Three years ago, Joe Biden became the President of the United States. Many people who support the Palestinians hoped things would get better for them. Before Biden, there was Donald Trump, whose administration strongly supported Israel and its right-wing ideas. Many saw Trump as the worst American leader for the Palestinians, but now it seems Biden is even worse.
Currently, Biden supports Israel's aggressive actions in Gaza, which have caused a complete blockage of essential resources like electricity, water, food, and medicine. This has led to the deaths of many Palestinian civilians. Biden has also defended Israel against allegations of war crimes and repeated Israeli propaganda, even questioning the number of Palestinian casualties.
Biden has outdone Trump in dehumanizing the Palestinians.
However, let's be realistic here. The United States has never been a fair mediator in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Instead, it has always leaned towards supporting Israel and has not paid much attention to the rights of the Palestinian people.
The U.S. has never really used its influence to bring about a fair and just peace. Instead, it has given a lot of military aid to Israel, even during the Obama administration, which many considered progressive. This financial support was the largest in U.S. history.
Support for Israel has always been a significant part of U.S. politics. Candidates in presidential elections often compete to prove their pro-Israel stance.
Even when the U.S. seemed to address Palestinian concerns, it was not necessarily in the best interests of the Palestinians. For example, the Biden administration reversed some decisions of its predecessor, but this was mainly to maintain a system that relieves Israel of its legal responsibility towards the Palestinian population it occupies.
The U.S. doesn't really care about the well-being of Palestinians, just as the early European settlers did not care about Native Americans. The U.S. sees the Palestinians as a troublesome population that won't accept the reality of Israeli colonization quietly.
The U.S. views the Palestinians as a pesky native population that won't accept colonization, just like Native Americans and other indigenous groups were seen as "problems" by European colonialists.
The U.S. is pragmatic about its foreign policy and doesn't believe it needs the Palestinians, who are seen as weak and insignificant. Until the situation changes, Palestinian rights to life, justice, and freedom will continue to be ignored.
Changing U.S. policy towards Palestine requires changing the international environment that influences U.S. foreign policy and pressuring the U.S. government from within by mobilizing groups that have an influence on the political parties.
As Palestinians, we should send a message to the colonial powers, led by the U.S., that we will only return to negotiations when Israel abides by international law. This includes withdrawing from lands occupied in 1967, repealing discriminatory laws, and allowing the return of Palestinian refugees.
While Israel may not respond positively to these demands, similar tactics have worked in the past, like with the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Ultimately, we should work toward a single, democratic state in historic Palestine that offers equality to all citizens, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or gender.
