The new US Admin., Trump’s Favorite Cabinet vis-à-vis Gaza-Lab Genocide and the Arrest warrants of ICC
Mohammad Ajmal
Assistant Professor
Centre of Arabic and African Studies, School of Language
JNU, New Delhi.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, next year, at the time of his victory, it was being said that Trump’s victory was a slap on the face of the American establishment, but the fact is that even before taking the oath, Donald Trump has made nominations for important positions those for his second term, who speak his mind, which shows that Trump is a supporter and helper of the hardline American establishment, in which he has made it clear to the Islamic world that they should get out of the idea that Trump is close to any other entity separate from the American establishment and that he will work with any kind of sympathy for Muslims.
His cabinet selection shows that the defense of Israel is the most important aspect during Trump’s 2ndterm and the policy of death for Palestine will continue and there will be no change in this segment. In the latest lineup of his cabinet colleagues, Trump has nominated Senator Tulsi Gabbard for the position of Director of National Intelligence, under whom 18 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, are obliged to report every minute. The appointment of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who was previously a Christian, but later she, along with her husband and entire family, embraced Hinduism and is the first US senator to take the oath on the “Gita” instead of the Bible in the Senate in 2012. Tulsi Gabbard will be responsible to present all intelligence reports directly to the US President and she is considered to be amongst staunched pro-Israel. Her position is the highest after the President of the United States; her office will receive intelligence reports from around the world.
Tulsi Gabbard insists that “Islamic terrorism” should be condemned by name. She believes that Western democracies, including the United States and Israel, are seriously threatened by Islamic extremism, she believes in Israel’s full support, as far as the Gaza genocide is concerned.
Another cabinet member, Marco Rubio, is the nominee for Secretary of State, whom Trump described as a “fearless warrior.” Apart from him, Matt Gaetz, who has been nominated for Attorney General, though currently is under investigation, what these three have in common is that they are all pro- Israel and stern opponents of the Palestine, and antagonists of the Muslim world. Marco Rubio, the nominee for Secretary of State, is among the members of the Senate who have always played a key role in passing bills presented in the Senate against the Muslim world in the past.
The people who have been included in the cabinet so far include Elon Musk, the owner of X, to Trump’s close associates and friends. Experts on these appointments are trying to predict what Trump’s policy will be? What position will the US take on the Middle East and will it continue to support Israel? Apparently these appointments are indicating that Trump will continue the 2016 pro-Israel policy, and will fully support Israel’s policy towards Palestine in every way possible. The special envoy nominated for the Middle East is Steve Witkoff, whose expertise is that he donates to Trump’s campaign and has also played golf with him. On the other hand, the US nominee for Israel, Mike Huckabee, is known to be pro-Israel and is also a businessman. Another former diplomat said that since Steve Witkoff has no direct connection to the Middle East, this shows that Trump is prioritizing loyalty in appointments to key positions.
However, the nomination of Steve Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, as well as the US ambassador to the United Nations shows that Trump will openly support Israel. In addition, all the key positions are being filled by people who will stop the war in Ukraine and make Putin a friend of America and an enemy of China. While, many conservatives have also been included who consider China to be the biggest economic and military threat to American commercial policies.
Although Trump has confined his criticism of China to trade, his foreign affairs team is filling up with China critics, the president elect has named Mike Waltz, a former Army colonel who has previously said the United States and China are in a state of cold war.
The US secretary of state is a powerful position, and Rubio is considered a foreign policy expert who has previously said that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine needs to be “brought to a conclusion.” Announcing his nomination, Donald Trump said that “Rubio will be a strong voice for freedom” and a “strong advocate” for the United States, which means that the secretary of state will also be a strong support for Israel.
Rubio has reportedly been trying to get Trump’s attention for the position by talking about his foreign policy experience during Trump’s election campaign and on various TV programs. The Florida senator serves as deputy chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and is also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. Rubio, will primarily serve as America’s top diplomat, if confirmed for the position, he would be the first Latino secretary of state in US history.
Attorney General Matt Gaetz is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct, drugs and abuse of power. Matt Gaetz has resigned as a member of Congress, as soon as he was nominated as Attorney General, and thus ending the investigation against him, he will be free from the law like Trump, during the US election, the people of the Muslim world were hoping that Trump’s victory would stop the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, and that is why, according to surveys, 80% of American Muslims voted for Trump. On the contrary, the US administration that has come into power is presenting the objective of the complete annihilation of the Palestinians to the world.
During the election campaign, Donald Trump threatened the Gaza protesters that if the prisoners were not released before I took office, they would face dire consequences. On November 13, President-elect Donald Trump visited the White House at the invitation of President Biden. On this occasion, and among other deliberations, Biden’s National Security Advisor John Sullivan briefed Mr. Trump on the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. After the meeting, Mr. Trump repeated his threat, saying, “If the prisoners are not released before I take office, those responsible will pay a heavy price.”
Since Donald Trump’s victory, Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon has intensified. Along with the rain of cluster and bunker buster bombs, a psychological pressure campaign is also on the rise. The Israeli army is releasing horrific images of bombings to scare ordinary Lebanese. In recent days, a visual clip was widely circulated in which a terrible bomb was seen hitting a multi-story building in southern Lebanon, followed by a terrible explosion and the building engulfed in flames collapsing in just an eye blink. The aim of these clips and images is to create fear and force the resistance to surrender. Nevertheless in response to this campaign, a declaration was issued from southern Lebanon that “we can continue to resist the aggression indefinitely. There is no shortage of capacity, weapons and hearts and minds for this purpose with Islamic resistance.”
In response to the indiscriminate attacks of Israeli forces, a flare was set off at the Israeli prime minister’s private residence in the fashionable coastal city of Caesarea on the night of November 16, turning the entire neighborhood in smoke. The blaze was not set off by a missile, drone or rocket, but by a banker’s rifle. Bibi and his wife have been locked up in their luxury home and taking refuge in an underground bunker since last month’s missile attack on the palace, but the flare that hit the prime minister’s residence has terrified all of Israel.
Mr. Donald Trump promised American Muslims that a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon would be his first priority, so in order to achieve a decisive victory at the first place; he promised to end all restrictions and delays on the supply of military equipment and ammunition to Israel immediately after his oath taking ceremony. On the other hand, President Biden is also determined to facilitate the massacre in Gaza and Lebanon. While, in October 2024, the United States warned Israel that if the restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance sent by the United Nations and private organizations to Gaza were not lifted within a month, the supply of weapons and other aid to Israel would be suspended. It was surprising, why Netanyahu was given one month time, nonetheless, that deadline expired on November 12, and the United Nations report clearly stated that the ban on the transport of aid not only remained in place, but the famine situation in Gaza had become more critical.
At one hand, the US ambassador to the UN was expressing concern about using hunger as a weapon, on the other, the US government spokesman Vedant Patel, speaking to reporters in Washington, said, “Israel has not violated US law by withholding aid to Gaza, nor can it be considered genocide, so military aid will continue.” The bottom-line is, Donald Trump, who won Muslim votes by promising to stop the genocide in Gaza, has nominated the officials for his administration so far, all of them are anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel.
Similarly Ms. Elise Stefanik, is Mr. Trump’s proposed ambassador to the United Nations, while the post of US diplomat to Israel is being entrusted to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who believes that “a Palestinian state should be established on a piece of land outside Israel, as the Jewish state has been the homeland of the Jews since the time of Prophet Abraham.” After his nomination, he further declared that he considers the West Bank to be an integral part of the “Kingdom of Solomon” and calls it Judea and Samaria.
The draw for the post of National Security Advisor has been made in the name of Congressman Michael Waltz from Florida. Fifty-year-old Michael was associated with the Green Barrett raiding party of the US Army for a long time. He has done a lot of work on ideological issues such as Islamic extremism, communism, and the Chinese style of government, which is why he is called a military intellectual. He believes that the real war is fought with ideas, and the work of ideological purification takes time and patience, compared to blowing up an enemy tank with a bomb. As a National Security Advisor, ideological purification along with diplomatic, political, military and economic pressure to protect American interests in Palestine and Iran will be part of Michael Waltz’ strategic approach. He has said, in very vague terms, that he will not demand a ceasefire in Gaza, rather he believes that “the resistance fighters are evil beasts and Israel cannot coexist with these savages; they must be eliminated at all costs.”
Former Guantanamo Bay prison guard and Fox News host Pete Hegseth will be the Trump administration’s defense secretary. During his tenure, Guantanamo Bay was a torture center where water boarding was used to extract confessions and inhumane cruelty, causing many prisoners to lose their minds. As a platoon commander, he took responsibility for the torture, saying, “Savages deserve this treatment”.
These nominations for ambassadors, intelligence, national security, and secretary of state are raising doubts among American Muslims about the president-elect’s sincerity regarding Middle East peace and policies.
Public sentiments regarding Gaza and Lebanon continue to be expressed around the world. On November 7, after a football match between an Israeli and a local team in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, Israeli fans threw stones at Dutch youths demonstrating against the Gaza genocide. The retaliation took the form of clashes and the police subjected Gaza supporters to the worst violence. Three days later, a local train (tram) was set on fire during a similar incident. To add fuel to the fire, extremist leader and leader of the largest party in Dutch parliament, the Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, accused some people of chanting anti-Semitic slogans. He demanded that Moroccans who participated in the demonstration be deported. On November 13, French conservatives held a festival in Paris under the name of Israel Forever, the revenues of which were to be donated to the welfare of Israeli soldiers. The occupiers’ spiritual leader and Israeli Finance Minister, Mr. Bezalel Smotrich, was specially invited to attend the event. On this occasion, opponents of the genocide demonstrated vigorously. A boycott of the famous commercial company CAREFOUR, which paid for the festival, was also condemned, interestingly, anti-war Jews were among the demonstrators, due to strong opposition, and the Israeli Finance Minister withdrew from participation. This event was held at a time when a friendly football match between France and Israel was to be played the next day, for the protection of which thousands of police, armed forces with automatic weapons were patrolling Paris. The French leadership, including President Macron, former presidents Sarkozy, Hollande and the Prime Minister of France, were present in the field in solidarity with Israel.
Talking about ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli defense forces, and despite the war frenzy of Netanyahu and his allies, 69 percent of Israelis believe that the release of prisoners is essential, for which there is nothing wrong with a ceasefire (on Gazan terms). Interestingly, even within the ruling Likud party, war fatigue is growing, with 46 percent of its supporters now calling for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s, son, has accused the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet of trying to overthrow his father’s government and that four military officers arrested on trumped-up charges of leaking military secrets are being subjected to the worst torture in Shin Bet prisons.
In last September, international consensus was regained, as the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to end “its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory” within 12 months. This is merely a footnote in the larger body of international law regarding the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Yet the already clear discourse is being regularly expanded, including last week’s issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for top Israeli leaders, including PM Netanyahu.
It happened at a time when, the Palestinian Holocaust, filmed and broadcast everyday of its 418thon the world’s media, the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally issued an arrest warrant for the head of the Jewish state, and his dismissed defense minister Yoav Galant, after the court found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli officials supervised attacks on civilians, and the crimes they were accused of included using starvation as a weapon of war and crimes against humanity.
Arrest warrants include details and description of the crime and the legal basis for issuing them. The arrest warrants are sent to the member states of the Rome that established the court, and 124 other states, which oblige these states to arrest the accused if they visit their territories.
The most important international reactions supporting the court’s decision (so far) included the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell, who considered the matter “a legal procedure that must be respected by all member states and partners of the court” and stressed that it “has no political character.” France announced its support for the independence of the court, and affirmed that it is considered “an essential part of the international system for ensuring international justice.” This is what Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands did, whose foreign minister cancelled a visit to Israel, as well as Canada, whose Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it “will abide by the rulings of international courts,” Britain, whose Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that it “respects the independence of the court,” and Italy, whose foreign minister said that it supports the court’s warrants. Similar statements were issued by Norway and Sweden, as are expected to be announced by other European countries. In contrast, US President Joe Biden criticized the decision, while Michael Wattz, National Security Advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, threatened the court with a strong response, as did Israeli leaders and officials.
Critics of the resolution have used the same flimsy arguments, including that the court is “anti-Semitic,” that Israel “lawfully defended its people,” and that the arrest warrants are “rewarding terrorism.” The fact of the matter is that, the accusation of “anti-Semitism” is part of the logic of equating Zionism with Judaism, which tends to hold the entire world responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, something that is contradicted by a significant percentage of Israelis themselves who oppose the Netanyahu government, or by leftists, or by anti-Zionist movements, not to mention all the peoples and countries of the world, as has been demonstrated several times in UN votes on resolutions against Israel.
As for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and targeting civilians with killing and starvation, considering it “Israel’s legal right to defend itself,” this is an argument that automatically disintegrates. If we ignore the existence of multiple accusations against Netanyahu of violating laws by Israeli courts, the presence of 124 countries that are signatories to the International Criminal Court system, and the fact that it is the highest court in the areas of applying international laws, and represents the United Nations, makes questioning its credibility a declaration of departure from international legitimate law.
By adding the description “rewarding terrorism” to “anti-Semitism” and “the right to self-defense,” Israeli and American officials exhaust their stock of miserable arguments, and threats of force remain, as Trump’s National Security Advisor did, and as the two Knesset members, Bezalel Smotrich and Etmar Ben Gvir did, who proposed completing the agenda of annexing the West Bank to Israel and dissolving the Palestinian Authority.
The decision will be the beginning of a major conflict over the meaning of the world and the legacy that was built after World War II. International political systems, from the United Nations and the Security Council to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, will be at the heart of this conflict that will determine whether the world is able to protect these systems or whether the brute force of the Trump-Netanyahu alliance will bury them.
Up above all, the on-going Israeli war and genocide in Gaza, the instability of the entire region, and the continued steadfastness and resistance of the Palestinians are conclusive proof that there can never be true peace in the Middle East without justice for the Palestinians and other victims of Israeli brutality, no matter how many US-Western agreements and measures are proposed in the future, this fact will not be changed.
The problem is not clearly the lack of a roadmap for a just peace, rather the lack of interest or will to implement it, specifically from the US and some of its Western allies. It is their continued backing of Israel and funding of its war machine that makes a just solution in Palestine unattainable, at least for now.
As far as the Palestinians are concerned, there can only be one acceptable agreement: one that foresees the full implementation of international law, including the right of return and the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people. Or, when the details of Israel’s atrocities become public — and one day they will — the US will be harshly judged for not acting, unless it acts now. Otherwise, the continued US-Israeli attempts to ignore this reality will never hinder the Palestinians from continuing their struggle for freedom.
(The Author, Dr. Mohammad Ajmal is an Assistant Professor at Centre of Arabic and African Studies School of Language, JNU, New Delhi)
{The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not represent the stance of Eastern Crescent}
