The ongoing conflict in the region is deeply rooted in history, exacerbated by Western attempts to establish dominance. Trump’s “Deal of the Century” and subsequent policies have failed, worsening the situation and leading to widespread violence. Israel’s military actions have intensified global opposition and revealed its inability to achieve lasting peace.
The region’s problem with the West is not a product of October 7, nor of the occupation of Palestine; it is an “eternal problem” rooted in centuries past. Yet, the West’s attempt to end this conflict permanently in its favor is undoubtedly a recurring feature throughout history.
One of the clearest and most prominent milestones in this context was when British General Edmund Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917 after defeating the Ottoman army and declared his famous phrase: “Today the Crusades have ended.” That statement was not just a passing remark—it reflected a deeply rooted colonial mindset that viewed the conflict as an extension of a supposed “civilizational clash” between East and West.
Nearly a century later, U.S. President Donald Trump reproduced this mindset when, during his meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declared that his Middle East peace plan came to “end a conflict that has lasted 3,000 years.” This statement revealed that Trump was drawing upon a “messianic Christian” framework, envisioning an outcome similar to that of General Allenby: Western domination, represented by Israel, established as the eternal hegemonic power over the region.
However, just as the Crusades failed, despite centuries of battles, bringing destruction to Europe and eventually being disowned by the very Westerners who launched them, Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century” during his first term also failed, producing the exact opposite result. While he presented it as the supposed “final solution” to the Palestinian cause, in essence, it was nothing more than yet another attempt to complete the Western—particularly American—project of empowering Israel and installing it as the absolute ruler of the region.
This arrogant approach was one of the direct causes of the October 7 events, as Palestinians realized that their long struggle against colonialism, combined with years of negotiations, international resolutions, and endless promises of a two-state solution, had given them nothing but illusion, eliminating any real hope of establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The “Al-Aqsa Flood Operation” came as a direct response to this political deadlock and as an expression of the crisis manufactured by Trump through his so-called “Deal of the Century.” The one who bears direct responsibility for the escalation of events to this level of confrontation and complete political paralysis is Trump himself. At the same time, his successor, Joe Biden, entrenched this reality by continuing the same policy of bias towards Israel.
And now, in his second attempt, after two years of continuous genocide in Gaza, which has resulted in unprecedented numbers of victims in modern history, including thousands of children, massacres broadcast live that defied imagination, the highest recorded number of child amputees in the world, and the killing of more journalists than in World War I, World War II, and all subsequent wars combined—it is clear that Israel is no longer merely a “Palestinian problem.” It has become a regional and international crisis.
The war did not succeed in eliminating the Palestinian cause as its planners had intended; instead, it increased Israel’s isolation, weakened its image both domestically and internationally, and inflicted irreparable damage on its economy and strategic policies.
The war confirmed that attempts to erase the Palestinian cause have produced the opposite outcome, turning the world against Israel, leading to its internal, external, and economic deterioration. Just as Trump’s first “Deal of the Century” failed to impose Israel’s dominance, his second attempt to recycle it will also fail.
The war demonstrated that Israel is incapable of achieving its objectives—militarily or politically. All it has accomplished is the massacre of civilians and the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, alongside escalations of aggression in the West Bank. In doing so, it has shattered the credibility of the international system and eroded global trust in the United Nations, international courts, and the Security Council. This has transformed the world into a “jungle” where no one is willing anymore to accept double standards—those same double standards that were once considered a hallmark of civilization after the bloody world wars.
Just as Trump’s first attempt led to today’s confrontations, genocide, and heightened conflict in the region, his second attempt will drag Israel into further decline. This was clear in Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations, and it is irreversible. The deterioration will continue regardless of whether Palestinians accept his plan or not, knowing that the plan itself is nothing more than an effort to secure Israel’s victory and achieve its objectives through political and diplomatic means after its failure in the field.
Trump’s new plan offers nothing but further entrenchment of the occupation and the erasure of the Palestinian people and their rights. This will trigger yet another explosion of confrontations—perhaps at even more horrifying and bloody levels. Such a plan will also fuel further fragmentation in the Arab and Islamic world and entrench Israel as the master of the region if it were to succeed; yet, it will result in more cycles of revenge and more bloodshed, with scenes of even greater brutality.
The Arab and Islamic peoples must recognize this reality and realize that engaging with Netanyahu’s and Trump’s projects is not political pragmatism, but rather strategic suicide. History has proven that Israel only understands the logic of force. And those states that choose to entertain these proposals lack wisdom and foresight—they will ultimately find Israelis knocking at their doors tomorrow with tanks and artillery.
