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When Donald Trump won the elections for the second time in the US, the world prepared itself to witness drastic changes in geopolitics. Trump wants to annex its neighbouring country Canada as the US’s 51th state; he wants to rename Greenland and the Gulf of Mexico. Arch enemy of the cold war, Russia, looked to become friends on the issue of Ukraine war.  He also wants to have his finger in the pie in the Middle East, clear Gaza and turn it into a tourist destination.

The last of his ambitions seems totally heartless in the context of the thousands killed in decades of fights between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It all started in 1948 with the establishment of Israel by displacing about 700,000 Palestinians. This mass exodus of Palestinians left generations as refugees living in camps across the regions – Lebanon, Jordan and occupied territories. In 1967 Israel further occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza disrupting Palestinian daily life. Today, 75% of the Palestinians live below poverty line. The Israel- Palestine war is a fundamental fight over land, identity and security. The Palestinians have resorted to armed resistances (like Hamas) while the Israelis, with American support, continue occupation and expansion.

It’s doubtful whether Trump is aware of the history of the crisis. Initially he was seen warning the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop war, but quickly realizing the official stand, he announced that he would turn Gaza as a tourist destination. United Nations have advocated for a two state solution; but the American veto at the Security Council have halted any form of international intervention.

Trump is not a politician; he is primarily a businessman. He would support Ukraine, if there is any material gain out of the country, that is, lay his hand in the mineral wealth of the country. He coerced Zelensky to agree, after a bitter quarrel with him before the eyes of the world television camera. For Palestinians, too, he would have a businesslike proposal – like having Gaza as a tourist spot, in the interest of the Americans.

The Israel-Palestine war is a classic example of the failure of the United Nations in bringing peace in the world, for which it was created after the two World Wars. The persecutions of the Jews by Hitler perhaps triggered the Allies to take a hasty decision to find a permanent place on earth for them to settle down. They created Israel in a hurry – without realizing its after-effects. They robbed Peter to pay Paul: the home of the Palestinians was lost. 

India’s stand on the Israel Palestine conflict is a tightrope walk: its neither pro Israel nor pro Palestine. Critics call it opportunistic but the stand fits in with the present global and regional dynamics. India’s anti-colonial stand has traditionally made it stay with Palestine: Mahatma Gandhi had famously remarked in 1938 that Palestine belongs to the Arabs. India upholds the two nation formula of the UN but like the rest of the world India fails to implement it collectively. In fact, today India’s support for Israel has also become stronger. Narendra Modi is the first prime minister to visit Israel. Israel is one of the biggest suppliers of defence equipment to India today, including ‘spy softwares’ which created such domestic furore a few years back.

India’s geopolitics has been an evolving one – from Jawharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Narendra Modi. India’s relations with the US reached the bottom pit during Mrs Gandhi’s time, especially on her stand taken on East Pakistan/Bangladesh which was bitterly opposed by the US. But after the discovery of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, relationships have improved with the US, and consequently with Israel. Narendra Modi has taken the advantage of better relationship and has taken it fur-ther to cordiality. India has condemned Israeli expansionist atti-tudes and even sent relief to Palestinian refugees as late as 2024.

But the Palestine-Israel conflict seems interminable. And the unpredictability of Trump may make matters worse.