Articles
Gaza’s presence in the presidential debate By Dr. Youssef Makki September 22,2024
By Dr. Youssef Makki- Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Ebeid
Gaza’s presence in the presidential debate
By Dr. Youssef Makki September 22,2024
Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Ebeid.
The Democratic presidential candidate was not wrong when she stated that she was not President Joseph Biden or Donald Trump. Presidents Biden and Trump belong to the white race, the Anglo-Saxon race, and they do not hide their adherence to it. The latter does not hesitate to express racist attitudes towards immigrants, whom he describes as pet eaters, according to his statement in the presidential debate that brought him together with presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The origins of presidential candidate Kamala Harris, from an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, make her language different from that of Biden and Trump, not only on issues of identity and attitude towards immigrants but also on domestic economic policies, as well as on other issues, including Israel’s war of extermination against civilians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Biden and Trump’s relationship with the Zionist entity almost amounts to Sufi affiliation. Trump recognized the united city of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, contrary to the resolutions issued by the Security Council and the United Nations, and against international law, which considers East Jerusalem an occupied territory, and the Palestinians consider it the capital of their future state. Joseph Biden has stated on several occasions that he is a Zionist and that if Israel did not exist, it would have to be found. His Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is vocal in his unequivocal support for Israel vis-à-vis the people of Gaza. It is true that Biden, unlike Trump, stresses the importance of establishing an independent Palestinian state, taking its place in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and that the eastern part of Jerusalem is part of this state. Still, this statement does not mean anything on the ground as long as the Oslo agreement was canceled by Netanyahu. The Biden administration hnoitallecnac tos not objected to it to this day. This administration has consistently stood in the UN Security Council to prevent any resolution condemning Israel’s genocidal war against civilians in the Gaza Strip. I vetoed any condemnation of its practices. The issue of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied in the June 1967 war, specifically in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip was first raised at a summit meeting between former US President Jimmy Carter and Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. This was repeated under President Bill Clinton. That was the basis on which the Oslo negotiations were built, under the auspices of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Oslo Accords were signed on September 13, 1993, between Arafat and Rabin at the White House under the auspices of US President Clinton. It was agreed to postpone the issues of Jerusalem and refugees for final negotiations, which will take place five years after the signing of the said agreement in 1998. Twenty-six years after the signing of the Agreement, another step in achieving the Palestinian people’s aspirations for freedom and emancipation has not yet found its way into the light of day. It is true that after the second Gulf War, in 1990, President George H.W. Bush stressed the importance of finding a solution to the Palestinian question and called for the convening of the Madrid Conference, which took place immediately after the war on Iraq to force it out of Kuwait. The Syrian Golan Heights remain occupied to this day, and the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip remain on the list of expenses. In fact, former Israeli prime ministers, such as Peres and Olmert, and even within the Likud party, such as Erbil Sharon and Sibni Livni, adopted more flexible positions toward an independent Palestinian state, but this did not lead to its creation. The only practical step achieved on the road to achieving the minimum level of the Palestinian people was the signing of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement, later known as the Oslo Accords, under which the Palestinian Authority was formed under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat.,then followed by President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) after his departure. In the current US elections, the issue of the war on Gaza has emerged clearly, in which US President Trump represented the extremist side, refusing to recognize any rights for the Palestinians and accusing candidate Harris of supporting Hamas and standing against Israel. For her part, Kamala Harris affirms her strong commitment to Israel’s security and the provision of all the necessities to achieve this. On the other hand, it stressed the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and securing the political rights of the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The way to achieve this is to reach a deal whereby the hostages will be released, a ceasefire, the reconstruction of the aftermath of the war on the Gaza Strip, the provision of water and food to the Palestinians, and the return of the displaced to their homes. The recent statement issued by the Arab foreign ministers, which asked the international community to activate the advisory opinion issued by the International Criminal Court, which stressed the illegality of Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, is a step in the right direction, which should be adhered to, but this is not enough from our Arab brothers, because the Palestinian cause is basically their cause. All means should be used to achieve the cessation of the war of genocide in Gaza and the aspirations of the Palestinians for freedom, self-determination, and the building of an independent state of Palestine.
