Trump in the Middle East

US President Donald Trump ended his tour of the Middle East with another call for peace between Israel and Palestine, but as it is with the current US president the entire affair was about optics. Having met both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump declared that both leaders were willing to work with him to achieve the goal of peace. The lack of substance on any of the serious issues that put the two at loggerheads was to be expected. There was no talk of territory, borders, settlements, terrorism or even the controversial plan to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. What was clear is that Trump is seeking a new relationship between Israel and its traditionally hostile Middle Eastern neighbours. He arrived in Israel after addressing the Sunni kingdoms in the Middle East about terrorism and toeing their line on Iran. There is a good chance that behind closed doors other demands were made as well -- although there seemed to be few strings attached to the $480 billion in agreements signed between the US and Saudi Arabia.

Every American president has found himself grappling with the complex challenge of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. And none has been willing to push the aggressor, Israel, to undertake serious overtures towards recognising the pre-1967 Palestinian territory as a full state. The standing ovation Trump got in Israel made clear the hypocrisy of a state that claims the legacy of the horrific Holocaust to back the logic for its existence. Overall, the focus of Trump’s trip to the Middle East seemed more about meeting anyone who does not like Iran and to criticise Iran, despite the re-election of moderate Rouhani once again. One way of moving forward is the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, proposed by the then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Israel has never been committed to the plan and it is uncertain whether the current US administration wants to revive it. But there is a larger elephant in the room that Trump is unwilling to address. Peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East by backing autocrats. The legacy of the Arab Spring and the lingering dissent against authoritarian rule inside most Arab states could mean that Trump’s overtures could backfire soon.