Letters | No lasting Israel-Gaza peace without Palestinian rights
Readers discuss what it would take to bring a lasting peace, US-China competition, and the future of Anglican leadership
Multiple lines of evidence indicate that Trump and his allies are not concerned about the rights of Palestinians. For example, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a lead negotiator in the agreement. In 2024, he recommended Israel bulldoze an area of the Negev desert and move Gazans there.
Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, once stated: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian.”
Moreover, Trump appointed Martin Oliner as a member of the governing board of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In February, Oliner described Palestinians in Gaza as “fundamentally evil”, “collectively guilty” and “not...worthy of any mercy”.
While these statements reflect disturbing rhetoric, the situation on the ground reveals a pattern of disregard for Palestinian rights. In 2024, Ronen Bar, then head of Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, condemned the terrorism of militant West Bank settlers, who have been conducting a campaign of murder, arson and intimidation against Palestinians to expel them from their land. Yet Trump lifted Biden-era sanctions on the settlers involved.