Washington’s
decision to intensify swingeing aid cuts to the Palestinians – the
latest targets include cancer patients and peace groups – reveals more
than a simple determination to strong-arm the Palestinian leadership to
the negotiating table.
Under
cover of a supposed peace effort, or “deal of the century”, the Trump
administration hopes to solve problems closer to home. It wants finally
to shake off the burden of international humanitarian law, and the
potential for war crimes trials, that have overshadowed US actions in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria – and may yet prove treacherous in
dealings with Iran.
The
Palestinians have been thrust into the centre of this battle for good
reason. They are the most troublesome legacy of a post-war, rules-based
international order that the US is now committed to sweeping away.
Amputate the Palestinian cause, an injustice festering for more than
seven decades, and America’s hand will be freer elsewhere. Might will
again be right.
An
assault on the already fragile international order as it relates to the
Palestinians began in earnest last month. The US stopped all aid to
UNRWA, the United Nations refugee agency that helps more than five
million Palestinians languishing in camps across the Middle East.
The
pressure sharpened last week when $25m in aid was blocked to hospitals
in East Jerusalem that provide a lifeline to Palestinians from Gaza and
the West Bank, whose health services have withered under a belligerent
Israeli occupation.
http://www.unz.com/article/palestine-the-testbed-for-trumps-plan-to-tear-up-the-rules-based-international-order/
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