‘Trump would be the worst’: Palestinians react to the US presidential race | Israel-Palestine conflict news

Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say a US presidency under Kamala Harris would do little to stop Israel’s war in Gaza following US President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid.

Under Biden, the US has provided its ally Israel with billions of dollars in military aid since October 7. Many Palestinians hope that Harris, who is Biden’s vice president and a Democrat, will continue to support Israel if she is elected president in November.

At the same time, many Palestinians fear that Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump will only exacerbate their suffering if he returns to power.

“Trump would be the worst,” said Asmaa Nimilaat, 50, at a hospital where thousands of people are sheltering in Deir el-Balah, an area in central Gaza. “But any candidate who becomes president will not support the Palestinians.”

Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities and military posts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and 250 taken prisoner, Israel has launched a devastating war in Gaza with American support.

Israel’s war has killed at least 39,090 Palestinians, uprooted nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and generated widespread hunger and malnutrition in the beleaguered enclave.

The war dominated international headlines for nine months, allowing Israel to quietly seize more land in the occupied West Bank than in any other year in the past three decades.

Palestinians blame Biden, 81, for his “weak” leadership and for being Israel’s accomplice.

“Biden brought American machines to protect the Israeli occupation and used American vetoes [in the United Nations Security Council] to protect Israel’s genocidal policies,” said Raed Debiy, head of the political science department at An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank.

“Since [Hamas] attack in October, America dealt with Israel as if it were the 51st [US state],” he told Al Jazeera.

‘More of the same’

Following Biden’s endorsement of Harris to take his place in the presidential race, Harris has accumulated significant support from members of her party as well as the general American public. Harris has the support of more than 2,500 delegates, enough to win the nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention, where the party’s presidential candidate will be announced.

But Palestinians are skeptical about a possible Harris presidency due to her warm history with the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobby group that has for years advocated unconditional U.S. support for Israel.

In 2017, Harris spoke at AIPAC’s annual conference and pledged to defend Israel’s right to “self-defense” and defend U.S.-Israeli military cooperation. The US gives Israel about $3.3 billion in military aid annually.

Fathi Nimr, a Palestinian political analyst who lives in Ramallah in the West Bank, told Al Jazeera that he does not see a major change in US policy if Harris becomes president.

“There is no indication that Harris had disagreements with Biden over [Israel’s war on Gaza],” he told Al Jazeera.

“I think it will be more of the same,” he said. “Kamala is not an outsider who will come and challenge the status quo.”

Some Palestinians believe that Harris could at least be a little “tougher” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many accuse of continuing the war in Gaza to delay national elections at a time when his popularity is at an all-time low. lowest ever.

Ismat Mansour, who spent 20 years in Israeli prisons, referenced how Biden said he considers himself a Zionist, pointing out that he has an “emotional attachment” to Israel, which makes Harris more attractive to Palestinians by comparison.

“I don’t expect a big change in US policy,” he told Al Jazeera. “But perhaps Harris would work more with the UN and pressure Netanyahu to make a [captive] agreement and find a solution for Gaza because the whole world has an interest in restoring stability in the region.”

‘Stop the genocide’

Many Palestinians in Gaza told Al Jazeera that they do not mind that Biden no longer seeks re-election or eventually becomes US president, as long as the next US leader stops the war in Gaza. Ibrahim Nabeel, a volunteer doctor at a hospital in Khan Younis, south of Gaza, is among them.

Nabeel said he is distressed by how often he sees bodies being taken to hospital. On Monday, Israeli warplanes bombed eastern Khan Younis, killing at least 70 Palestinians and wounding more than 200, according to Gaza health officials.

Nabeel said Palestinians in Gaza only want the next US president to talk about “security, freedom and healing” instead of Israel’s right to “self-defense.”

“Honestly, the Palestinians really don’t care who the next US president will be. They just want whoever it is to stop the genocide,” he told Al Jazeera.

Few people in Gaza, however, have hope that the war will end anytime soon.

Salah Abu Maghseeb, 25, who sells drinks at the gate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Al Jazeera that the US will always support Israel, regardless of who is in power. The war in Gaza would have ended “a long time ago” if the US had simply suspended its support, he said as he made a cup of coffee for a customer.

“With American support, Israel is the most powerful killer of the Arab people,” said Abu Maghseeb.

Nimilaat, who is sheltering in the same hospital, added that Netanyahu will only be able to listen to a US president if that leader is willing to hold him accountable.

“Netanyahu does not listen. No one can get to him – not Biden or anyone else,” she said. “Why? Because no one [in America] is willing to use its influence to stop him.”