During the final weeks of the 2024 United States presidential race, former President Donald Trump spoke with sympathy to Arab American and Muslim voters enraged by the country’s support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Trump visited Dearborn, Michigan, known as the “capital” of Arab America. And he spoke directly to Lebanese Americans fearing for their families overseas.
“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon!” Trump wrote on social media.
“I will fix the problems caused by [Vice President] Kamala Harris and [President] Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon. I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace.”
But following a thumping victory at the polls, Trump is preparing to return to the White House with a coterie of some of the Republican Party’s most vehemently pro-Israel figures.
While some critics speculated that Trump would move away from a hawkish foreign policy, his picks for key administration and cabinet positions have signalled that — whatever changes may come during his second term — a break with Israel is not likely to be among them.
Several of Trump’s nominees not only support continued US military and diplomatic assistance for Israel, but also echo the views and goals of Israeli ultranationalists, who support the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements into Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza continues to drive civilian casualties, with at least 43,799 killed since the conflict began in October 2023. A recent report from a United Nations special committee found that Israel’s methods in the Palestinian enclave were “consistent with genocide“.
What have Trump’s high-level picks said about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East? Here are a few of his nominees, in their own words.
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