Dubai: Recognition by United States President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will signal an uptick in violence among young Arab nationals in neighbouring countries in the Middle East, Dr Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle East Studies and International Relations with London School of Economics, said on Tuesday at a global conference.
Speaking at the 10th annual Arab Strategy Forum, Gerges said: “I believe next year and in the following years, this decision will become fuel for more violence in the region.”
The decision by Trump goes against decades of peace talks and has angered Palestinians who want East Jerusalem to be their capital of a full Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution, he said.
Gerges said the Trump decision will give a cause to what he called thousands of “warriors” across the Middle East to join extremist violence.
Noting that Trump has “pushed daggers in the backs of Palestinians”, he predicted that “there will be no peace without an East Jerusalem for Palestinians”.
Gerges said he believes that as Trump focuses more on his “America First” domestic concerns, the political regression from a more aggressive foreign policy will hurt, not help the Middle East which has relied on American influence for years as an ally and partner.
“I don’t think that the president has a foreign policy, he has a local policy … he behaves in his own interests and the people who voted for him. Russia likes this soft power. This president is weakening the soft power of the US because he doesn’t have a vision for this area [Middle East]. He wants the countries of this region to face Iran,” Gerges said.
Abdul Rahman Al Rashid, journalist and author, said in his session focusing on the geopolitical scene in 2018 for the Gulf region, that he believes the Gulf Cooperation Council will continue to be a stabilising influence amid uncertain times.
Unity among the six GCC countries will be necessary in the year ahead to counter the influence of Iran in the region, he said.
“The balance of power needs this council to be strong,” he said, adding “our policies need to be united in Libya and Syria”.
Al Rashid said that he believed the Trump administration will serve the Gulf region better than that of Barack Obama.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the 10th annual Arab Strategy Forum.
Shaikh Mohammad toured some of the static displays on offer at the forum when he first arrived with his entourage.
