Issues Under Fire: Trump to Palestinians: Negotiate on My Terms or Starve
Donald Trump, the ultimate bully, has sunk to a new all-time low, as he's now threatening to withhold all funding the United States provides to the Palestinian people. Occupied for decades awaiting a negotiated solution to their plight, Palestinians were finally forced to conclude there is no path to a state of their own. And there never was one. When Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to move its embassy there to emphasize the point, Palestinians saw the writing on the wall. A two-state solution would never be achieved as long as they continued to negotiate with the United States. So, they just walked away. However, there's a price to pay for such insolence.
Unfortunately, the reality of the Palestinian people is, they can't just walk away. They have no place to go. They can't even move around freely within their own confined spaces. Everything they do can only be done with Israeli permission. Palestinians exist in an open-air prison. They depend on the outside world to provide everything they need from toothpaste to toilet paper. Without external funding for food, housing, education and basic health services, they would die. And that's not an exaggeration. So when the Palestinians refused to meet with Vice President Pence, they were literally risking cutting off the hand that fed them.
Donald Trump was incensed by the act of defiance. How dare they disrespect the United States. How dare they seek other partners to engage in peace talks. How dare they show contempt for their condition. Pride, self-respect, and independence will not be tolerated. These people need to be put back in their place and the best way to do that is to remind them who's the boss. They'll change their minds when they're facing fuel and power shortages. They'll come around when access to clean water becomes scarce. Their resolve will be broken when food rationing becomes necessary. Again!
Some would say Donald Trump has the Palestinians by the short hairs. And they might be right. Many will indeed crack under the pressure. Let's face it, it's not easy for a mother to watch her children lose weight and fall into poor health for lack of enough food to sustain them. When medicines and medical supplies are in short supply, the sick will be more inclined to plead with prideful hard-liners to reconsider. We can't take this anymore, they'll cry. And that's what Donald Trump is counting on. Trump is confident he can impose enough suffering on the Palestinian people to bring them to their knees and ultimately back to the negotiating table.
Still, while Trump may have the power to do all these things and worse, he may be underestimating the strength of the Palestinian people. They've got decades of experience surviving by eating mud and drinking muddy water. They're no strangers to hard times. Donald Trump has always lived in the lap of luxury. He's never been hungry a day in his life nor had to want for anything. Someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth would have no idea what it's like to skip a meal or two or three on any given day, in order to let another eat instead. Perhaps this is why Trump is convinced he can break the spirit of the Palestinian people this way.
Bottom line: If Donald Trump had any idea of the troubles Palestinians have seen, he'd know his threats of starving them into submission won't even come close to achieving the results he's demanding. Palestinians have been beaten up, beaten down and jailed without bail. Knowing their homes will be bulldozed for participating in street protests, leading to violent confrontations, they continue to fight the heavily armed IDF with only rocks and bottles. No matter what they've had to endure, Palestinians have persisted in resisting the status quo. They won't give in to Trump's pressure and they'll never give up their quest for a home of their own. Podcast below.
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