Shock and dismay prevailed among the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) following Donald Trump’s election. During the US election campaign, most of the Palestinian official spokespeople claimed that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were equally bad news for Palestinian interests. Yet beyond these claims there was a clear preference for Secretary Clinton, out of belief that she could engage with the international community on a two-state solution process. Trump’s election victory shuttered any hope of such prospects.
A senior PLO official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Trump’s victory is a historic turning point for the Palestinian leadership. He said, “Donald Trump and his entourage have expressed views that endorse [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and [Education Minister] Naftali Bennett’s annexation ideology. The only state a President Trump would be willing to approve would be a binational one. We will not engage in a diplomatic process with the Trump administration unless it recognizes Palestinian statehood on the 1967 lines.”
The senior official told Al-Monitor that the leadership is convening on an ongoing basis to explore a Palestinian national strategy adapted to this new situation. The premises for developing this strategy are numerous. The Palestinians believe that the United States under Trump will not lead a realistic international effort on a two-state solution. It may instead give a tacit green light to Israel to continue much of its settlement policies and the de facto annexation of Area C. The source explained that they foresee Russia becoming a more relevant player in the region, given the prospects of a good Trump-Vladimir Putin relationship. Also, with Brussels, Paris and Berlin increasingly concerned about a tacit agreement by Washington for Netanyahu to continue his settlement expansion policy, the role of the European Union in that respect may be enhanced. The source noted that initial positive rapport between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Trump could signal a significant role for Sisi on the Palestinian issue.
The senior Palestinian official believes that, in this situation, the Palestinian political equation may tilt more in favor of hard-line Hamas and that West Bank public opinion will grow more desperate and angry. A violent uprising cannot be ruled out in such a situation.
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