There has been much discussion about the US role in the Middle East recently, with various perspectives circulating on social media. While many people seem to have strong feelings about the matter, few are actually familiar with what’s happening on the ground. In this blog post, we aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the US role in it. We will explore how the US has betrayed Palestinians time and time again, and what the future holds for them.
He asserts, “He may offer us something here and there, but it’s all empty promises.” Promises and things have remained the same since the beginning of the occupation, and they have all failed and been empty promises.
Since the beginning of the occupation, Palestinians have warned that the US has betrayed them and that they can only take so much. The Trump administration’s recent move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has only served to confirm these suspicions.
In a op-ed for The New York Times, Akram Awad, a professor at Georgetown University and one of the co-authors of a report on Palestinian economic development, writes that since Trump took office, “the American Embassy in Jerusalem has been moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; tens of millions of dollars in promised aid for Gaza have not materialized; Israeli settlements continue to expand; and there has been no change in Israeli policies limiting Palestinian access to education, health care or land.”
Awad went on to say that these failures are indicative of a larger pattern: “Since President Trump took office, we have seen empty promises coupled with deeper entrenchment on both sides. This cycle will only end when conditions on the ground change.”
I’m 40 years old, and the same thing keeps coming to mind. The situation has not changed despite the numerous leadership changes, he states.
Palestinians are not the only ones who feel this way. Across the Arab world, people are watching what’s happening in the United States with growing dismay and disappointment. Many Arabs believed that the Obama administration would usher in a new era of understanding and cooperation between America and their region. But now they see that this is not the case. Instead, there has been a dramatic deterioration in US relations with many Arab countries, most notably with Egypt and Syria.
The causes of this trend are manifold, but at root it is an ideological clash between American liberalism and Arab nationalism. The former insists on promoting open societies and democratic values; the latter supports authoritarian regimes that emphasize traditional values. This difference of opinion has led to repeated clashes, most notably in Syria where President Assad has successfully defended his regime against armed opposition groups supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey.
Despite these difficulties, some Arabs have continued to hope for better relations between America and their region. In an interview with Al Jazeera English last year, President Abbas said: “We believe that if we manage things well diplomatically through dialogue and consultation then our problems will be solved.” Unfortunately, these expectations appear to be unfounded.
What many Palestinians are beginning to realize is that they have been betrayed by America. After all these years of support -financial and military- they expected more than empty assurances from successive American administrations about a future resolution to the conflict…
Despite the pouring rain, Abu A’asem continues to make pots of his specialty Arabic coffee. No matter the weather, his corner stand in the heart of Ramallah is always busy.
Despite the pouring rain, Abu A’asem continues to make pots of his specialty Arabic coffee. No matter the weather, his corner stand in the heart of Ramallah is always busy.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he said. “I love coffee and I love my customers.”
Abu A’asem’s coffee is famous throughout Palestine. He makes it using traditional methods, which involve boiling water with beans and grinding them fresh every morning. Some of his customers travel from as far away as Jerusalem to buy his coffee.
But despite the popularity of his coffee, Abu A’asem says that he has had to face many challenges over the years. For one, there are few other sources of income in Palestinian townships like Ramallah. And even if there were, most people can’t afford to pay high prices for coffee when there are so many other things they need to buy.
“The US government promised us a lot,” Abu A’asem said. “But now they’re abandoning us.”
