https://arab.news/jpm7b
For a brief moment just a few weeks ago, it seemed like the joint Israeli-American effort to suppress Palestinian nationalism was succeeding. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had arrogantly dismissed the idea of Palestinian statehood, while US President Donald Trump and his secretary of state appeared to echo that position.
Palestinians holding passports issued under the US-sponsored Oslo Accords were suddenly denied entry to America. Even more absurdly, Washington sought to silence the official Palestinian voice at the UN. President Mahmoud Abbas and members of his delegation, formally invited to attend the UN General Assembly, were denied entry visas, in clear violation of the UN-US headquarters agreement.
This Israeli-inspired move by the Trump administration was clearly intended to derail both international recognition of Palestine and efforts by the Palestinian leadership to engage with world leaders.
Yet, less than a month later, on Monday, the tables had turned. Abbas and his aides were in Sharm El-Sheikh, at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who was hosting none other than Trump himself. Trump even posed for a photo with Abbas and publicly welcomed him, along with other attendees.
