Undermining Middle East Stability
A weakened role for the U.S. as a peacemaker may lead to heightened tensions and further instability in the region
By David Chmielewski
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
On MONDAY, MAY 14TH, MASSIVE BLOODSHED OCCURRED along the Gaza border fence between Palestine and Israel as Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian protesters attempting to cross the fence. Using tear gas and live gunfire, Israeli forces were able to keep Palestinian protesters out of their territory, but in the process the Palestinian Health Ministry estimates that more than 2,700 protestors were injured and at least 58 were killed. The killings formed a dramatic backdrop to the relocation of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision that has angered many Palestinians and has been identified as one motivator of the protests by Palestinian leaders, which occurred the same day as the protests.
The debate over who is to blame for the situation is unlikely to come to a conclusion anytime soon. Palestinian leaders have blamed Israel for the deaths and in the wake of them urged the International Court of Criminal Justice to investigate Israel for systemic crimes against the Palestinian people. Meanwhile, Israel and the United States have pinned the blame on Hamas and claim Israel was simply defending its border from aggression. But what is clear is that the majority of the United State’s European allies have come down on the side of the Palestinians. Leaders of major allies like Theresa May of the United Kingdom and Emmanuel Macron of France both condemned Israel’s actions regarding the protests. More broadly, the international community as a whole has moved to investigate the matter with the United Nations Human Rights Council voting to open an investigation into the killings despite Israeli and American objections. Regardless of the results of the United Nations investigation, the protests and Israel and Palestine’s subsequent rush to blame the other will serve to undermine Middle Eastern stability by creating even more tension between Israel and Palestine.
But what is clear is that the majority of the United State’s European allies have come down on the side of the Palestinians
In terms of the implications of the protests, whether or not the Palestinians will receive any benefits from the protests remain to be seen. Leaders of Hamas have expressed that they believe that the protests will bring benefits, in particular “a refocusing of international attention on the plight of Palestinians and ‘real steps’ to ease a crippling blockade that has sharply curtailed the movement of goods and people to and from the [Gaza] strip.” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh pointed to the fact that Egypt allowed its border with the Gaza strip to be opened for the month of Ramadan as evidence the protests were working to alleviate the blockade. However, given how Israel has decided to blame Hamas for the deaths, it seems unlikely that Israel will move to lift its own blockade without any other international action. Therefore, unless the international community opts to punish Israel to a degree it has not previously, it is difficult to see how the protests will create any significant benefits for Palestine’s position.
The protests also simply further show how the United States has weakened its position as an arbiter of peace in the Middle Eastern region. By moving the American embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the city as Israel’s capital, President Trump radically broke with decades of American foreign policy doctrine. That has caused much anger at the United States among Palestinians and the combination of the protests and the embassy move will likely only continue the trend of Palestinian leaders discrediting the United States’ ability to negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This discrediting is evident by the statements of Palestinian leaders such as Nabil Shaath, an adviser to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, who stated that “What Mr. Abbas is saying is I don’t want America altogether […] to be the owner of this peace process.” Shaath elaborated in an interview with the Los Angeles Times where he stated “The rules have been destroyed” by Trump’s embassy move and that Palestine’s only alternative is a “is an international multipolar world.”
This is a departure from previous administrations when the United States was looked to as a nation that could step in and help solve the conflict. As Ilan Goldenberg, a former state department official who currently runs the runs the Middle East program at the Center for a New American Security, explains “Traditionally, we’ve tried to play a role of fireman in the Middle East. Now we’re playing the role of arsonist.” When combined with the raising tensions between Israel and Palestine resulting from these protests, the United States’ weakened position as a peacemaker means the consequences of these protests will likely only be further instability in the Middle East and more difficulty reaching a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
