Many Palestinians feel slighted and sidelined by Trump administration
Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem expressed extreme dissatisfaction over U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s three-day visit to Israel, during which he confirmed the Trump administration’s plan to relocate the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of 2019.
“[Pence] is playing with a very sensitive situation,” exclaimed Rateb, a resident of the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, in reference to the change in the “status quo” that has long governed relations between the three monotheistic faiths in Jerusalem. “[The vice president] is under the impression that he can impose by force his messianic fanaticism in a literalist manner,” he told The Media Line. “Pence must respect and adhere to the international law as that is the only possible and acceptable way to make peace.”
Many residents of east Jerusalem echoed these sentiments, telling The Media Line that they feel marginalized by the White House. “Trump has given the Jewish people Jerusalem, despite the fact that half of the city’s population is Arab-Muslim or Christian,” Abu Hasan noted. “[Trump] must be fair and divide the city between the two peoples.”
Abu Subhi told The Media Line that “justice requires balance,” highlighting the widespread belief that the Trump administration is biased towards Israel. “We don’t want the U.S to stand by our side, but for what’s right,” he stated, before urging the world’s most powerful country in to reconsider its policies so as to promote peace and not hate. “[Pence] doesn’t understand history and lacks the know-how to make peace,” Marwan interjected, while another youth, Mohammed, contended to The Media Line that, “there is nothing called Israel but there is Palestine and its capital is Jerusalem.”
Another Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem, who spoke to The Media Line on condition of anonymity, asserted that every time senior American officials visit Israel they end up causing chaos and bringing instability to the West Bank. “We don’t want him [Pence] here as he is annoying, damaging and leads us to strikes—thereafter, the markets are empty and cold,” he said.
Still others were more extreme, with one individual describing Vice President Pence as an animal. For her part, Seret, a young Palestinian woman, stressed to The Media Line that “Pence is unwelcome in Jerusalem as he supports the occupation.”
Prior to his trip to Israel, the American vice president visited Egypt and Jordan, where he discussed Trump’s Jerusalem declaration. While both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II reiterated their disapproval, the latter on Wednesday implied from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that it was time to move on and work towards jump-starting negotiations.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir similarly affirmed from the summit that, “[we] must wait for the American plan [and] if it will have components that both parties can accept, it will be possible to renew negotiations despite the current crisis surrounding the Trump [Jerusalem] statement.”
Irrespective of these comments, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has thus far stood firm, effectively disqualifying Washington from its historical role as mediator of the peace process and refusing to partake in any diplomatic initiative spearheaded by the White House. Instead of engaging with the Americans, Abbas has attempted to secure international support—primarily from European nations, but also from Russia and China—for the development of a new multi-lateral paradigm for talks.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has admonished the PA chief, emphasizing that, “there is no alternative for American leadership.… Whoever is not ready to talk with the Americans about peace, does not want peace.”