Saudi scums, what do that tell us, never trust the Russians, never, this fight is your Arabs.
Wipe the devils spawns out of existence wake up
peace
I agree with you.when did you become anti jewish? Here you are usually pro u’merrikka and anti -assad.they usually do not go together.
I could be wrong but khazars were destroyed by byzantine greek empire not varangians although varangians did fight and serve as byzantine emperor’s praetorian guard.
The article is wrong in the sense that this war is not something that Trump created. If Korea is an inheritance of Harry Truman, then the Israel/Palestine conflict is also an inheritance of the past, in this case the British. All Trump did was needlessly pour oil on the fire that was already burning for decades. And probably decades more to come.
What everyone is missing, is what I’ve written since before the embassy announcement. The embassy act recognises Israeli sovereignty over the entire city as Israel’s undivided capitol. Trump’s signing statement to the contrary doesn’t change that. And is a misrepresentation of what he actually did.
shurikan boy, shurikan, not slingshot!
This author is an idealog idiot who probably dosen’t believe half of what he says. Calling this Trumps war then using honey “reason” proves it.
What people like this guy wants is for the total destruction of Israel without a care what happens to the Palestinians. The hyped up hate spewing from the normal hateful actors in the Middle East, Europe and left wing America should be ignored in favor of a cautious wait and see approach to what Trump really has in mind.
So far the hate mongers attempts to keep the area in a state of never ending unrest has been successful with their talks of “two state solutions” which is total BS because two states can never coexist in the same territory. Isn’t it about time for a different approach?