The chairman of a coalition, which successfully lobbied Arab-Americans to vote for Donald Trump, has slammed the new president for his weekend comments on Gaza.
“Arab-Americans for Trump firmly rejects President Donald J Trump’s suggestion to remove – voluntarily or forcibly – Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan,” said Dr Bishara Bahbah, national chair of Arab Americans for Trump.
The statement signals an early sign of tension with a key demographic which helped push President Trump over the line in November.
A critical number of Arab-Americans in places like Michigan helped propel Mr Trump to victory. Small margins in cities like Dearborn and Hamtramck were key to Mr Trump’s success.
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The statement, released late on Sunday and described as an “urgent press release”, said: “We strongly believe that the ONLY resolution to the Israel-Palestine is a two-state solution… Arab Americans for Trump thank the President for imposing a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We expect that the President and his team work on the rebuilding of Gaza and launching the process that would culminate in the establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.”
Dr Bahbah, who is Palestinian by birth and has since become a successful American businessman, was pivotal in his efforts to persuade Arab-Americans to choose Mr Trump.
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He rallied an army of influencers in a successful “ground game” throughout the election campaign to energise support for President Trump.
He has told Sky News that President Trump personally committed to a two-state solution and that he believes the president has a “contract” with the Arab-Americans who voted for him.
“Mr President, we have a contract….” he said. “We held up our end of the contract and voted for you. We are with you to ensure that your administration fulfils your part of the contract.”
Over the weekend, President Trump suggested that Gaza could be “cleaned out” and that Palestinians could be moved to Jordan or Egypt.
“I’d like him to take people,” the president said, referring to his conversation with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Saturday.
“You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. You know, over the century, it’s had many, many conflicts. And I don’t know, something has to happen… I’d like Egypt to take people,” Mr Trump said, adding that he plans to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi.
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The extent to which Arab-American communities in the US voted for Trump was, in significant part, a consequence of the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza conflict.
The ceasefire in Gaza was seen to be an early validation of their choice but has been quickly cast into doubt by Mr Trump’s comments on Sunday.
As with so many policies and decisions, President Trump’s judgement seems to be set through a transactional prism.
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Dr Bahbah believes President Trump recognises that regional realignment and peace require a resolution to the Palestinian issue, with a two-state solution, and that Mr Trump sees a legacy-defining win in Middle East peace.
However, the last week has shown that American foreign policy can now shift swiftly, and is dependent on an attractive transactional offer or the persuasiveness of the person who manages to be the last in the room with the president.
