Trump 2.0 to be the most Pro-Israeli US President: Marco Rubio

Sat Jan 18 2025
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Key points

  • US to lift sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers
  • Most of Trump’s cabinet picks are pro-Israel
  • Trump’s nominee for the US envoy to Israel Mike Huckabee is pro-Israel
  • Rubio hinted at deportations of pro-Hamas people from the US

ISLAMABAD: Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, has indicated to lift sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers and expel “pro-Hamas” people from the US.

According to TRT World, Donald Trump has been inconsistent on important policy issues, such as immigration, global trade, nuclear weapons, Covid-19, and Israel’s war on Gaza.

In the run-up to the presidential elections, he successfully convinced Jewish and Muslim voters simultaneously by playing both sides of the aisle.

However, his pro-Israel cabinet picks are stripping the anti-war veneer from the incoming administration at a faster pace than was expected.

It will be the “most pro-Israel administration” in US history, said Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, at the Senate confirmation hearing on January 16.

Reversing sanctions

More specifically, Rubio vowed to reverse the sanctions that the Biden administration slapped in eight separate rounds throughout 2024 against Israeli settlers and entities for wreaking “extremist settler violence in the [occupied] West Bank” and causing intense human suffering among Palestinians.

Experts believe Rubio’s statement hints at the shape of the things that are yet to come.

“I think those punitive measures [against Israeli settlers] will be lifted,” Yousef Alhelou, a London-based political analyst from Gaza, told media.

Last year, the US sanctioned as many as 17 people and 16 entities in Israel. These sanctions restrict their ability to transact through formal banking channels.

Rubio’s policy statement is important as Trump himself has so far steered clear of publicly committing to a reversal of the sanctions regime.

Trump favours Netanyahu

“It’s too early to predict if [Trump is] going to be extra pro-Israel or if he’s going to [maintain] a balance between Palestine and Israel. But experience tells us that Trump is ready for Israel. He favoured [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. He gave him many things,” Alhelou says.

Trump’s nominee for the US envoy to Israel Mike Huckabee is “staunchly pro-Israel” and favours Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

Rubio was also categorical in announcing the upcoming deportation of pro-Hamas people from the US. “If you apply for a visa to come into the United States and… you’re a supporter of Hamas, we wouldn’t let you in.”

Punitive measures

The statement by the secretary of state-designate may have more substance than similarly phrased provocations in the past as the election period is over and the Republican Party is entering the governance mode.

“I don’t rule out the possibility that more punitive measures will be imposed on the Palestinian side to revoke their visas or their residency or to expel them [from the US],” Alhelou says.

Though Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal beginning January 19, Tel Aviv’s relentless assault on Palestinians has devastated Gaza and killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the last 14 months.

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