‘Israel will keep invading – with more ease’: Gazans dread Trump presidency

For the past 13 months, Ahmed Jarad has been surviving with the dim anticipation that helium mightiness 1 time instrumentality to his location successful Beit Lahiya, a colony successful the northbound of the Gaza Strip.

But connected Wednesday, arsenic erstwhile US President Donald Trump declared his triumphant instrumentality to the White House pursuing a adjacent contention against Vice President Kamala Harris, Jarad said his imagination of returning to his hometown, presently being pounded by Israel and its stranded colonisation sealed disconnected from the south, has been crushed.

The 43-year-old near his location precisely a twelvemonth agone – successful November 2023 – fleeing to al-Mawasi, westbound of Khan Younis successful confederate Gaza. One period earlier, Israel launched its warfare connected Gaza aft Hamas, the governmental and subject radical that rules the Strip, led an battle connected service outposts and villages successful confederate Israel, leaving 1,139 radical dormant and taking much than 250 captive.

Since then, Israel has subjected Gaza to near-relentless bombardments and crushed invasions. More than 43,000 Palestinians person been killed – with thousands much missing and presumed dormant nether the rubble – portion astir each of the enclave’s 2.3 cardinal colonisation has been displaced.

Israeli officials support that the warfare is indispensable to destruct Hamas, which has been categorised arsenic a “terrorist group” by astir Western countries. But Palestinians, the United Nations and quality rights defenders constituent to the information that astir of the victims of the warfare are women and children.

Jarad said helium is definite that Israel’s brutality volition lone worsen erstwhile Trump, who enjoyed a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his archetypal presidency, is erstwhile again sworn successful arsenic person of the world’s strongest superpower.

“Trump and Netanyahu are an evil confederation against the Palestinians and our destiny volition beryllium precise difficult, not lone successful the fateful issues but besides successful our regular concerns,” Jarad told Al Jazeera from his tattered structure successful al-Mawasi, wherever helium present lives with his woman and their 5 children.

Displaced children successful Khan Younis, confederate Gaza [Mohamed Solaimane/Al Jazeera]

Netanyahu, who is facing unit some domestically and internationally to bring an extremity to the warfare that has spilled implicit into Lebanon and threatens to escalate into all-out struggle betwixt Israel and Iran, was speedy to congratulate Trump aft helium claimed his triumph connected Wednesday.

Calling Trump’s predetermination “history’s top comeback”, Netanyahu described Trump’s instrumentality arsenic a “fresh commencement for America” and a “powerful recommitment to the large confederation betwixt Israel and America”.

During Trump’s archetypal four-year tenure arsenic president from 2016 to 2020, the US embassy successful Israel was relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – a important determination successful the eyes of the Israeli government. Aid to Palestinians was chopped – peculiarly to UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian exile assistance agency, which Israel designated a violent radical conscionable days earlier the US election.

Trump’s medication besides overlooked the gathering of illegal Israeli settlements successful the West Bank contempt planetary condemnation, and brokered the “Abraham Accords” which saw respective Arab countries normalising ties with Israel.

Since the warfare connected Gaza began successful October past year, Democratic President Joe Biden has been unwavering successful his enactment of Israel, continuing to nonstop military aid and reaffirming Israel’s “right to support itself”.

But relations betwixt Netanyahu and Biden person soured somewhat implicit worsening determination tensions and the nonaccomplishment to scope immoderate of the ceasefire deals, which the Americans person been progressive successful negotiating. Netanyahu present says that a Trump presidency could awesome a caller leafage successful Israeli-American relations.

Like galore Palestinians, peculiarly those trapped successful Gaza, Jarad says helium dreads this volition beryllium astatine their cost.

“This is simply a bittersweet time for Palestinians,” helium said, despairing. “Trump volition endorse Netanyahu’s escaped manus regarding the anticipation of the instrumentality of settlements to the Gaza Strip and adjacent the displacement of ample numbers of Palestinians extracurricular it.”

“We hoped to instrumentality to the northbound and present each our hopes person been shattered,” helium said.

A kid holds the remnants of a rocket successful Khan Younis, confederate Gaza, successful precocious October 2024 [Mohamed Solaimane/Al Jazeera]

Trump and Netanyahu: ‘Peas successful a pod’

Zakia Hilal, a 70-year-old physician, has resorted to humour to get done the devastation of the warfare connected Gaza. She was listening to the vigor for quality of the US predetermination with her husband, children and grandchildren – each gathered unneurotic successful their structure successful al-Mawasi.

As soon arsenic they heard the quality that Trump had won, she cried: “Two peas successful a pod,” referring to Netanyahu and Trump. “Our concern wasn’t atrocious enough? Trump had to travel to implicit it,” she said sarcastically.

Hilal, who is primitively from Rafah successful the southbound of Gaza, was forced to permission her location successful May erstwhile Israeli troops commenced a crushed cognition connected May 6 into the southernmost portion of the enclave, wherever astir of the colonisation had taken shelter.

Since then, the Rafah borderline crossing to Egypt, the main gateway done which humanitarian assistance usually trickles through, has been shut. Humanitarian assistance accessing the besieged enclave done different smaller crossings has dropped to its lowest levels since the opening of the war.

“We are surely headed for a precise hard period. What’s coming up whitethorn beryllium adjacent worse than what we’ve experienced truthful far,” Hilal told Al Jazeera. “It is existent that American administrations bash not disagree successful supporting Israel, but immoderate are much terrible and much aggravated than others, similar Trump.”

In his triumph code successful Florida, Trump said helium is “going to halt wars”, thing which galore Arab Americans criticised Biden’s medication for failing to do. According to reports from The Times of Israel, Trump has expressed concerns astir the imaginable for a prolonged struggle successful Gaza. In July, helium reportedly told Netanyahu successful a gathering that the quality should ideally beryllium resolved by the clip helium takes bureau successful January 2025.

“I told Bibi [Netanyahu], we don’t privation endless wars, particularly ones that resistance America into them,” Trump said, referencing the backstage conversation. How helium plans to “end” this 1 is unclear and fills Palestinians who spoke to Al Jazeera connected Wednesday with fear.

A antheral carries nutrient assistance successful Khan Younis, confederate Gaza [Mohamed Solaimane/Al Jazeera]

Jehad Malaka, a researcher successful planetary relations astatine the Gaza-based probe organisation, the Palestinian Planning Centre, does not expect Trump’s upcoming medication to beryllium overmuch antithetic from Biden’s successful presumption of enactment for Israel.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from the structure helium shares with his household successful al-Mawasi, wherever they fled from bluish Gaza, Malaka said the Biden medication did thing for the Palestinians during the war, nor did it reverse immoderate of the decisions taken during Trump’s archetypal presidency.

“Trump uses unsmooth tools, and Biden and the Democrats edifice to brushed tools, but the authorities are the same,” helium said.

He added, “Biden did not marque immoderate determination successful favour of the Palestinians and was incapable to execute a ceasefire. He did not alteration the world of the decisions of his predecessor Trump astatine all. The positions of the 2 administrations regarding Israel are the aforesaid and identical, and they enactment its interests supra each different considerations.”

Malaka, however, said helium does not judge that Trump would endorse the forced removal of Gaza Palestinians from the full enclave and hopes that possibly the caller president whitethorn bring a swifter, albeit highly painful, extremity to the war.

“Given Trump’s powerfulness of unit and power implicit Netanyahu, helium whitethorn beryllium capable to unfastened a skyline for a partial solution to the Palestinian issue, and helium is capable to unit Netanyahu, portion Biden did not win successful pressuring for a azygous time of calm,” helium said.

Ahmed Fayyad, 45, an autarkic researcher successful Israeli affairs who has taken refuge successful Deir el-Balah successful cardinal Gaza, is little optimistic. He said helium believes Trump’s power volition beryllium wholly harmful tor Palestinians arsenic a whole, and Gaza Palestinians, successful particular.

“Trump’s predetermination lone means that Netanyahu volition proceed his plans of invading Gaza and evicting its people, but with little unit and much ease,” Fayyed, who fled to Deir el-Balah to flight aggravated bombing successful eastbound Khan Younis astir a twelvemonth ago, said.

Trump is “a much dominating figure” whose “influence connected each parties would mean Netanyahu volition get distant with doing what helium wanted each along, which is to conquer Gaza”, helium said.

“Amidst the weakened Palestinian front, and lack of immoderate Arab unity and solidarity, the full Palestinian origin faces its worst menace yet.”

This portion has been published successful collaboration with Egab.