Four examples of Trump's "endless support" for Israel

The return of US President Donald Trump has been welcomed by a section of the Israeli public who see his second term as a return of support for Israel.

Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, supported Israel in its war on Gaza, as well as its invasion of Lebanon, but his administration's occasional suspicions of possible Israeli genocide in Gaza, which is now thought to have killed nearly 62,000 people, made parts of the Israeli public unhappy, writes Al Jazeera, the Telegraph reports.

And Trump's involvement in a ceasefire that led to the release of some Israeli prisoners from Gaza and his suggestions for the evacuation of Gaza's people have raised Israeli hopes that his second term will be as pro-Israel as his first.

Diplomacy

Trump's diplomatic moves and appointments reflect his unwavering support for Israel, Al Jazeera's article assesses.

He wants the US ambassador to Israel to be Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who opposes the two-state solution that would give Palestine a state and has even questioned whether "such a thing exists."

Trump's previous ambassador to Israel was the hard-liner, pro-solution David Friedman.

Trump also nominated Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik says Israel has a “biblical right” to the West Bank.

In 2017, Trump said that all of Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, despite Palestinian plans to declare occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

He also moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Under Trump, the US cut all funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, in 2018.

One of the principles on which UNRWA was founded was the Palestinian right to return to their homes from which they had been displaced by Israel after it occupied Palestinian lands.

In November 2019, citing anti-Israel bias, the US was the only country to vote with Israel against eight UN 4th Committee resolutions aimed at supporting Palestinian rights, condemning Israeli settlements, supporting refugee protection, ensuring the supply of humanitarian aid, and strengthening existing international law.

In 2020, Trump “pushed” for the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

This fostered economic ties and security cooperation with Israel in exchange for US aid or diplomatic support.

Supporting Israel's territorial expansion

Israel's illegal settlements on Palestinian land and other moves to expand its territory were also strongly supported by Trump.

In May 2019, Trump reversed decades of US policy and said the occupied Golan Heights were Israeli territory.

Then, in November 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected his department's 1978 legal opinion that the settlements were illegal, saying that "the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, in and of itself, contrary to international law."

The following year, Pompeo said that the decision whether to annex Palestinian territory of the West Bank was an Israeli decision.

The Trump administration then remained silent about construction to expand the settlement in Givat Hamatos near Jerusalem, which "cuts off" parts of the city claimed by the Palestinians.

The US was also silent when construction of new settlements in the city of Hebron began in December 2019, and planners cited changing US policy as a reason to proceed.

In 2020, Trump introduced the "Peace for Prosperity Plan," hailing it as a peace plan.

Trump's plan established Jerusalem as Israel's capital, rejecting Palestinian claims to occupied East Jerusalem.

It also envisioned Israel annexing large parts of the West Bank, legitimizing many of the Israeli settlements that were considered illegal under international law.

What little Palestinian state was allowed within the "plan" was fragmented, with limited sovereignty and subject to Israeli security control, Al Jazeera's article states, according to the Telegraph.

The proposals also required Palestinians to meet strict conditions before being granted citizenship, including disarming Hamas, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, and renouncing resistance to the Israeli occupation in exchange for economic investment, but not sovereignty.

The plan was overwhelmingly rejected by the Palestinians.

Attacking international courts

In 2019, the ICC announced that it had a reasonable basis to investigate possible war crimes by Israel in the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

The Trump administration strongly opposed this, defending Israel and taking steps to undermine the court.

The following year, in the face of fierce international opposition, it imposed sanctions on ICC officials, including chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, restricting their visas and freezing their assets.

Confrontations with Israel's regional rivals

During its first four years, the Trump administration was particularly focused on confronting many of Israel's regional rivals.

Early in its existence, the Trump administration pushed for increased sanctions on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, targeting its global financial network and threatening sanctions and account closures against anyone funding the group.

Hezbollah has clashed with Israel on many occasions.

In 2018, following the campaign of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), reinstating strict economic sanctions on Iran in an attempt to economically cripple Israel's regional enemy.

In April 2019, the US designated Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a "terrorist group", hoping to isolate it internationally and increase the costs to Iran "for its support for terrorist activity".

The following year, the US went a step further, killing IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, weakening Iran's regional influence and ability to maintain military positions in other countries in the region, such as Iraq and Syria, from where Israel felt itself under threat. /Telegraph/