Needed: A decisive, tough and violent Trump

While the american and the international liberal press morn Donald Trump’s election, a great opportunity is forming in the Middle East for american diplomacy and peacemaking aspirations.

During the campaign, Mr. Trump has been very clear about his views and standpoints regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has even published a five-page document trumpeting his support for Israel and its current policies, and promised to stop the incitement and the anti Israeli hatred taught to children in schools all over the West Bank. Hopefully he won’t change his mind, and rhetoric, the moment he sets foot and settles in the Oval Office. Because now, more than ever, a violent and decisive american president is needed in this region. And this must be said without hesitation: Violent he should be mostly vis a vis the Palestinians. And decisive, too.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is in deadlock for years, and president Obama gave up on any effort to get the two sides back to the negotiating table. Rumors have it that Obama plans a “farewell gift”at the UN for PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom the relations weren’t the greatest, to say the least — but no one really knows. Maybe after eight years of disappointments, Mr. Obama will leave the White House without trying to stir up his potential just days before a new (and different) administration is about to put its hands on the wheel. Nevertheless, Donald Trump already addressed the Israeli-Palestinian issue in his first interview to the Wall Street Journal, just a few days after elections night. “As a deal maker”, he said to the conservative paper, “I’d like to do… the deal that can’t be made. And do it for humanity’s sake”. Recently, in an interview to the New York Times he added: “I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians. That would be such a great achievement”. Israelis and Palestinians fumed, mainly anxiously. Curiosity and excitement mixed as everybody was trying to speculate what might Trump’s plan be to solve a 100 years old bloody problem, a problem that made many american presidents to despair. Clearly it is too soon to project. But to avoid the mistakes his predecessors made, Mr. Trump must tackle violently and vehemently the problem from his first days in office. And the problem isn’t Israel, but the palestinians.

Demanding from the Arab side to change its narrative and behavior won’t be easy. But a tough and violent president can do it. The raison d'etre of the Palestinian leadership has its pillars standing firm on a demonized Israel. But no peace or peace agreement can be reached when children are still taught to hate and to prepare to die while murdering innocent Israelis. This must stop. not only for the sake of those future victims, but also for the sake of the very same children that prefer death over life, and for the prospect of peace itself. Since 2005, Israelis are losing their trust in the Palestinian partner almost on a daily basis. The disengagement from Gaza, that was followed by a harsh response from the palestinians side, destroyed every single bit of trust and hope that was still there before Israel withdrew. With their own hands, and thousands of rockets and armed attacks on civilians, the palestinians brought upon themselves not only 3 large military operations in Gaza, but a reality in which most of the Israelis tend to close their eyes and shut their ears towards anything that has to do with their neighbors. This is a dangerous reality, almost a virtual one, especially for those who still believe that a 2 state solution is possible and needed, for Israel to avoid the destruction of the Zionist idea. But the reality described here was cultivated by those who never wanted peace, and they succeeded to sow the seeds for a pessimistic future.
So why should Mr. Trump use sticks and not carrots in his attempt to reach a deal? Because of the political leadership on both sides, and because of the skepticism. Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas enjoy very much the stagnation that does not force them to make tough decisions. As long as the despair and the mistrust between the two people is stronger than the will to make peace — these two leaders will prefer to hold to their chairs and not to endanger the status quo. But a dramatic change in the Palestinian narrative, alongside a dramatic change in the brain wash that most of the Palestinian children have to endure — will most surely shift the political scene in Israel too. Because most of the Israelis do want peace, but at this moment — they don’t and they can’t trust the other side. And they are right to do so and fear the outcomes of another withdrawal. The last one brought thousands of rockets on Israeli civilians. Only a deep change among the Palestinians can lead to a deep change among Israelis. And that change can be made if, instead of financing a corrupt Palestinian authority, a decisive american president will demand from the same leadership “deeds before money”. For the first time in many years, or perhaps since ever, let the pressure be put on the Palestinians and not on the Israelis. Let them make the first steps towards peace, let them be the ones who present new achievements and a new narrative. Let them be the ones who present a new face to the world. Let them be the ones who have to prove they really want peace.
A violent, tough and decisive president can make this happen. Mr. Trump can change, in one move, the way people think on both sides. Because Israelis react to reality, and they know how to adjust to optimistic changes. When hope replaces fear and death — the Israelis will react and demand action from their leader. But for this to happen, a strong, decisive, tough and violent Trump is necessary. Why violent, you wonder?
Because in this neighborhood, you must be very violent before you lay your sword down.

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