Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist/Author
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, not only the US neighborhood, such as Canada, Panama and Mexico, but almost every region of the world, from Europe to the Middle East, from the Pacific to the Arctic, is facing seismic tremors.
One of these regions is undoubtedly the Middle East, where Israel, which the US defines itself as an unconditional supporter and security guarantor, is located.
Indeed, shortly after taking office, Trump first approved $7.4 billion in arms sales to improve Israel’s so-called ‘defense capabilities’, threatened Hamas with ‘hell to pay’ despite a ceasefire agreement, and announced a plan to turn Gaza into a ‘Middle East riviera’ to legitimize Israel’s occupation.
Moreover, Trump signed a decree that includes a policy of ‘total pressure’ against Iran, threatening to ‘destroy’ Iran if necessary for Israel’s security.
Will all these controversial steps of Trump and the possible steps that the extremist Netanyahu administration in Israel will take with the courage of Trump lead the region to a greater chaos and even further to a major war in which the US will be involved?
The ‘peace through strength’ strategy
The steps taken by the US in the past month and the names the new president has included in his cabinet have clearly demonstrated Trump’s strategy of ‘peace through strength’.
We can say that Trump’s threats in line with this strategy have so far found ‘conciliatory responses’ and achieved results.
Mexico backed down by deploying 10,000 troops to the border in the first phase after Trump’s threats of tariffs on border security.
Colombia took a step back by announcing that it would accept migrant planes to be sent to the country by the US, following Trump’s threats of restricting diplomatic relations and tariffs due to the migrant crisis. Panama backed down by withdrawing from China’s Belt and Road Initiative after Trump threatened to take back the Panama Canal due to its relations with China.
Greenland backed down by announcing that it would allow the US to establish more military bases on the island after Trump’s threats to seize or buy the island. The latest development was the war between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskiy, who declared from the first day of the war that they would not end the war without taking all of their territory, stepped back after Trump’s threat to cut aid, stating that he could end the war based on the current field reality.
Moreover, after Trump’s demand, he announced that he would make an allocation of $ 500 billion from Ukraine’s underground resources to the USA.
Will there be ‘steps backwards’ in the Middle East?
Trump, who signed a decree to continue the ‘full pressure’ policy towards Iran in the Middle East in his first term, appointed names to his cabinet that will be defined as hawks, especially on Iran.
Indeed, names such as Marco Rubio, whom Trump appointed as Secretary of State, Michael Waltz, whom he appointed as National Security Advisor, and Scott Bessent, whom he appointed as Treasury Secretary, have consistently displayed a militarist stance against Iran’s nuclear activities and its presence in Iraq, Syria and Yemen throughout their political history.
It seems that Trump, who failed to deter Iran during his previous term, wants to demonstrate that this time he will not only use economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation, but will also take military steps together with Israel ‘if necessary’. However, Israel is undoubtedly the critical trigger here. Israel continues to act with a provocative strategy to turn the war, which has been going on for 16 months and which has paused with the ceasefire agreement that it has been making maximum efforts to break at any moment, into a multi-front war.
The impotence of the leaders in the region paves the way for both the Israeli occupation and Trump’s plans.
King Abdullah Abdullah of Jordan seems to be the most obvious example in this regard, with his condemning attitude during his recent visit to the White House and his ‘inability’ to oppose Trump’s attempt to expel the Palestinians in Gaza from their lands.
But King Abdullah is not the only example.
– Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is caught between the economic crisis, the threat of a possible refugee influx and his relations with the United States,
– Lebanese President Josep Aoun, who has been described as ‘Washington’s man’ on Hezbollah despite taking part in his country’s legitimately elected parliament,-King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain and Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, who signed the Abraham Accords with Israel,
– Mohammed bin Salman, the leader of Saudi Arabia, who offered to invest $1 trillion for ‘close relations’ with the United States,
And even Mahmoud Abbas, who recently cut financial aid to the families of Palestinian martyrs, facilitates the US and Israel’s occupation plans in the region. While all these leaders’ backward steps and their capitulating, capitulating attitudes have shifted the balance in the region in favor of the US and Israel, the only force that did not back down against Trump’s threats was Hamas.
Hamas has clearly stated that it will maintain its stance against Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a ‘Middle East Riviera’ and that it will not back down against Trump’s recent threat to ‘turn Gaza into hell’.
Conclusion
At this point, the hypocritical reality under the ‘rules-based order’ built on the interests of the US and the West to protect their own interests has become clearer. With Trump’s return, the real face of the international order has been revealed and the ‘might makes right’ approach is trying to create a new reality in the Middle East without the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
The coming period will undoubtedly be a period in which Trump will take new steps in the Middle East together with Israel and try to design the region, especially Iran and Gaza, first with threats and then with military steps for the so-called ‘security of Israel’. However, neither this militarist approach, nor the bought leaders, nor the last struggles of this global order, which is coming to an end, will be able to change the reality of Palestine. Because history has repeatedly shown and will show again that a belief in which death is considered martyrdom and honour and living is only for struggle can never be defeated.