America's undue influence on the Middle East must change - analysis

• Published date: 22 April 2024
• Author: ELIAS ZANANIRI/THE MEDIA LINE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

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With these two words, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reacted to the US veto at the latest UN Security Council session, in which 12 members voted for granting the State of Palestine full membership in the UN. Holding that the US bore "full responsibility for the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East," the Palestinian president labeled the veto "a blatant aggression against the right of our people and a challenge to the international community's will."

This wasn't the first time Palestinian leadership felt let down by US policies. Despite high hopes for Joe Biden, which they held even before his electoral victory nearly four years ago, their anticipation only led to increased frustration. Biden, as a presidential candidate, had committed to reopening the PLO office in Washington and the US Consulate in East Jerusalem, suggesting a significant shift from the policies under President Donald Trump. Yet, these hopes dissipated as promised actions failed to materialize.

For over three decades, the US's significant influence in the region has left the Palestinian Authority with scant optimism. Subsequently, the peace process, as it has been called since then, has encountered numerous hurdles and biases that made its completion a wild nightmare in a sleepless night. After the US became one of the main sponsors of the Oslo Accords signed at the White House in September 1993, the Palestinian leadership hoped it would shift roles and become a fair mediator between Israel and Palestine as opposed to its preceding role as a one-sided supporter of Israel. From a Palestinian perspective, that never happened. The Palestinian frustration and despair went on like an endless, surreal television series with continual new seasons.

Is there cause for optimism?

The October 7 2023, attack across Israel's southern border marked a new phase in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, bringing unprecedented levels of death, destruction, and displacement for both sides. The ongoing war in Gaza is shaping new dynamics that will inevitably influence the future of the Middle East. The outcome, whether positive or negative, will depend on the actions of all relevant parties to stop the war and move into a different zone of peacemaking instead of warmongering.

Within this context, discussions within the Palestinian leadership continue as they consider how to handle the US's antagonistic stance toward independent...