Donald Trump with his wife Melania at his campaign’s watch party in Florida, USA, on Wednesday. [Picture: Reuters]
With Donald Trump just an arm’s length away from the White House, Palestinians have once again been defeated. A foreign policy expert says their interests will be placed second, if at all, to those of Apartheid Israel.
“Palestinians will suffer,” said Dr Ahmed Jazbhay, a lecturer on foreign policy and international relations at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He was reacting to results indicating a victory for Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“Whoever won, the Palestinian issue would not be high on the agenda of either candidate, whether it was [Kamala] Harris or Trump, or even the other smaller candidates … Israel is on top of the agenda,” he said.
Noting the significant influence that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) exercised on American candidates, he said: “The greenlight to continue the genocide of Palestinians will continue”.
Although the results of the American presidential race are yet to be declared, results show Trump is just three electoral votes away from victory. 270 electoral votes are required for a candidate to become president; Trump has 267 and Harris has 224.
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Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was among the first of several world leaders to congratulate Trump on his apparent victory. This was after the Republican candidate himself declared that he had won.
“Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” the apartheid state’s leader said.
Jazbhay said a Trump victory was exactly what Netanyahu wanted, as it would mean the continued supply of weapons to Israel on the American taxpayers’ dime. This would mean more suffering for the Palestinians who have already endured more than a year of bombardment.
“The war on Gaza will not end by way of a ceasefire [or] by way of a hostage deal. If it is going to end, unfortunately it will only end because of the unrestrained supply of weapons by Trump to Netanyahu.”
